Chapter 5
Once the book had ceased to vibrate like a nervous dog, a large, spindly-fingered hand with white kid-gloves poked out from between the pages. It made a grab for the covers, and hoisted itself out of the book entirely. In the darkness, there was a flash of color of the bright clothes that the creature was wearing, and it was at this moment that Jack Pumpkinhead looked up in alarm. He stood still, and peered at the enormous creature that had escaped from the book.
Richard was surprised too. Here before him, was an enormous bug-like creature with two long feelers on either side of his head, that curled in like long pig tails. A long, purple top hat stuck up from between the feelers, crowning a face with two large and buggy eyes; a curly antennae was the nose between the eyes. Around his round belly, he donned a blue-and-yellow coat, with a starched-white waistcoat beneath it. He wore no pants, but from the calf-below, his legs were black-and-brown striped, like stockings.
"Oh, dear," the creature spoke up. Unlike Jack's, its voice was high and squeaky, just as one might have expected an insect to talk.
"Dorothy! Dorothy!" Jack cried, shaking Dorothy's shoulders. "Wake up!"
Dorothy yawned as she stretched awake from the grass, with Toto following her lead. She grumbled sleepily as Jack struggled to awaken her.
"What's the matter, Jack?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Young Richard is truly an unmarked Sorcerer," Jack exclaimed. "Look at what he has brought from the storybook!"
Dorothy sat up and looked before her at the life-size insect standing proudly between her and Richard.
"Good evening, child," the bug spoke again.
"Oh, my!" Dorothy and Jack exclaimed at the same time.
"Oh, no need for alarm, please," said the bug, bowing and tipping his hat. "Indeed, I hope that you are enjoying excellent health. Permit me to present my card to you." Reaching into the pocket of his coat, the bug handed Dorothy a tiny index card, and she strained to read it in the dark.
"Richard," she acknowledged, crawling over to hand the card to him. He held up the compass, and read the card by its light.
"'Mr. H.M. Wogglebug T.E.,'" he said.
"And I am also wonderfully pleased to meet you, good boy," the Wogglebug said, bowing once more. "That is, if I may inquire your name?"
"I'm Richard, Mr. Wogglebug," he said. "And that's Dorothy, and Jack Pumpkinhead."
At his mentioning them, both Dorothy and Jack stood up, curtsying and bowing in turn. Toto barked nervously, but he didn't cower.
Dorothy picked her dog up in her arms. "Excuse me, sir, but I've never seen a bug like you before," she said. Have…have you always been as tall as a real man?"
"That, child, is a long and extraordinary story," Wogglebug said, winking at Dorothy. "If you wish to know it all, well, I suppose I shall sit down and tell you. May I do so?"
"Please do," Dorothy said, patting the spot beside her.
Wogglebug then sat down on the grass with them, and started to speak, while Richard scooted closer to both hear the story, and to observe a little more about this amazing insect.
"I was once an ordinary Wogglebug, my friends," he said, if a bit regretfully, though his voice was by no means unpleasant. "I shall not go into what life was like before, for it is, in my opinion, most unfavorable. I was cold, and I was lonely. But that all came to a glorious halt the day I wandered into a schoolhouse- the schoolhouse, that is, of Professor Nowitall, no doubt the most famous scholar in all of Oz.
"I enjoyed my time in that schoolhouse, for my new home, near the fireplace, was a hundredfold more than what the summer sun had ever given me. But what is more important, is that I had good access to all the lessons given by the professor. Day after day, I listened to him speak of the wonders of our world, and I found that acquiring such knowledge was a marvelous feeling, beyond anything I'd ever experienced."
"And that is why you are thoroughly educated, isn't it?" Richard interrupted. "What the 'T.E' in your name means."
"Precisely," Wogglebug said, nodding his head in acknowledgement. "It's an expression of my degree. And I'm proud to say that there may never be another wogglebug like me, with such knowledge and initiative."
Wogglebug paused before he continued. "Now, you shall find out what it was that made me so much larger than any Wogglebug you've ever seen before.
"You see, I was crawling along the hearth one day, and before I could get away, Professor Nowitall had caught me in his fingers. He asked the class, if perhaps they had ever seen a wogglebug before. And promptly, after every student had answered that they hadn't, he placed me under a magnifying glass, where the students could see me. At which point, when the Professor presented me, I had become as highly magnified as the students saw me." He stopped speaking for a moment, and scratched a finger against his head thoughtfully. "Although, my size must have frightened the students, for two girls sitting on a windowsill had fallen out into the grass. And while everyone was racing over to retrieve the girls, I saw my chance to escape. I hopped off the table, and ran away into a grove of trees nearby. I haven't set foot in that schoolhouse, since."
"That is an extraordinary venture," Jack remarked. "It's fortunate indeed, Mr. Wogglebug, that you have been granted such brains. I wish that I could have had such an opportunity."
Wogglebug looked towards Jack Pumpkinhead, grinning. "Thank you for that kind remark, my good friend, but you know, you are not so unfortunate as you think. Granted, you carry many, many seeds in your pumpkin head. I suppose you should be thanking that your creator didn't carve out your head; otherwise you probably would not be able to tell that I sit beside you and your friends."
"That is true," Jack noted. "Brains in general terms are a good thing to come by, I suppose, even if they are not as magnificent as yours."
Dorothy, who had been sitting so very quietly throughout Wogglebug's speech, finally perked up her head, her eyes widening for a second. "Mr. Wogglebug?" she said.
"Yes?" asked the Wogglebug.
"Since you have such more knowledge about Oz, than any of us do, do you think you could join us on our trip to the Emerald City?"
Wogglebug scratched his head thoughtfully again. "Well, my child, I must confess, I never considered going there before. I've heard all about the Emerald City, but it would surely make for a fantastic journey."
"Yeah," Richard piped up, suddenly. "If you know all about the places and creatures in Oz, you could help us make the safest route on the yellow brick road."
"I am equipped with swift thought," Wogglebug noted.
"Exactly," Richard said. "And speaking of weird and unusual things, do you think you can tell me about this?" He reached beside him, and held up, by its chain, the compass.
Wogglebug gasped, and touched one finger to the compass, as though gently pointing to it. "Indeed, my boy, this is an object of awesome magic," he said, noting the tender glow and the warmth of the silver. "But you must be a boy of great magical expertise to have obtained something like this."
"No, I'm not," Richard answered. "I mean, I know that this thing speaks somehow through how warm it is, and what color the light is around it. But, I don't know just where it came from, or where Mr. Dewey might have gotten it."
"Who is Mr. Dewey?" Wogglebug wondered aloud.
"The old librarian who gave this to me," Richard said and, when Wogglebug leaned closer in fascination, he relayed to the giant insect, Mr. Dewey's instructions on using the compass, how Richard had come into Oz, and his confusion regarding the purpose of having come, with the compass in hand.
Wogglebug sat thoughtfully, his buggy eyes turning towards the compass, while he didn't move the rest of his body. He stood that way long enough, that finally, Jack and Dorothy moved to be sure that he hadn't blanked out altogether. Richard had to lower the compass as his arm grew tired, finally clunking the compass back onto the grass; its light turned pink again.
"My boy, I'm afraid I can't say such a device is familiar to me," Wogglebug said. "Of course, its magical ability is clear, but I've never seen its equal. Nowitall never taught his students magic, as only the Witches of the North and South know how. However, there is an essence of life within the silver- that much anyone can say for certain."
Dorothy leaned suddenly against the tree, and put her hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wogglebug," she said, "but why don't we talk more about this on our walk to the Emerald City, tomorrow." Finally, she fell to the ground, and cuddled her legs up to her chest.
Wogglebug nodded respectfully. "I suppose you are right, Dorothy, child," he said. "Once we have been able to rest, I shall explain further the matter of the boy's compass. And, also, perhaps you could explain how I came to be with you all, from out of thin air."
Richard sighed deeply, half-moaning. He pushed the book towards Wogglebug, and laid himself down upon the ground near Dorothy and Jack Pumpkinhead.
"Look into it, if you want," Richard offered. "But be careful; something might pop out at you any minute." He cringed at the thought of more random characters coming out, when he closed his eyes; Toto trotted up, and lay down between him and Dorothy.
Wogglebug smiled gently at Richard. "I think that perhaps I can take such a responsibility," he replied. "But, if I am to journey the long way with you all to the Emerald City, it wouldn't be prudent to get too far in. Though, I should like to."
"Whatever you decide, Mr. Wogglebug," Richard murmured.
Wogglebug looked at all his sleeping friends, and slowly laid the book on the ground beside him. Then he lay down on his back, and looked up at the dim stars far above him, while he slowly closed his huge eyes to sleep.
"Mr. Wogglebug?" Jack Pumpkinhead's voice suddenly asked.
"Yes, what is it, my friend?" Wogglebug replied, turning his head to look at Jack.
"I was thinking; if we all go to the Emerald City, and I were to ask the Wizard for a wish, would he grant it, as well as Dorothy's?"
"Oh, I'm quite certain he will," Wogglebug said softly. "If there's anything about the Wizard that I know, is that he will surely do his best for others."
"I hope," Jack said in a low, solemn voice. "For, if Dorothy says that Oz is as pretty a place as anywhere, I should like to have color brought to my eyes. I want to walk out of the Emerald City, with grey out of my sight, for good."