Chapter Twenty Five

(Oh, boy, oh, boy! Christmas is almost here!

How are y'all doing?

Good? Okay? Tired? Other_?

Fun Fact:

Wherever you go, an idea is created or thought of. Sometimes, people can think of crazy ideas whenever they're inspired or wherever they go. You might want to read this fun fact. In the song Smooth Criminal (Song by Michael Jackson and one of Beatrice's favorite songs), Michael Jackson is constantly asking a woman if she's okay, when she really isn't doing okay. MJ, himself, got the idea of Smooth Criminal after he found himself having an unusual interest in CPR and one of the practice dummies was named 'Anne' and that's how 'Annie' was born in the song. The idea of 'Annie, are you okay? So, Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie' was actually an instruction while you begin to take health or babysitting classes or do CPR, which is asking or yelling to the victim if they're doing okay. But Smooth Criminal is obviously about this woman who was brutally beaten by some guy and someone else tries to revive her.

Anyway, here is a link to a song:

watch?v=gOCNY9pJ850

Enjoy the story and life as it goes! Oh, I wish you an early Merry Christmas!

-imaginarytoon1)

Beatrice:

While most of the townspeople were running in around in terror, TW, Scarecrow, and I watched the Witch spell out 'S U R R' with the smoke that was trailing behind his broom.

"Who's her? Who's her?" Lion asked while trembling in fear with me, TW, and Scarecrow.

"It's the Wicked Witch of the West!" I replied while the message on the sky was quickly getting 'written'. "He's followed us here!"

The message that the Witch was giving us was this after ten more seconds:

E

"'Beatrice'?" One of the witnesses asked. "Who's Beatrice?"

"The Wizard will explain it!" A human woman exclaimed.

"To the Wizard!" A toon man exclaimed.

"To the Wizard!" Another toon man exclaimed.

While many of the townspeople were gathering up at a palace, I believe, I asked,

"Whatever shall we do now?"

"We better hurry if we're going to see the Wizard!" Head Number One exclaimed.

"Come on! Let's go!" TW and Head Number Two exclaimed.

TW, Scarecrow, Lion, and I walked along with some of the toon townspeople and by the time we arrived at the palace, a palace guard, who looked like Wheezy without his cigarettes, in a green Cossack-like outfit was making many of the townspeople back away by swinging his green staff in front of them to prevent them from coming to the doors.

"Here! Here, here!" 'Wheezy' exclaimed. "Settle down! Everything's all right! The great and powerful Oz has got matters well in hand…I hope." As some of the townspeople were walking away, TW, Scarecrow, Lion, and I made our way through the crowd. "And so, all of you can go home! There's nothing to worry about!"

TW, Scarecrow, Lion, and I were almost to the steps (that I didn't see before) that led to the palace doors when 'Wheezy' was dismissing everyone.

As soon as most of the townspeople left, TW, Scarecrow, Lion, and I were at the small step-case and 'Wheezy' approached us.

"If you please, sir, we would like to see the Wizard right away." I said to 'Wheezy'. "All five of us."

"Orders are: NOBODY CAN SEE THE GREAT OZ!" 'Wheezy' said. "NOT NOBODY, NOT NOHOW!"

"Please, sir! IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!"

"And I got a permanent for the occasion." Lion said, which wasn't too necessary.

"NOT NOBODY, NOT NOHOW!" 'Wheezy' exclaimed angrily, making us jump.

"But she's BEATRICE!" Head Numbers One and Two said.

'Wheezy' gasped in shock.

"The Witch's Beatrice?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Well, that makes a difference." 'Wheezy' said. "Just wait here and I'll announce you at once."

'Wheezy' turned around and entered the palace.

My group and I gasped in joy.

"Did you hear that?" Head Number One asked.

"He'll announce us at once!" Head Number Two said.

"We're as good as we got our own brain!" Both of the heads exclaimed in unison.

"I can fairly hear my heart beating!" TW said.

"I'll be home in time!" I exclaimed happily.

I'll even try to make things right and even try to forgive my mom. I thought.

"In another hour, I'll be…KING OF THE FOREST." Lion declared. "Long live…the king!"

Then, music began to play.

Lion walks up to a step-case (that was behind him and there was a small garden of flowers and various plants) and he stops at the top step.

He begins to sing a song that I used to listen to when I was kid:

"If I were King of the FOREEEEEEEST,

Not QUEEN,

Not DUKE,

Not PRINCE!"

In my head, I am laughing my head off. I wonder if Smarty can sing this and he can hold some of the notes. Ehh, I better not ask him.

"My regal robes of the FOREEEEEEEST,

Would be 'SATAN'…"

It's 'satin'! I thought.

"NOT cotton,

NOT chintz!"

Oh, man! I wish that I have a camera right now! This is just too good! I thought.

"I'd command each thing,

Be it fish or fowl,

With a 'WOOF',

And a 'WOOF',

And a RRRROYAL growl.

WOOF!" Lion continued to sing as TW, Scarecrow, Toto, and I watched in interest.

"As I'd click my heel,

All the trees would KNEEL.

And the mountains bow,

And the bulls KOWTOW.

And the sparrow would take WII-III-III-III-ING,

If IIIII, If IIIII, were KII-III-III-III-III-III-NG!"

THIS IS JUST TOO GOOD! I thought while I mentally laughed in my head.

"Each rabbit would show respect to me,

The chipmunks genuflect to me.

Though my tail would LASH,

I would show 'COMPASH',

For every UNDERLI-III-III-III-III-III-III-ING!

If IIII, If IIII, were KII-III-III-III-ING!

Just KII-III-III-III-ING!"

TW, Scarecrow, and I bowed to Lion as if he really were the king of the forest. Then, TW and Scarecrow walked up to the steps and rolled out a cloth that was under one of the flower pots, imitating the idea of walking on a royal rug.

Toto, who just got of my bag after I set it to the side, and I walked down the 'royal rug' and guided Lion to a very big rug with flowers on the hem. TW and Scarecrow picked up one end of the rug and placed it on Lion's shoulders, making it look like he's wearing a king's robe.

While TW and Scarecrow 'escorted' Lion back to the steps, Toto and I grabbed the other end of the rug and walked along with them.

TW walked up to a flower pot and broke a part of it with axe. The broken flower pot took the shape of a royal crown.

Lion turned and faced me as TW placed the 'crown' on his head.

"Monarch of all I SURVEEEEEY,

MONAH-AH-AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-ARNACH…

OF ALLLLLLL….

I SURVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" Lion concluded and the music ceased.

Groovy. I thought.

"Your Majesty," I began, "if you were king, you wouldn't be afraid of anything?"

"Not nobody! NOT NOHOW!" Lion replied.

"Not even a rhinoceros?" TW asked.

"'Imposserous'!"

"Not even a…uh...ah…hippopotamus?" I asked as we walked towards the palace doors with Lion.

"Why, I'd thrash from TOP…to 'bottomus'."

Oh, man. This is getting good. I thought.

"Suppose you met an elephant?" I asked.

"I'd wrap him in 'cellophant'!" Lion said.

Doesn't he mean 'cellophane'? I thought.

"What if you met a brontosaurus?" Head Numbers One and Two asked in unison.

"I will show HIM who's KING OF THE FOREST!" Lion exclaimed.

"How?" Scarecrow, TW, Toto, and I asked.

"'How'?"

Lion turned towards us and threw his 'robe' off of his shoulders.

"Courage!" He exclaimed. "What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes an elephant charge his tusk in misty mist or the dusky dust? What makes the muskrat guard…his musk? COURAGE. What makes the sphinx the Seventh Wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder?! COURAGE! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the 'ape' in 'apricot'? What have they got that I AIN'T GOT?!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Courage." Toto, Scarecrow, TW, and I replied in unison.

"You can say that again." Lion said and laughed.

That was some speech there. I thought.

All of the sudden, 'Wheezy' approaches Lion, making him jump in surprise. The 'crown' flies off his head and rolls up to 'Wheezy's' feet.

"What did the Wizard say?" Scarecrow, Toto, Lion, TW, and I asked in unison.

"THE WIZARD SAYS: 'GO AWAY'!" 'Wheezy' exclaimed.

He walked back to the palace doors, enters the palace, and slams the door.

" 'Go away'?" Head Numbers One and Two asked in unison.

TW sighed sadly as we all sat down on the steps.

"Looks like we came here…for NOTHING." Lion said and grabbed his 'crown'.

He throws the crown and it lands in one part of the garden of flowers.

"What do we do now, Beatrice?" Toto asked.

I sighed in sadness and disappointment.

"I don't know, Toto." I replied. "There's nothing that we can do to make the Wizard change his mind. I won't be able to make it back home and y'all won't be able to get what you want. Scarecrow won't get their brains, Lion won't get his courage, and…TW won't get his heart. It's just as Scarecrow said. We came a long way for nothing."

TW puts his left arm on my shoulders.

"What's the important thing that you're looking for at your home in Houston?" He asked.

"It's not really an object that I'm looking for." I replied. "I'm actually trying to forgive my mom. We don't always get along and I try to cooperate with her. My…mother tried to send me away to a place where I don't fit in at all and she wanted to do that because she wanted to save the house. I thought that it was stupid but I went right ahead and gave myself up. Although I escaped, I was actually very angry at my mom. We have a hard time getting along and our relationship is very dysfunctional. If something happened to my mom and if I never forgive her for all of the things that she said and done to me, I would regret it for the rest of my life…and I'll never forgive myself. Never, never, never."

I took a deep breath before teardrops began to roll out of my eyes.

"What's forgiveness?" TW asked.

"It's when you hold resentment against someone or something and grant pardon for their wrongdoings." I replied.

"Well, I'll be."

"Hey, you five." 'Wheezy' said as he peeked out of a square porthole of the door with a very convincing sad look on his face. "Please don't be sad anymore. I'll get you to the Wizard somehow."

Toto immediately ran to get my bag and he handed it to me as 'Wheezy' spoke to TW, Scarecrow, Lion, and me.

"Come on in." Wheezy said. "I, myself, once had a mother who I've tried to forgive."

He disappeared behind the door and closed the porthole.

"Well, this is it." I said as I was getting on my feet.

I picked up Toto, who got into the bag, and I hooked arms with Lion and TW (Scarecrow hooked arms with Lion) as the palace doors opened up.

Slowly, we entered the palace and the doors closed behind us. A really long green hallway (seriously, there's too much green) was leading us to a room that looked like the kind of room that was forbidden.

"COME…FORWARD!" A deep, booming voice yelled as the doors automatically open up.