A/N: Hey, everybody! Sorry that it took so long for me to update this story. Anyways, to Linkwonka88, I think you'll be pleased that I am indeed continuing it. To Turrislucidus, well, beetles can come in many different shapes, but the thing that characterizes them is their shell-like protection for their wings that lifts up when they fly, and the insect that attacks Wonka is seen to have this characteristic. Entomology aside, I agree with your psychoanalysis of Willy. After everything he's been through in his life up to this point, the Oompa-Loompas are a huge comfort for him. To mattTheWriter072, yeah, that insect attack is definitely a little terrifying, especially for a little kid, I can imagine. To Squirrela, for your chapter 3 review, you ask a lot of engaging questions, but don't worry; they'll all be answered by the end of the story. For your chapter 4 review, yes, the Oompa-Loompas have definitely helped Willy in this dire time, and he will continue to learn from them. To Abigwafflefan13, yes, it is sad that Willy felt so guilty when he really shouldn't have, but I'm glad you think it's great so far.
Log 10
Today, I decided to join the men Oompa-Loompas to observe a regular day in the life of one. We got up fairly early in the morning, then we all made our way to the forest floor. We ventured out into the jungle for a little bit until we came to the shore of a lake. Resting on the shore was a big, long boat carved out of wood and decorated with vibrant pigments. It looked similar to a Viking ship to be quite honest—with its long, narrow shape; an ornamental animal head on one end; and an ornamental tail in the shape of a swirl on the other end. The head resembled a seahorse of sorts. The Oompa-Loompas dragged the boat into the water, then got into the boat themselves. I sat in an empty seat in the back of the boat. Fifty-two Oompa-Loompas total rowed the boat using massive oars. Two Oompa-Loompas handled each of the oars in the front row, and three Oompa-Loompas handled each of the oars in the following eight rows. All of the Oompa-Loompas faced the back of the boat as they were rowing. At the head of the boat, also facing the back, was a single Oompa-Loompa repeatedly beating a large drum to keep a rhythm for the rowing Oompa-Loompas. They rowed the boat across the lake to the other side.
Once on the other side, they all dragged the boat onto the shore, set down their oars, and took out empty baskets they had stored on the boat. Then, for most of the day, they went about, scourging the jungle for caterpillars. I guess the caterpillars are more concentrated in this area than near their village, hence all the effort to get here. They also harvested these little, red beetles, as well as the bark of this one type of tree they call "bong-bong".
It took nearly all day, but they finally filled their baskets with either caterpillars, beetles, or bark, so it was time to head back to the village. The Oompa-Loompas dragged the boat into the lake once again, and they all hopped aboard. As one of the Oompa-Loompas settled in, however, he accidentally dropped his basket overboard into the lake. He stood up and was about to jump in the water, but other Oompa-Loompas told him not to. He didn't listen, though, and he jumped into the lake anyways. He grabbed the basket and placed it back in the boat, but as he was about to get out of the water, he was dragged back under! He resurfaced a couple times, frantically reaching out for something to grab onto, but he finally got pulled underneath the water, never to resurface. I didn't get a good look at what had gotten him—at first I thought it was a shark of some sort—but as I looked closer, it looked like a large, piranha-like fish. It had shiny green scales, bright red eyes, and powerful jaws with razor-sharp teeth. All the Oompa-Loompas onboard (and I) started panicking, but everyone eventually collected themselves, and they rowed back to the other side of the lake.
Once we arrived back at the village, the men told the women and children what had happened. Everyone was deeply saddened.
The events that followed were very similar to yesterday: a ceremony was held in honor of the unfortunately deceased Oompa-Loompa, then everyone made their way back to their treehouse. So I guess until next time, Willy Wonka.
Log 11
Well, it's been about a week since the last time I've written in here, so I think I'm due for a log. I've learned a lot since last time. For example, I'm starting to get a basic grasp of the Oompa-Loompese language. "Hello", for instance, I learned is "famboo". "Goodbye" is "binshah". "Thank you" is "pimtoo malay". I also learned that "Oompa-Loompa" itself means "people of the forest". "Oompa" means person or people, and "Loompa" means "forest". They call the island they live on "Loompashima", meaning "land of the forest". Taking this into consideration, I will dub the English name of this island to be "Loompaland". This is just scratching the surface of what I've learned about their language so far, but I think you get the gist of it.
I also learned more about the Oompa-Loompa's diet. As I have mentioned before, they feast on green-blooded caterpillars, red beetles, and the bark of the bong-bong tree; however, after exploring other parts of the jungle with the harvesters, I learned that they also collect strange, round, red-violet colored berries. They call them "snozzmingos", and with "mingo" being their word for "berry", their English name would be "snozzberry". Actually, since "snozz" means "powerful" in their language, the literal translation would be "powerful berry". I soon realized why they're called that after I tasted them—they have a very strong taste. It certainly is an exotic and acquired taste, but the Oompa-Loompas seem to enjoy them to make their caterpillars taste better. I guess when your diet is based on those disgusting caterpillars, anything will taste good in comparison. The Oompa-Loompas also harvest the leaves of a plant they call "pixa". Chewing on the leaves gives them an energy boost, but they also ground up the leaves into a fine powder and mix it with their caterpillar mush for the same effect.
Another thing that has happened this past week—another attack. This time, from a creature I had not even seen up to this point in my travels—a creature they call the "snozzwanger", which roughly translates to "powerful killer". It's an awful reptilian beast about ten feet long (including its tail), resembling a Komodo dragon, but with dorsal spines and a dewlap like an iguana. It has the ability to change its skin pigmentation to blend in with its surroundings as camouflage, like a chameleon. It also has retractable neck frills that it raises whenever it attacks, like a frilled-neck lizard, and it attacks by spraying venom at its prey, like a spitting cobra.
As you can see from what I described, this is quite a dangerous and terrifying creature, so you can imagine the fear I felt when I first witnessed its presence. It was when I went out with the men to go gather some more food. They were gathering some snozzberries when the large reptile emerged from the bushes. I was luckily out of spitting range from the snozzwanger, but other Oompa-Loompas weren't as lucky. The beast erected its neck frills and sprayed its venom on several Oompa-Loompas. They tried to run away, but only managed to run a few feet before collapsing to the ground, convulsing violently. The snozzwanger then started to feast on their bodies, but I couldn't bear to watch any more of it, so I fled back to the village with the rest of the men.
It was a pretty scary experience, but the Oompa-Loompas speak of creatures supposedly just as dangerous as the snozzwanger. I dread the day I come face-to-face with those guys. Sadly, I believe that's a "when", not an "if". But anyways, I think it's time I bring this log to a close, so I'll fill you in later when I have more stories to tell. Until then, Willy Wonka.