Left, right, left, right, up, down… Sam felt as if they were racing through a maze of corridors, pale walls and locked doors. He had no idea where the hosts were taking them, and the last words he heard from Mr. Wonka still intrigued him. "He's probably just saying that to keep our interest. Either that or he's overly proud of…"
Sam's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a weird sound, like a muffled roar, and a myriad of sweet smells floating and merging on the air. Molten chocolate, caramel, mint, cinnamon, orange peel… he was sure not all of them should be nice together, but somehow, they were. And before the boy could get his thoughts back on track, Noodle and Willy stopped in front of a room. "CHOCOLATE ROOM" read the sign on the door.
Noodle turned around to the visitors.
-¡This is the most important room on the factory! -She announced-And it's so beautiful, too! I know you'll love to see it! -It was clear on her face that this was her favorite part on the tour.
-Now, now, Noodle, please, you seem more excited than our guests-Mr. Wonka chuckled-Calm down.
With these words the man unlocked the door.
Sam could not believe his eyes.
What was behind that door was a lush, green valley scattered with multicolored flowers, tall trees, bordered by soft hills, and crossed by a wide brown river.
The boy once again pondered the possibility of being stuck on a bizarre dream. Maybe if he slapped himself, he would wake up and be back home…But no, he quickly realized it was real. His rational mind and his constant self-denial would never let him dream anything like this.
He was brought out of his shock when he heard Mr. Wonka speak again:
-Look! -he said, pointing his cane at the river-It's all chocolate! Every last drop of this river is hot liquid chocolate! Nearly everything on this room is edible! -The chocolatier's eyes were shining with pride and glee-Try the grass, for example. It's made of a special kind of minted sugar I invented. Or maybe you'd rather some peppermint bark from the trees?
"So not only did he somehow manage to build all of this, but he's offering it to us?" Sam was now even more confused. He had always thought of factories as cold, dull places where productivity left no room for beauty or enjoyment (That was one of the reasons why he agreed to join Charlie on the tour in the first place) and now he was getting more and more nervous by the second, realizing how hungry he was. It was taking him every ounce of his self-control not to go along with what the host suggested.
"Perhaps this is how Ulysses felt while facing the sirens"-The boy guessed.
His inner conflict was suddenly interrupted by Veruca, who screamed in surprise while pointing at something. Everyone turned to where she indicated and Sam did the same, grateful of the distraction.
She was pointing at a little person who had appeared near the chocolate cascade. No, not just one but two, three, four… Who were they?
-They are some of my employees-Said Mr. Wonka, when someone asked that exact question-And they are called Oompa-Loompas. Such great workers, they are!...
And as Willy told his visitors how he'd met them (a quite peculiar story that included him stealing cocoa beans without even realizing it) no one seemed to notice that Augustus had wandered away from the group until they heard Mrs. Gloop cry out to him:
-Augustus! No, don't do that!
Hearing this, the whole group turned around to see the boy drinking from the chocolate river, lapping like a dog.
-Hey! Stop that! -The chocolatier was once again fidgeting with his cane-You are making a mess of my chocolate!
Noodle came forward, surely to get the kid away from there, but before she could, Augustus fell into the river with a yelp.
And, before anyone could do anything else, the boy was sucked by one of the pipes, nearly blocking it before disappearing from sight