Chapter 14: Return to Oz and the Winged Monkeys
You will remember there was no road--not even a pathway-- between the castle of the Wicked Witch and the Emerald City. When the travelers went in search of Zelena, she had seen them coming and so sent the Winged Monkeys to bring them to her. It was much harder to find their way back through the big fields of buttercups and yellow daisies than it was being carried. They knew, of course, they must go straight east, toward the rising sun, and they started off in the right way. But, at noon, when the sun was over their heads, they did not know which was east and which was west and that was the reason they were lost in the great fields. They kept on walking, however, and at night, the moon came out and shone brightly. So, they lay down among the sweet smelling yellow flowers and slept soundly until morning-- all but Bartleby and Nick.
“Spikey-wikey…” Rarity said in her sleep as she held Spike in her embrace.
Spike gently nuzzled Rarity as he slept.
The next morning, the sun was behind a cloud, but, they started on as if they were quite sure which way they were going.
"If we walk far enough," said Dorothy. "I am sure we shall sometime come to some place."
“Of course,” Twilight said.
But, day by day passed away and they still saw nothing before them but the scarlet fields. Bartleby began to grumble a bit.
"We have surely lost our way," he said. "And unless we find it again in time to reach the Emerald City, I shall never get my brains."
"Nor I my heart," declared Nick. "It seems to me I can scarcely wait till I get to Oz and you must admit this is a very long journey."
"You see," said Raw with a whimper. "I haven't the courage to keep tramping forever without getting anywhere at all."
“And I shall never see Aunt Em or Uncle Henry ever again,” Dorothy sobbed. She had lost heart. She sat down on the grass and looked at her companions and they sat down and looked at her and Toto found that for the first time in his life he was too tired to chase a butterfly that flew past his head. So, he put out his tongue and panted and looked at Dorothy as if to ask what they should do next.
“It does seem pretty hopeless,” Twilight said. “But, just sitting here isn't going to help us any.”
"Suppose we call the field mice," Dorothy suggested. "They could probably tell us the way to the Emerald City."
“That’s a great idea,” Starlight said. “But, there’s a small problem.”
“Did you say that because mice are typically small?” Trixie asked.
“No,” Starlight said. “The problem is that we met them in Munchkin Country, on the other side of Oz.”
“Oh, that is a problem,” Fluttershy said. “And I know mice travel quickly in a group, but, even then, it’s not very much in terms of speed.”
Dorothy reached into her dress and pulled out the little whistle she had always carried about her neck since Elizabeth, the Queen of the Mice, had given it to her. “While the other mice were leaving,” she said. “Elizabeth told me to blow this whistle and the mice will come to us no matter where we are.”
“Hopefully,” Rainbow said. “She meant literally anywhere.”
Dorothy took a deep breath and blew into the whistle. In a few minutes, they heard the pattering of tiny feet and many of the small gray mice came running up to her. Among them was the Queen herself, who asked, in her squeaky little voice:
"What can I do for my friends?"
“We’re frightfully lost,” Nick explained. “We were hoping you could show us the way to the Emerald City, please.”
"Certainly," answered the Queen. "But, it is a great way off, for you have had it at your backs all this time." Then, she noticed Dorothy's Golden Cap and said, "Why don't you use the charm of the Cap and call the Winged Monkeys to you? They will carry you to the City of Oz in less than an hour."
“Because,” Dorothy explained. “I do not know how. I didn’t even know this cap had a charm. What is it?”
"It is written inside the Golden Cap," replied Elizabeth. "But, if you are going to call the Winged Monkeys, we must run away, for they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us."
So, Dorothy removed the cap and she read the instructions inscribed within. “Alright,” Dorothy said. “I shall start, so you may go to safety.”
“Uh, won’t they hurt Dorothy?” Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, no,” Elizabeth said. “They must obey the wearer of the Cap. Good-bye!" And she scampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after her.
Dorothy looked inside the Golden Cap and saw some words written upon the lining. These, she thought. Must be the charm. So, she read the directions carefully and put the cap upon her head.
"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" she said, standing on her left foot.
"What did you say?" asked Bartleby, who did not know what she was doing.
"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" Dorothy went on, standing this time on her right foot.
"Hello!" replied Nick calmly.
"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said Dorothy, who was now standing on both feet. This ended the saying of the charm and they heard a great chattering and flapping of wings as the band of Winged Monkeys flew up to them.
“This is the first of three times you can call upon our services,” the head of the Winged Monkeys said. “How may we help?”
"We wish to go to the Emerald City," said the child. "And we have lost our way."
"We will carry you," replied the King and no sooner had he spoken than two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her. Others took the travelers who didn’t have wings already and one little monkey seized Toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to bite him.
Bartleby and Nick were rather frightened at first, for they remembered how badly the Winged Monkeys had treated them before, but, they saw that no harm was intended, so they rode through the air quite cheerfully, and had a fine time looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them. Dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest Monkeys, one of them the King himself. They had made a chair of their hands and were careful not to hurt her.
"Why do you have to obey the charm of the Golden Cap?" she asked.
"That is a long story," answered the king with a winged laugh.
“Well,” Sunset said. “We have a long journey ahead, so, you may as well tell us to pass the time. By the way, do you have a name?”
“Louie,” the king answered.
"I shall be glad to hear your story, Louie," Dorothy replied.
"Once," began Louie. "We were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit, and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. Perhaps some of us were rather too full of mischief at times, flying down to pull the tails of the animals that had no wings, chasing birds, and throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest. But, we were careless, happy, and full of fun and enjoyed every minute of the day. This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land.”
“So, you saw him,” Rainbow said.
“Not up close,” Louie said before continuing his story. "There lived here then, away at the North, a beautiful princess, who was also a powerful sorceress. All her magic was used to help the people and she was never known to hurt anyone who was good. Her name was Gayelette and she lived in a handsome palace built from great blocks of ruby.”
“I thought Gillikin Country’s color was purple and red was the color of Quadling Country in the south,” Sunset said.
“Where do you think the rubies came from?” Louie asked rhetorically before continuing. “Everyone loved her, but, her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, since all the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful and wise. At last, however, she found a boy who was handsome and manly and wise beyond his years. Gayelette made up her mind that when he grew to be a man she would make him her husband, so she took him to her ruby palace and used all her magic powers to make him as strong, good, and lovely as any woman could wish. When he grew to manhood, Quelala, as he was called, was said to be the best and wisest man in all the land, while his manly beauty was so great that Gayelette loved him dearly and hastened to make everything ready for the wedding.”
“Seems a bit shallow,” Spike said while carrying Rarity.
Louie ignored that and continued. “My grandfather was at that time the King of the Winged Monkeys, which lived in the forest near Gayelette's palace and the old fellow loved a joke better than a good dinner. One day, just before the wedding, my grandfather was flying out with his band when he saw Quelala walking beside the river. He was dressed in a rich costume of pink silk and purple velvet and my grandfather thought he would see what he could do. At his word, the band flew down and seized Quelala, carried him in their arms until they were over the middle of the river, and then dropped him into the water.”
“Did he drown?” Starlight asked.
“Maybe if we let him finish,” Sunset said. “We’ll find out.”
"`Swim out, my fine fellow,' cried my grandfather. `And see if the water has spotted your clothes,'” Louie continued. “Quelala was much too wise not to swim and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good fortune. He laughed when he came to the top of the water and swam in to shore. But, when Gayelette came running out to him she found his silks and velvet all ruined by the river.”
“So?” Rainbow asked.
“So,” Louie said. "The princess was angry and she knew, of course, who did it. She had all the Winged Monkeys brought before her and she said at first that their wings should be tied and they should be treated as they had treated Quelala and dropped in the river. But, my grandfather pleaded hard, for he knew the monkeys would drown in the river with their wings tied and Quelala said a kind word for them also, so that Gayelette finally spared them, on condition that the Winged Monkeys should ever after do three times the bidding of the owner of the Golden Cap. This Cap had been made for a wedding present to Quelala and it is said to have cost the princess half her kingdom. Of course, my grandfather and all the other monkeys at once agreed to the condition and that is how it happens that we are three times the slaves of the owner of the Golden Cap, whosoever he may be."
“I’m having trouble believing she was a good princess,” Twilight said.
"And what became of the monkeys?" asked Dorothy, who had been greatly interested in the story.
"Quelala, being the first owner of the Golden Cap," replied Louie. "He was the first to lay his wishes upon us. As his bride could not bear the sight of us, he called us all to him in the forest after he had married her and ordered us always to keep where she could never again set eyes on a Winged Monkey, which we were glad to do, for we were all afraid of her. This was all we ever had to do until the Golden Cap fell into the hands of Zelena, who made us enslave the Winkies and afterward drive Oz himself out of the Land of the West. Now, the Golden Cap is yours and three times you have the right to lay your wishes upon us."
“I heard that Oz was more powerful than all the witches put together,” Rainbow said. “If that’s true, why was someone like Zelena, who could be killed with water, able to drive him away with a bunch of monkeys? Come to think of it, since you all drove Oz out, how is it none of you have seen him?”
“Rainbow,” Sunset said through her teeth. “You’re doing it again.”
Rainbow groaned in resignation. “Fine,” she said. “Forget I even asked.”
As Louie finished his story Dorothy looked down and saw the green, shining walls of the Emerald City before them. She wondered at the rapid flight of the Monkeys, but, was glad the journey was over. After the lengthy flight, the Winged Monkeys arrived at the Emerald City. The Winged Monkeys set their traveling companions down carefully before the gate of the city, the king bowed low to Dorothy and then flew swiftly away, followed by all his band.
“Hold on a second,” Starlight called to Louie. “Why drop us outside the gate? You could fly us over the wall.”
“Because,” Louie said. “That would be as rude as opening one’s front door without knocking. We were mischievous, not uncivilized. Besides, it might have been mistaken for an attack.”
“Good point,” Starlight said as Louie left.
"That was a good ride," said the little girl.
"Yes, and a quick way out of our troubles," replied Raw. "How lucky it was you brought away that wonderful Cap!"
“That reminds me,” Trixie said. “Since it’s likely we won’t be needing the cap anymore, what do we do with it?”
“Trust me,” Sunset whispered. “We’ll need it again later.”
“Alright,” Trixie said. “So, let’s keep it safe.”
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Good they made with back with the help of the winged monkeys
Good I love it nice
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Yep.
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Thanks.
Amazing work! They were able to make it back
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Yep.
Pretty good, at least they made it back to the Wizard.
Nice Disney reference with the Winged Monkey King being a nod to the Jungle Book character King Louie.
So, who is King Louie of the Winged Monkey's hypothetical voice?
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Peter Kelamis, who voiced Goku in a few dubs of Dragon Ball.
Thanks very much for getting the next chapter to this up. Definitely appreciate you going to the work on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. VERY MUCH appreciated the details going into the Winged Monkeys' backstory while they were helping the group get back to the Emerald City - including how the Monkeys ended up under the control of the cap and how the witch got ahold of the cap. And naming the King Louie was a beautiful touch indeed (great Jungle Book reference). And, again, Sunset stopping Rainbow when the latter was questioning the logic of certain situations was well done.
Definitely looking forward to more of this.
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Thanks.
LOUIE: Well, I'm the King of the fliers now / The aerial VIP / I've reached the literal top / And had to stop / And that's what bothering me
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This Louie is different.
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STORM (Stifling laughter): I know, I know.