“I remember this spot well,” said the Sawhorse, who was pulling the Red Wagon that contained Betsy and her friends. “When Ozma and Dorothy went up to try to stop the war between the Flatheads and the Skeezers, they left me here. Later, they told me that giant spiders lived on the other side of that brush over there.”
“Giant spiders? I hope none of them come to our picnic!”
“Isn’t it usually ants that spoil picnics, not spiders?” asked Betsy’s friend Trot.
“Spiders, ants, whatever,” said Scraps the Patchwork Girl, as she recklessly leapt out of the wagon and began dancing around the field.
“Spiders and ants better stay away,
And come back another day!
No bugs can come and spoil our fun,
Or send us away from here on the run.”
“They never came here during the time I was waiting, so I wouldn’t expect them to do so now,” observed the Sawhorse.
“Well, then, let’s set up our picnic,” suggested Trot, stepping out from the wagon with a large basket. The Shaggy Man, who was the fourth and last rider, set a tablecloth on the ground, and he and the two girls laid out the food from the basket. It included three kinds of sandwiches, apples, bananas, potato salad, lemonade, and chocolate cake. As the three humans were eating, Scraps called out that a man was approaching their picnic site.
“Why, it’s a king!” observed Betsy, as the man came close enough to the area for all to see. He was dressed in a faded purple robe that appeared to have been eaten by moths, sandals that made it difficult for him to run very quickly, and a golden crown studded with purple gems. He had a kindly but worried face, and a shaggy gray beard. The stranger approached the tablecloth awkwardly, finally coming to a stop and collapsing face-first into the potato salad. His crown fell from his head and rolled away until Betsy picked it up and handed it back to him.
“Thank you, young lady,” said the king. “My name is Erglan, and I am the ruler of the city of Trilmeria. My city, known for its fountains, well-stocked library, Royal Museum, and world-class sympathy—“
“Sympathy?” questioned Betsy. “Are you sure you don’t mean ‘symphony’?”
“Hmm, let me see.” The king took what appeared to be a travel brochure from a pocket in his robe, and looked over the writing on it. “You’re right. ‘World-class symphony.’ So, where was I? My city, known for…blah, blah, blah…symphony, is situated on the bank of the Gillikin River. Except that’s not true anymore,” he added, looking up from the brochure. “It’s been lost.”
“Lost? How do you lose a city?” inquired Trot.
“It was the curse that did it. An Animation Wizard, angry because my grandfather refused to give him a position at court, performed the Walking Curse on the city. Back in his day, it was located in the shade of Shadow Mountain, but it walked over to the river, and there it stayed until last week. I had been in the nearby city of Groll, working out a trade agreement with the Lord High Chancellor. When I came back, I found that the city had walked away again, and I have not yet been able to locate it.”
“Perhaps it went off in search of something,” suggested the Shaggy Man. “That’s often the case for wanderers.”
“Don’t you wander just because you enjoy it, Shaggy?” objected Betsy.
“Yes, but when I AM wandering, I seek out certain things, like food, water, and shelter.”
“Well, I don’t s’pose a city would need shelter, since it IS shelter,” said Trot.
“We wouldn’t need water either, as we were situated on the bank of the Gillikin River,” added the King. “In fact, that might be why it walked there in the first place back in my grandfather’s day, come to think of it. From what I’ve heard, it was in a very dry area prior to that.”
“Well, what about food?” questioned Scraps. “You meat people are always stuffing your faces with that stuff. I prefer the stuffing I was made with, thank you!”
“No, there were some very productive farms in the area. We no longer get the salads from Salad Fork downriver, though. Not after their civic disaster.”
“What civic disaster?” asked Trot.
“Why, they were cursed, just like we were. Only they were cursed by an insect wizard, who sent a plague of insects. That destroyed their economy, and everyone eventually had to abandon town. The workers at the Salad Ranch relocated to the Hidden Valley. After the insects had eaten everything they could, they came to Trilmeria.”
“Wait, so your city was overrun by insects?” inquired Betsy.
“Yes, did I not mention that?”
“No, you didn’t!” replied Scraps. “That’s probably why the city was so eager to get away! I mean, if I were a city, I wouldn’t want to stand around and be attacked by insects. Then again, if I were a city, I wouldn’t be talking to you now, would I?”
“Were these talking insects?” asked Shaggy. It is widely known that most animals in Oz can talk, but there are exceptions, and many insects fall into this category.
“No, I don’t believe so,” answered the King. “If they had been, we might have been able to parley with them. As it was, they just kept bothering my subjects, and eating our food.”
“How long have they been there?”
“A little over a month, I believe.”
“I think Scraps is right ‘bout the insects being the reason the city walked away,” observed Trot. “That still leaves the question as to where it went, though.”
“Wait, didn’t you say there were giant spiders living around here, Sawhorse?” asked Betsy.
“Yes, Ozma and Dorothy were captured by them,” replied the wooden horse.
“Well, spiders eat insects, so maybe the city went to where the spiders live!”
“That makes sense,” said Trot. “How did you think of that, Betsy?”
“When Dorothy’s not around, SOMEBODY has to think of these things,” joked Betsy.
“Then we need to find where these spiders live, and get my city back,” announced King Erglan.
“So where DO they live?” asked Trot sensibly.
“Somewhere to the north of here, I think,” replied the Sawhorse. “We should go that way, and see if we meet anybody who can help us find them.”
So the three girls, the two men, and the horse (who had been unhitched by the Shaggy Man) walked off to the north, through the brush that grew on the nearby hill, and past the remains of old purple webs. Presently, they came upon a pool of water, where a bright white crab with black eyes was reclining.
“Hello, friend crab,” said Shaggy, in his usual pleasant manner. “Do you happen to know where the giant spiders live?”
“Yes, they live in a palace to the east of here,” replied the crab lazily. “I see no reason why you’d want to go there, though.”
“We have reason to believe my city has gone there,” explained Erglan.
“Yes, I do recall the Spider King bragging about his splendid new city. I thought maybe his subjects had built it, but the spiders are lazy, so their taking over someone else’s city would make sense. How would it have gotten there, though?”
“It has a Walking Curse on it.”
“I’ve never heard of a Walking Curse, but it sounds like some kind of magic. I don’t know much about magic myself, but a girl with magic powers gave me my brilliant white color years ago. She was a brown-haired girl, who had been captured by the spiders along with her blonde friend.”
“Why, could that be Ozma and Dorothy?” asked Betsy, who remembered the story of how they had been trapped by the spiders and rescued by a crab.
“Perhaps. They didn’t tell me their names.”
“Thank you for the information, friend crab,” said Shaggy.
“Aren’t these spiders dangerous?” inquired Betsy. “I mean, if they captured Ozma, I don’t think we’d have much chance against them.”
“We need bug spray,” said Scraps. “Quick, Henry! The Flit!”
“Do you mean Uncle Henry? He’s not here.”
“Actually, I have something that might help,” declared Shaggy. “I brought it along for the picnic, in case there were ants or flies. Since there weren’t any, though, I forgot about it. It’s the Wizard’s Insect Repellant.”
“But spiders aren’t insects,” said Trot knowingly. “They’re arachnids.”
“Well, let me see here.” Shaggy took a can from his pocket, and began reading the label. “’Diggs’s Magical Double-Action No-Kill Insect Repellant. Also effective against arachnids, crustaceans, and other arthropods…’”
“Then keep it away from ME!” said the crab.
“Don’t worry. We will.” He then continued reading, “’…and certain kinds of worms.’ Well, it sounds like it should keep those spiders away from us, so we can talk to them without fear of being attacked or captured.”
So the adventurers set out on their journey once again, this time to the east. Soon, they had come to a clearing where an impressive purple palace stood. The outer walls were decorated with webbing, and two mean-looking giant purple spiders stood on guard outside the front door. And right behind this palace was a large purple city.
“That’s Trilmeria, all right!” exclaimed King Erglan. He ran toward the palace, but ended up tripping over a rock. Betsy and Trot helped him to his feet, after which the King approached the royal dwelling more slowly.
“What do you want, humans?” demanded the guard on the left.
“And giant doll, and wooden animal?” added the guard on the right.
“I am King Erglan of Trilmeria,” called out the monarch. “I would speak with your king.”
“Just a minute. I’ll go get him,” said the first guard who had spoken.
The guard entered the palace through the front door, which opened automatically, and soon returned with an even larger and nastier-looking purple spider. He immediately asked his visitors, “Why are you here? Have you come to be our servants?”
“No, Your Majesty,” replied Erglan simply. “I am King Erglan of Trilmeria, the city that now stands behind your palace.”
“Oh, you’re the king of that place? I suppose I must thank you for the city, then. It’s supplied my spiders with a bounty of insects, and provided a lot of servants as well. Now we no longer need go out into the woods and look for people to work for us.”
“I am afraid I cannot allow you to keep my people as slaves. You must free all of them immediately.”
“Why should I? You pose no threat to us. We have already overpowered your royal guards, and your small group will not be able to force us to do anything we don’t want to do. In fact, I believe I shall capture you as well, so you won’t be able to get help from anyone else.”
With that, the Spider King and his two door guards began approaching the small party of travellers. The Shaggy Man immediately drew the can of Insect Repellant from his pocket, shook it up, and sprayed it on the ground in front of himself and his friends. The three spiders found themselves unable to pass the area that Shaggy had just sprayed. They snapped their claws and shot out webbing, but they were unable to penetrate the barrier that the magical substance had created.
“As you can see, you are unable to harm us,” announced Erglan, who had actually been quite shaken up over the spiders’ attempts to attack him and his companions, but had quickly pulled himself together. “Now, I demand you listen to me. We believe my city came here in order to rid itself of insects. You are welcome to eat as many insects as you would like, but you cannot keep my subjects as prisoners.”
“Then who will cook and clean for us?” asked the Spider King, who had presumably calmed down somewhat after his failed attack. “Someone has to do those things, after all.”
“Why not do them yourself?” suggested the Patchwork Girl indignantly. “You’re already getting free meals, and now you want slaves as well?
You spiders sure are selfish bugs
You’re acting just like common thugs!
Just you let the people go
Or we’ll fetch Ozma, and she’ll show
The amazing power of a fairy!
To you, that should be very scary.”
“I have met Princess Ozma before, and she managed to escape from our trap. We have also heard many tales of her magic powers. Still, I see no reason why I should care about your threat. Even with your magical protection, we have many ways to stop you from escaping my domain.”
“She’ll find us, though,” said Betsy boldly. “She has a Magic Picture, and if we turn up missing, she’ll be sure to look for us in it, and then she’ll come rescue us, and punish you for what you’ve done to us.”
The arachnid monarch had heard of the Picture, and thought that the girl might be telling the truth. It was certainly possible that she was lying, as Ozma surely did not have occasion to use the Picture to look for every missing girl in Oz. Still, he currently had a steady supply of insects and more than enough human servants to keep his palace in order, and he did not want to run the risk of having Ozma take these things from him. If he bargained with the human king, he might have some chance of retaining at least some of his recent gains. Therefore, he asked, “So, what do you propose?”
King Erglan was about to call for the unconditional release of his subjects, but Shaggy quickly interrupted him by suggesting, “Couldn’t you make a deal with Erglan’s people?”
“What do you mean?” asked the two kings simultaneously.
“Work out something where some of them work in your palace for part of the time, but still have their freedom. I’m sure they’d be better workers if you didn’t treat them like slaves, anyway.”
“Hmm, that makes sense,” admitted the Spider King. “Come into my parlor, King…Ergman, is it?”
“Erglan,” corrected the Trilmerian ruler. “And the Shaggy Man will come with me, and bring his magic repellant. I’ve heard enough stories about spiders’ parlors to walk into one without protection.”
“They might have other tricks as well,” said the Sawhorse skeptically. “I think we should get Ozma, so she can help us if anything goes wrong.”
The Spider King, who had no objection to retaining his servants for longer, willingly let his visitors leave. They returned to the Red Wagon, which the Sawhorse drew to the Emerald City. When Ozma was alerted to the problem, she joined the others in returning to the Spider Kingdom, making sure to bring both the Magic Belt and her silver wand with her. The arachnid monarch, who had been quite nasty to Ozma on their previous encounter, was much friendlier this time. He and his subjects did not even attempt any tricks, but willingly allowed King Erglan to negotiate a treaty with them. Under this treaty, every citizen of Trilmeria, excepting those who were unable for whatever reason, would spend one month of every fifth year working in the spider palace. In turn, the spiders would protect the city from any threats that might come along. Of course, the arthropods were also allowed to eat any insects they came across, and Ozma even promised to transport the remaining insects in Salad Fork to the Spider Kingdom. And the two societies co-existed peacefully on the hillside, until the time that Trilmeria decided to move to another location. That, however, is another story entirely.