Chapter 14

Tickleland

*

As they approached the borders of Tickleland, Dorothy became apprehensive. "I'm so ticklish. I'll just die if the Ticklemonsters catch me," she said.

"We'll do our best to protect you, Dorothy," said the Tin Woodman as the Scarecrow nodded his head.

"What about me?" said the Lion. "I'm ticklish, too, you know."

"Well, we'll do our best," said the Tin Woodman. "But there's only two of us to protect you, and there's an awful lot of Ticklemonsters."

"All you have to do is tell them 'don't stop'," said the Scarecrow.

"Tell them 'don't stop'?" questioned Dorothy in surprise.

"Yes. Don't you remember what I told you?" said the Tin Woodman. "The Ticklemonsters don't like being told what to do, so if you tell them to stop, they'll just keep going, and if you tell them to tickle you, they won't."

"What if they're really hungry?" said Dorothy.

"Hungry?" echoed the Tin Woodman.

"Yes, " replied Dorothy. "You said that Ticklemonsters don't eat regular food, but that the sound of laughter energizes molecules in the air around them, and that they absorb the energized molecules through their skin."

"Oh yes, of course," said the Tin Woodman. "I almost forgot. Well, to answer your question, the Ticklemonsters are so stubborn that they'd rather go hungry than do as they're told."

"Once, I was sent to bed without any dinner for not doing as I was told," said the girl.

"Well the Ticklemonsters are gluttons for punishment," said the Scarecrow. "They simply won't do as they're told -- no matter what. So they go hungry a lot."

"Why do they hate having to do as they're told so much?" asked Dorothy.

"I don't know," replied the Tin Woodman. "They just don't like it. They want to do what they want to do, and not what someone else wants them to do."

"Well, I guess we are all sort of like that." said Dorothy. "We're told what to do by our parents and by our teachers, and then when we leave school to go to work we have a boss telling us what to do. It does get a little tiring."

"Yes, but imagine what it would be like if no one ever told you what to do," said the Tin Woodman. "Would you help around the house without being asked? Or get up in the morning in time for school, and go to bed at a reasonable hour? Would you behave in school, and concentrate on learning all you could? And do your homework without putting up a fuss?"

"I might do all those things if given a chance, said Dorothy. "But grown-ups automatically assume that you have to be pushed and prodded all the time. They don't leave you alone. It's /'do this,/' and /'do that/,' and /'why aren't you doing so and so/?' It's just too much at times. Sometimes you feel like verbally lashing back at them, or just going off and not doing anything at all."

With that, they arrived at the gates of Tickleland. A sign above the gates read:

WARNING!

TRAVELERS THROUGH TICKLELAND

ARE WELCOME

"That's a strange sign," said Dorothy. "Warning you that you're welcome?"

"Well, when you think about it," said the Scarecrow, "travelers are food if caught and tickled. So naturally they welcome you. And they are warning you in advance, which is very nice of them. After all, if you are caught, you may be tickled to death."

"Oh, my," gasped Dorothy. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, we have to go on, Dorothy," said the Scarecrow.

"We'll do our best to protect you all," said the tin man.

The Lion gingerly opened the gates and peered in. "Not a soul in sight," he said. "Maybe they're all at a convention or something," he added hopefully.

As they walked, everyone felt better. Tickleland was quite pretty, really. Rolling hills of green grass and clumps of trees here and there. As they approached some trees, they noticed a well. "Would you like a drink of water, Dorothy?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"Oh yes, please," replied Dorothy. "I'm quite thirsty."

As the tin man lowered the bucket, he began to relax.

"Well," remarked the Scarecrow, "it looks as though we may walk right through Tickleland without seeing one Ticklemonster. Tickleland's not very big, you know. Look, there -- the border's right there." Everyone turned in the direction he was pointing in and, sure enough, the border was about the same distance as they'd traveled so far.

"What a relief," said Dorothy as the Tin Woodman handed her a ladle of water from the well. "Mmmm, this is good," said Dorothy. "So refreshing."

"Surprise!" said a loud voice.

Everyone jumped. They turned to see about twenty Ticklemonsters who quickly surrounded them.

"Are we glad to see you," said one who appeared to be their leader. He was a little taller than the others and was the one who had greeted them so abruptly. "We welcome you to Tickleland," he continued, bending over in a mock bow. "I might add that we are all very hungry, so we doubly welcome you. Grab those two!" he said, pointing to the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow. Six of the Ticklemonsters quickly jumped on them and held their arms and legs.

"Now," said the leader, "let's have us a feast!"

"Oh, no," said the Lion, beginning to laugh uncontrollably. "I won't be able to stand it."

The Ticklemonsters moved quickly with their eight arms as they grabbed the Lion and Dorothy and tickled and tickled.

"Oh, no! Stop, please stop!" shouted Dorothy between peals of laughter. The Lion could not even plead with them to stop. He was laughing so much that tears were rolling down his cheeks. Their pleas to stop could hardly be heard above their laughter. The Tin Woodman and Scarecrow shouted,

"Tell them to tickle you." "Then they'll stop." "Remember they do the opposite of what they're told."

Dorothy managed to gasp out, "Don't stop tickling me -- tickle me some more." The two Ticklemonsters who were tickling her immediately stopped.

"We won't," they said in a huff, and folded their arms and held their hands up with a stubborn look on their faces. The Lion managed to say the same thing, and his Ticklemonsters stopped, too. With that, the Ticklemonsters abruptly turned and left, muttering to themselves, "Trying to tell us what to do. What nerve!"

After the Ticklemonsters had gone, everyone picked himself up and headed quickly for the border. When they reached it, they all heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness that's over," said the Lion. "It's a good thing we knew about them not liking to be told what to do."

*