n
without her being aware of it. And indeed, the beast had kept a fairly
low profile until recently. But it was quite obvious that a power
struggle was now going on. The beast was gradually finding out that he
could grow larger and stronger at the expense of others and would no
doubt not be satisfied until he was so large and powerful that every
living creature would be under his domain. Why, even Ozma herself was in
danger. The owls quickly informed her that the beast's first goal was to
capture Elephant in order to gain the super strength that would enable
him to attack the Cowardly Lion. However, she knew he had to absorb
Tiger's power and courage first before he would dream of attacking
Elephant. It was quite obvious he was going to have to think fast before
Tiger became a mere shell of his old self.

Hootsey and Lisa were naturally quite concerned for their own welfare.
They did not want their wisdom sucked out of them by a giant spider with
vampire-like tendencies. One has to live a long time and learn by trial
and error before one can truly be considered wise. Of course, some
people never learn. They make the same mistakes over and over. However,
that is neither here nor there. The point is that Hootsey and Lisa were
in as much danger as anyone and were very anxious to help in any way
they could.

"If I might make a suggestion?" said Hootsey. "I recently came upon some
unusual creatures that could very well be a match for the monster."

Of course, everyone was all ears, and fell silent as Hootsey began to
talk.

"These creatures are very unusual in that they are technically made of
glass and so would appear to be very fragile. But when they open their
mouths they are a most ferocious sight to behold. They are of a bulbous
shape with very long legs that can move at the speed of light--"

At this point Nibbles intercepted Hootsey's graphic description.

"These animals sound most interesting, but they don't sound particularly
ferocious--"

"Oh, wait!" responded Hootsey. "I haven't told you the best part. Their
mouths are filled with razor-sharp teeth and they can rip any animal to
shreds in two seconds. When a pack of them attack, the unfortunate
victim never even knows what hit him. It's over that fast."

[Illustration: Owl describing Saber-tooth Light-Bulbs]

"And what might the name of these creatures be?" responded Elephant.

"Well," answered Hootsey. "Two important factors contribute to their
name.