The Land of Walking Through Cake

By Larry Good

Meri, the Tackling Dummy, Wut, and Jethro discover the monkeybars and travel on it to The Land of Lavender Thought. Wut is swinging below. The dummies who live there have just finished decorating a spectacular enormous cake. If you're standing near a delicious beautifully decorated cake larger than your house, and you wonder how many layers it has, what do you do? Why, jump in from above, of course, and count the layers as you fall through.
"Falling through the cake's immensity, through layer after layer, down, down, down, down, easily floating through sections of icing and then of cake, one after another, Meri counted the layers as she passed: '33-34-35-36...'And finally, approaching the round base, she fell right into the Tackling Dummy's arms."
To get to The Land of Pink Windmills, where The Tree of Ticket Leaves now grows, they must cross The Land of The Yellow Trampoline. It's a whole land, beautifully yellow. And they must bounce across it---even Jethro, the huge Buffalo Unicorn! And Wut, the question mark, who already bounces anyway! But first, Wut has a big surprise! It's not small.
Slipping down The Sliding Board over a mile long to The Land of Pink Windmills below, they suddenly see huge fireballs, colorful suns, start rolling down behind them from the cliffs above. The gigantic fireballs roll faster than Meri and the Tackling Dummy can slide! There seems to be no way they can be saved!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Larry Good
• Release date: Jan 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310370571

Larry Good

Larry Good grew up in Nottoway County, Virginia. Blackstone High School awarded him a diploma, the University of Virginia a B.A., and the College of William and Mary a master's degree in Education. He played football in high achool, both offense and defense, as number 66. The team won a Regional title. He met the Tackling Dummy on the Practice Field of Blackstone High School. The first thing after college, he became an English teacher, and before long he had spent most of his time in classrooms. When The Tree of Ticket Leaves takes Meri to The Lands, the first one after The Autumnforest is The Land of Upsidedown Learning. You learn through your feet. (Meri takes off her shoes and socks.) The one after that is The Land of Handwriting Speech. There's no sound when someone speaks, but you can read it. The air of this land is unforgettable. For a while the author went to work for the C & P Telephone Company. The business office was a large room filled with service representatives at their desks talking to customers on telephones. When the man of the house called, the service representative wrote "mr cld" on her records. From these five letters came The Mistercald River which flows right through the middle of The Lands. You can see it from The Tree of Ticket Leaves, which is in The Land of Pink Windmills.

Book preview

Chapter I: THE SILVERY MONKEYBARS

Did you see their canvas? asked the Tackling Dummy wistfully, standing with his friends. His eyes were bright with that thought as they prepared to go on in the mild sunshine.

His own looked even shabbier---now that he had seen theirs. He didn’t know yet that being dropped on his head so many times by the croapfs, and being body-blocked mercilessly, had made his canvas even worse than he thought. His head had several small splits now and a tear behind his left ear that Meri knew hadn’t been there before.

It was unbelievable, she admitted, and didn’t say any more because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by continuing to talk about how wonderful their canvas was---when his was so bad. But she had been impressed by the extraordinary shining canvas of the four bowlers.

"If only he could get that," she dreamed to herself for him, walking along. She was careful not to say it aloud, though.

From being a vibrant light raspberry color, Jethro was back to his normal look again: tan and white and yellow and brown and gold, with some black here and there, which included his two shorter black horns. They were on either side of his large head. He was gold mainly on one side. The tip of his long white unicorn was emitting tiny soft rays as the four of them prepared to continue down the center of the border like Amelia, as before---only this time at a normal pace.

Behind them, some of the dummies from The Land of Fields were picking up the paper airplanes left scattered all over the border.

Strangely, there was still one croapf lying near the line of trees, not too far away. He was the one who had been hit and carried away so abruptly by the first bowling ball arriving so unexpectedly through the air. He had already started to walk home, but had collapsed again, still on the border.

Something looked odd about him. As they continued to gaze, the travelers realized what it was: he looked normal. The disturbing intensity was gone from his face.

While continuing to lie there, he had been watching them too. He now stood up, brushed himself off slightly, and began walking over to Wut and the others. Apparently he was much better. They waited for him.

This croapf’s hair was almost gold in color. Nuggety, is that you? asked the question mark, tilting his head and purposely re-focusing his green eyes, surprised. I hadn’t recognized you when you were chasing us. You all looked so different. What’s going on?" he asked, echoing the Tackling Dummy’s simple question earlier. His tone was astonishingly gentle, Meri thought, as he questioned the croapf.

I think something’s gone wrong with us, replied the croapf in a sad and forlorn way. His eyes looked especially dark---there was a deep and obvious pain in them. As Meri looked and listened, she felt herself feeling sorry for the desolate croapf, and she understood Wut’s gentleness better. He had known them long before this problem began, she remembered. He had known them before something had gone wrong with their land.

But you know what? Nuggety continued more positively, giving the results of some of his thoughts as he had been lying by himself at the edge of the border. "I think the force of that boomerang bowling ball knocked me back right again. It certainly surprised---and shocked---me." With one hand he rubbed his chest and with the other he felt his head, which had banged noticeably hard against a tree limb as he had flown backward through the air.

"I wish we could hit all of you with light raspberry boomerang bowling balls," Wut immediately replied, bouncing up and down on the grass. Nuggety’s eyes widened. But then he smiled and shook his head in agreement.

Meri noticed how attractive and nice Nuggety was. His words seemed to confirm the little bit Wut had said about The Land of the Croapfs. She remembered he had said that the croapfs were especially nice. This was the first time she had had a chance to think so herself.

Seeing what the croapfs were actually like---without something being wrong with them---Meri and the Tackling Dummy began to forgive them. This was really generous of the Tackling Dummy, who had suffered permanent damage to his canvas from their wild treatment.

I want to tell you that I’m inexpressibly sorry, Nuggety said sincerely to Meri and the Tackling Dummy, "for myself and the others, and I hope beyond hope that we do nothing else to you---although I can’t promise you that. To be perfectly frank, we probably will do something else to you---although not me, of course. I’ve been knocked back right again." He looked very downcast and regretful as he made this apology.

But he looked back up again after he finished these words.

The Tackling Dummy forgave him completely as soon as he used the word inexpressibly. He loved adverbs. He also liked Nuggety and thought that he was sincere.

Don’t worry, said Wut astonishingly gently again, bouncing easily on the grass of the border. He laid his small black hand comfortingly around Nuggety’s shoulder. "At least one of you is back right now---that’s a start. And maybe you can help the others."

I’ll do that, Nuggety replied eagerly. "I mean, I’ll try," he said, immediately turning away and starting to walk in the direction of The Land of the Croapfs---to his left.

But then he added, less enthusiastically, over his right shoulder as he walked and thought about it, "But I think it’s going to take more than me. Please also do what you can, too, Wut, if you can think of anything. You know we need you, especially now. We’re going to be so embarrassed when all of this is over, and in the meantime, please, we don’t want to do any more damage to anyone." He looked meaningfully at the Tackling Dummy. His voice was a mixture of a little hope and a lot of worry.

Waving once again from the other side of the border, he continued walking with his head hung down with embarrassment and worry. He was thinking very hard.

Meri hated to see his head hung down like that.

It’s sad, said Wut, bouncing higher to see Nuggety one more time. The croapf’s head was still bent over. Wut’s face was sympathetic when he turned back to his friends.

"Out of all the croapfs, he is probably the only one who is right, right now, he said. He’s on his way back to try to help the others who are obviously extremely difficult to help. Look what it took to help him! I can understand his concern. Right now the weight of the whole land is on his shoulders."

Wut started to think about The Lands again. But then he unexpectedly added, Something’s got to be done. But unfortunately I don’t know what it is. His tones indicated his genuine frustration. He said nothing more and instead, surprising the others, turned and bounced directly toward the land on the other side of the border. They were going to leave the border and cross another land, the one next to, or to the left of, the land entered by the bowlers not that long ago.

Meri and the Tackling Dummy felt helpless about the problems they were hearing about. There was nothing they could do. And they didn’t completely understand, since they hadn’t been in The Lands that long. Following along behind the thoughtful question mark, they naturally began to look around again.

Jethro was walking hugely and also thoughtfully on their right. It wasn’t like him to say so little. Meri wondered about him.

Now that there was an opportunity, she had something special to say to her friend the Tackling Dummy. It was a good time, because he was even more discouraged about his canvas. There were definitely new tears and holes in it!

The croapfs had not been gentle!

Walking along, and thinking, the Tackling Dummy remembered that he had set out on this trip to improve his canvas. But it was getting worse! At the same time, unselfishly he also was feeling sorry for Wut. He had noticed the contrast between the beautiful lands and the anxiety of his new friend. Wut was so obviously good that he unquestionably deserved better.

Meri could see that the Tackling Dummy was troubled. She was glad about what she needed to say.

Thank you for your cross-body block back there, she said, reaching over to put her hand on his thready shoulder. It was so important. And you did it absolutely perfectly! I don’t think it could have been done any better! I can’t thank you enough for being so selfless, and I’d give anything if you hadn’t had to sacrifice some of your precious self to try to help me. It was one of the most generous things I’ve ever seen. Stopping her friend for a moment, she gave him a big hug and held onto him meaningfully.

You’ll get it fixed, she assured him in a low but caring and determined voice in his ear. She had seen him looking at the damage.

"I wish it had been important," he responded gently, stepping back to look down into her eyes. He was obviously doubtful about her choice of that word, thinking that he had failed. He didn’t want to contradict her, but it had been frustrating and even embarrassing to him that the croapfs had humiliated him so badly following his effort.

The croapfs caught you anyway, he said sadly, adding, "and I was almost nothing to them. I really couldn’t help." And he looked away for a moment.

Meri gave him another quick hug and looked up into his face. "Don’t you know? she asked, with affection and approving laughter in her voice, looking directly at him. You saved us, too! Not just the bowlers!"

I did?

Yes, said Meri, certain. "Your cross-body block allowed me to slow down, catch my breath, and then to run farther than I ever would have been able to, if you hadn’t. If you hadn’t made that block, they would have caught me long before we reached The Help Button. And then we wouldn’t have been saved by Picups, Cresco, Nox, and Trutina. We would never have seen those wonderful bowling balls or met the four of them! Although they saved us, you made it possible for them to save us! That was very important. Thank you, my friend, and I’m so sorry about the extra tears in your canvas. You don’t look too much worse." She wouldn’t look too hard, though.

"And just think of what might have happened to me, she added. I’m not quite as soft as you are, and I might really have been hurt. I’m so much more fragile than you! You probably saved my life!"

The Tackling Dummy thought for a moment. Had he really helped save them? He went back over what happened in his mind, remembering how carefully he had thrown the block. He had been so mistreated by the croapfs after he had knocked them all down that he hadn’t been able to see Meri able to catch her breath and to run farther before being caught. Finally, a small smile crossed his face.

Yeah, he admitted softly. "I did get to help. Thanks, he said to Meri, looking meaningfully into the eyes of his young flesh and blood friend. And don’t worry about the canvas. It was worth it if you’re not hurt."

"That was a good block," commented the question mark, who had noticed that his friends had slowed down to talk, and bounced back to them.

With the Tackling Dummy in much better spirits, they continued again, crossing the edge of the border into the land on that side.

Jethro had been listening carefully to all the accounts of what had happened. Meri noticed that he too was much less talkative than usual as he walked enormously beside her. He too seemed troubled.

Finally he spoke. I should have stayed with you all, he said in his deep voice. He was the least whimsical that Meri had seen him since they had first met in The Autumnforest. There was genuine regret---even a hint of guilt---in his eyes.

Clearly he believed he had let his friends down by leaving them.

If I had been there, if I didn’t always wander away like I like to do, I could have tossed them away like nothing, he mentioned sorrowfully, meaning the croapfs. Meri noticed just the slightest hint of pride in his voice, at his great strength. It was strange to hear him suggest that he might do something violent, when he was the most whimsical, and probably the gentlest creature that she had ever met.

She didn’t think that he ever could have hurt the croapfs. For how could he have permanently damaged dummies made out of yarn, with a unicorn---however long and sharp---or a hoof? He would probably have solved the problem by just scaring them away, with his massive size and dangerous appearance.

He was feeling very bad, though, about his absence. Although he was so huge, he had sensitive feelings. At that moment, with his unicorn he playfully and gently drew a circle in the air around some butterflies that were flying by. He was very careful not to hit them,