The next tale from the 1998 edition of Oziana is "The Grabbit Rabbitt of Oz" by Robin Olderman. A coup has taken place in Bunnybury, where the Grabbit Rabbit has taken the throne from the King. Glinda summons Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion and sends them to Bunnybury to sort out the situation. Glinda thinks the King should solve his own problems, however, and doesn't send any magic to help. Dorothy and the Lion talk to the King and find out what happened, particularly when the King ran away so that he wouldn't be affected by the Grabbit Rabbit's magic. They give him a pep talk about courage and duty, and then discover that the King has some magic of his own: a magic silver bag Glinda left him many years ago that he's been afraid to test! Well, no time like the present! Using another spell to disguise them as rabbits, Dorothy and the Lion join the King in a performance of the Whiskered Friskers which eventually results in the Grabbit Rabbit opening the silver bag, only to be enclosed by a giant hand and pulled inside. Yup, it's a grab bag! The King takes his throne, and exiles the Grabbit Rabbit.
A neat little story here, and there is a lot about the King having to rise to do what he is supposed to do, extending a lot of his story from The Emerald City of Oz. Plus the fate of the Grabbit Rabbit comes from a pun worthy of Baum and many other Royal Historians. I would expect nothing less from Ms. Olderman!
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