Another story from the 2002 edition of Oziana is "Cat and Mouse in Oz" by Margaret Koontz, with illustrations by Margie Deemer. Somewhere in America, Sky the cat catches a mouse, only to have her boy take it from her and keep it for a pet. But Sky tips the mouse's cage over and chases it through the house, into the boys room, and into the book open on his desk. No, that is not a mistake, I mean into the book. And of course the book is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! So Sky and the mouse end up with Dorothy and Toto as they are meeting the Scarecrow. Sky is hungry and is longing to eat the mouse, but a crow intervenes before anything can happen. The two American animals find they can talk, and hash out their issues. The crow, finding that Sky also likes birds, manages to find some food for her, and steers them in the direction of a way home, which would be giving too much away if I were to tell you what it is.
This is an unusual and clever way to get into Oz, and even time travel. Thankfully, Sky and the Mouse have very little interaction with Dorothy, Toto, and the Scarecrow, so they don't end up altering Oz history! As one might expect, Sky reminds me a lot of Bungle and how she acted once she could talk, but Sky is at least not quite so singularly obsessed. This was a fun one!
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