We met Bartholomew Cubbins yesterday when we read about his five hundred hats. Today we’ll read about his adventures with the oobleck, which was published in 1949.
You recall King Darwin, ruler of the Kingdom of Didd. Well, it turns out that he became angry with the sky, and Bartholomew was the only one who could help him. Let’s find out what happened.
For some reason, every time it rained, the king became angry. He was also displeased with the sunshine, the fog, and the snow. He ranted and raved and bellowed.
Bartholomew went to see him, and asked what was the matter. Why was the king angry, when there had always been rain and fog? What had changed to bring on the king’s wrath?
But that was just the problem – nothing had changed. The king was bored. He wanted something new to come down from the sky, and it infuriated him that he, the most powerful man in the land, could not command the sky.
He calls his royal magicians and tells them that he would like them to create something new, something that no one else has ever seen. They are quite astounded – how on earth will they do that? But not wanting to lose face before the king, they tell him they will do it, and it shall be called oobleck. The king was so excited as the magicians headed off to their magic mountain to prepare this trick.
After all night of chanting nonsense words, the magicians finally managed to create something. It fell from the sky all over the Kingdom of Didd, in little green drops that soon became larger green drops. The king was delighted and declared a royal holiday.
But soon the oobleck caused trouble. It was sticky and goopy, and it covered everything. The royal bell ringer couldn’t ring his bell – it was too gooey. The royal trumpeter couldn’t blow his trumpet – it was filled with glop.
Bartholomew couldn’t convince anyone that oobleck wasn’t good. In fact, the Captain of the Guard was so insistent that it wasn’t dangerous, he ate some, and ended up blowing green bubbles every time he tried to talk.
After page after page of madness and mayhem, the king finally realized that he’d made a huge mistake, and said “I’m sorry.” Suddenly the oobleck began to disappear, and everything went back to normal. I guess this goes to show that the words “I’m sorry” are more magic than even the stickiest oobleck.
This book received the Caldecott Honor Award.
Related Blogs:
Dr. Seuss Series: Hunches in Bunches
Dr. Seuss Series: Happy Birthday to You!