This initial entry in the collection "Brevitous Accounts of Fictitional Incidents" introduces us to Mister Mawkish Buskermush and his little daughter Maudlin, as they discover a conspicuous sufferer in broad daylight. Will this pair of pedestrians be able to render assistance?
Tragedy has struck! and the Buskermush father and daughter must endure this shocking news of their own kin, told to them with every bit of tender consideration and human sympathy which Mister Brazencrass, Attorney-at-Law, can muster.
The terrors are no longer merely witnessed from a safe distance nor learned after-the-fact by the good Buskermush father and daughter, but now: knocking on their own front door! How do you measure the mettle of a man, but by how he behaves when all defenses have failed and all hope is lost?
Mister Mawkish Buskermush and his daughter Maudlin go in search of their wife and mother, respectively: Mrs Saccharina Buskermush, who has been on vacation... by herself... for three years. The father and daughter's endeavor leads them to a tropical resort, where it appears that perhaps Mawkish has indeed found a lady, but not the one whom he intended...?
Much has been said of the famous Buskermush family, but it is now the newest little member who stands (so to speak) to become the talk of the town, for 'out of the mouths of babes' come not only pearls of wisdom but also heaps of trouble.
You might think that Mauzi the grouchy cat has an abundance of time for worthwhile endeavors. She instead tends to run into Wicker, a hapless and good-natured fellow feline. In the incident recorded herein, Mauzi attempts to prove a point about the conditional kindness of humans, only to be thwarted by a companion who knows not the meaning of disappointment.
In their second recorded episode, Mauzi the grouchy cat means to belittle the good-natured Wicker's exercise in feline philosophy, only to instead compose a contribution to his cause.
What begins as a temporary discontinuance of a husband's morning meal soon leavens into a bizarre culinary quest, as his wife cooks up a scheme to host a banquet like none other: an abundance of sustenance... without a single morsel to eat.
A peaceful dinner party becomes instead a council of war! If it is true that "an army marches on its stomach," then this battle may be won more by a cook than a commander.
Features some familiar faces: Galley ("Cure for the Common Corn") in her maiden days, plus Eenk and the Pekingese Army ("The Answer Lies in Oz," "Upon the Name of Oz").
Being a stand-alone tale in its own right, as well as a supplement to "Upon the Name of Oz," herein is recorded an early episode of little Yunoo's curious nature trying ...and failing... to make itself plainly understood.
Yunoo, of "Upon the Name of Oz" fame, is petitioned for assistance from a spectral beseecher. But is the little girl pursuing a noble goal by her own good intentions... or being led astray by a malevolent entity?
Founded on and satirizing the famous Oz stories by L. Frank Baum.
A royal procession departs from the Emerald City, and along come many of the usual culprits. What a terrible shame it would be! if little Button-Bright, the idiot boy infamous for getting himself lost, were careless enough to behave exactly how he is expected to.
Of all the squirrels in the garden, Fusterbill had the ugliest tail. What will it take for his neighbors and acquaintances to see not the awkwardness of his appendage, but rather, the goodness of his heart?
Not so much a battle of wits as a contract of tricks, herein is detailed a deal between a force of nature itself and an ordinary child... with neither to be trusted!
Where grown professionals fail, a childish amateur might prevail! as an age-old mystery calls out to be solved by whoever has enough sheer determination... and nothing better to do. It just might, however, be more costly than our young adventurer can afford.
