"Then something positive did come of all this tragedy," said Hootsey.
"Not only have the Sniffers and the Stinkfoots made friends with the
Droffs, but the Forest Monster has had a major-league change of heart.
But can we at least find the empty shells of our families and give them
a proper burial?"
"That would be right," agreed the Forest Monster.
"Wait a minute," said Ozma. "You mean to say that the bodies are still around? You didn't devour them entirely?"
"No," explained the Monster. "I only drained them of their energy. I never actually hurt their physical bodies. Only their internal energy."
"And their energies are still inside of you," observed Lisa, catching on to what Ozma was getting at. "So you never actually killed them! Their bodies are still alive, but dormant because they have no life energy. That means that, if we could reverse the process, we could put all of their energy back into their bodies again!"
"It would," agreed Ozma, "if the Forest Monster would agree to do this." She turned to the tremendous arachnid. "It will probably mean that you will have to allow yourself to become small again. I don't mean as small as you were when the Cowardly Lion first met you, either. I mean that you will again be reduced to the size of a regular, normal spider in order to restore all that you have wronged to their former liveliness."
"Oh, yes!" said the Forest Monster. "This I will gladly do! I am happy to go back to that small size. It allows me to maintain a lower profile, and I would like the opportunity to practice spinning my webs in private. I'll bet that, in time, I will be able to spin the most gorgeous webs you can imagine! If that comes to pass, I would consider it a great honor if one of my masterpieces could be coated in silver and gold, I should like to give it to Your Majesty as a gift."
"I would be delighted to receive it, I'm sure," said Ozma kindly, though she was not sure what she would actually do with such a treasure. "But I think it is now time to restore the Lunechien beasts."
"I agree," said the Cowardly Lion. "And, as everything seems to have come out well, I think it is time I head home to the Forest where I am now king. I've already been away too long as it is."
"Of course," said Ozma, taking his paw in her hand. "Thank you for all your help."