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Toby opened the first page of the book and read out loud, "A thousand years ago when the Moondarians lived in the city of Moondar ..."
No sooner had he uttered the mystical words than a little man dressed in a green and gold tunic jumped out of the pages and somersaulted onto the floor.
"What!" Toby cried out, dropping the book.
What unearthly power had he unleashed?
The boys gasped as a huge table cloth appeared on the ground. On it were bowls of steaming soup, and an assortment of dishes under glass and in little pots.
"Well help yourselves," Zarundok said proudly. "There's plenty for us all."
The boys sat down around the table cloth and peered curiously down at the dishes.
"Oh gross!" William exclaimed. "There's an eyeball in my soup - and it winked at me!"
He took a ball out of his cloak and threw it toward them. He gave a venomous laugh and then disappeared into the paper.
As the ball fell on the ground, the Moondarians shrieked in horror.
"Marshes of Mars , snakes! Don't move!" shouted Tom. He'd learned enough about snakes from his father to know that.
The ball had unraveled into a mass of writhing, hissing snakes. They raised themselves on their tails and swayed from side to side in unison.
Bobo's just above the Crown now," Zarundok called out, and then, "He's turning upside down! What does he intend to do?"
The boys looked at each other nervously. What if Bobo knocked the Crown and it fell to the bottom of the chasm? They'd never find it again.
In front of him lay a forest- but not the sort of forest he was used to. This forest was full of the most hideous trees. They had dribbling mean mouths full of needle sharp rows of teeth and strong gnarly arms which were thrashing around ready to grab everything that came within range.
Toby was shocked to see a haggard old lady dressed in a long black robe bending over an enormous cauldron. She stirred the pot with a long ladle while she sneezed and muttered to herself.
Toby's foot crunched on a stone and she turned and saw them.
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