What happens?
As they travel south, Dorothy and her friends come across a rocky hill. They try to climb it, but are knocked back over and over again by strange hammer-headed creatures. They call on the Winged Monkeys to help them over the hill, and finally land in the country of the Quadlings, ruled by Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.
Have a think ..
Take a moment to think about these questions:
the Scarecrow did not fear that so helpless a creature could prevent them from climbing the hill
Was the Scarecrow correct to think the Hammer-Heads were helpless? Why do you think he came to that conclusion?
Why do you think the Hammer-Heads don’t want anyone climbing on their hill?
The friends try to get past the Hammer-Heads in the same way a couple of times before the Tin Woodman suggests a different plan. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to come up with a totally new way of solving a problem?
Focus on .. unusual creatures
The Hammer-heads are rather unusual and appear in an unexpected place. They have no arms, flat heads and use their necks as battering rams. You can also find unusual creatures in unexpected places in our world.
Find out more
The Nazca people of Chile made huge figures in the landscape that can only be seen from above or high up on the mountains.
Images of animals in rock art exist all over the world. Here’s some from Nevada, United States.
And here’s a guide to animals in Aboriginal rock art from Australia.
There’s also rock art in Scotland. The Pictish people lived in the north-east of Scotland about a thousand years ago. They left carved stones all over their lands but no-one knows why.
Challenge yourself!
One of the strangest carvings on the Pictish stones is called the Pictish beast. You can see some examples of it here. This challenge is a real historical mystery: what animal do you think the Pictish beast is meant to be? Maybe you think it looks like a real animal or maybe a mythical creature.
Decide what the Pictish beast is and explain your idea through writing or drawing.
More to explore
If you loved this chapter, why not check out some more ideas
More to read
These books should be available through your secondary school librarian. If we’ve found a free version online, we’ve added the link after each book.
Fantastic beasts and where to find them by J.K. Rowling: a whole collection of weird beasties from the Harry Potter world.
An illustrated treasury of Scottish mythical creatures by Theresa Breslin, illustrated by Kate Leiper: stories of strange Scottish beasties.
