The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

On the bus, the siblings discuss Savant’s style and the Whangdoodle. They pass a large park and the Stone House, which is supposedly haunted and occupied by an ogre and a witch. Lindy claims Stone House doesn’t scare her, and Tom bets her $0.25 that she won’t knock on the door on Halloween. Lindy accepts the bet. She wants to prove she’s not afraid, and she wants to go trick-or-treating with her brothers.

Over dinner, Lindy and her parents confirm her plan to go trick-or-treat with her brothers. Afterward, Mr. Potter reads the newspaper and announces that Savant won the Nobel Prize for genetics. Savant is also the head of the university’s biology research department.

Still unaware that Savant and the man from the zoo are the same person, Lindy tells Mr. Potter about the Whangdoodle and the man from the zoo. Using his father’s dictionary, Tom looks up “Whangdoodle” and discovers it means “a fanciful creature of undefined nature” (18). Mr. Potter concludes the creature likely doesn’t exist. Lindy still believes in it, while Tom calls the man from the zoo a “phony.” Ben is unsure.

Lindy worries about the dare to knock on Stone House’s door. At bedtime, she discusses fear with her mother. She wonders if a person can die from fright. Her mother suggests that Lindy speak to Ben, so Lindy confides in him about knocking on Stone House’s door, and Ben promises to stay close by and help her if something happens.

For Halloween, Lindy is a lion, Tom is the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Ben is Dracula. Mr. Potter tells the children to act “responsible” as the siblings join the other costumed children outside. As the siblings approach Stone House, a dog howls, the wind moans, and there’s an absence of other trick-or-treaters.

Nervously, Lindy knocks on Stone House’s door. A woman, later revealed to be named Mrs. Primrose, answers, and Lindy screams. The boys quickly come to Lindy’s aid and scream at Primrose, so Primrose also screams. A man, Savant, appears and realizes the three trick-or-treaters are the children he met at the zoo. Savant invites them in for hot chocolate.

Savant’s house is “marvelously interesting,” with portraits, a table overflowing with periodicals and books, and a wide staircase. Savant leads the children into a small room with more books, and for the first time in the story, he introduces himself by name. Ben realizes that Savant is the Nobel Prize winner.

Primrose, a domestic helper, brings the children hot chocolate and cookies, and Lindy explains why she knocked on the door. Savant understands why people think his home is haunted. He doesn’t like to socialize, as he’s focused on his work. He explains DNA and RNA, which are the building blocks of life. Lindy thinks life involves God, and Savant says he thinks about God frequently.

When Savant comments on the importance of making the most of life, Lindy remarks that she loves life but hates PE. Savant hopes PE is the most serious issue Lindy faces and asks the children to name the most serious problem facing grown-ups. Tom says ecology, and Ben answers the hydrogen bomb, but Savant claims the real answer is science. Scientists have “discovered the secret of life” (32), so they will soon be able to create life—a form of “playing God.” 

Tom brings up the Whangdoodle, and Savant says it exists in Whangdoodleland, where the Whangdoodle reigns as king and lives among other fantastical creatures, including Tree Squeaks and Gazooks. Savant says there used to be many Whangdoodles when people believed in magic, folklore, and unicorns. As technology evolved, people’s capacity for fantasy diminished, and the wonderful creatures—including the Whangdoodle—vanished. Now, there’s only one Whangdoodle left. He’s in a secure place, and the only way to get there is through “imagination.” Ben doubts imagination can take a person anywhere. Tom thinks it’s “impossible.” Savant believes that if a person can imagine something, it’s possible.

Savant has cultivated his imagination, training his mind to stay open. He wants the siblings to study with him and help him find the Whangdoodle. They’re young, so their imaginations remain “vivid.” Savant will tell their parents that they’re visiting him, but neither he nor they can tell the Potters about the Whangdoodle. The children agree to Savant’s terms.

The children leave, and Savant climbs the stairs to the third landing and unlocks a room with a skylight, telescope, beakers, flasks, and cages full of creatures. In a chair, there’s a tall, thin “visitor,” the Prock, who calls Savant a “fool.” Savant made it to Whangdoodleland once, but the Prock assures him that he won’t make it back. The Prock orders Savant to stay away. The Prock grows to a great height before sliding into the floor and disappearing into a crack.

Mrs. Potter is thrilled that Savant wants to have regular visits with her children. She asks them for details, and they tell her everything they can without exposing their plans to visit Whangdoodleland.

At Stone House, Savant shows the children a multicolored rabbit that he bred. Lindy shows him a drawing she made of the Whangdoodle. Savant notes the similarities to the real Whangdoodle but points out the missing bedroom slippers, which the creature grows each year. The Whangdoodle can also change colors, so he can blend in with anything. As for his home, the Whangdoodle lives alone in a palace.

Getting to their work, Savant asks the children to tell them the colors they see outside. Ben sees brown trees and green grass. Tom sees a green door. Lindy sees golden leaves. Savant points out the colors they missed, including the red of the berries and the black of a tree. He says they weren’t “noticing.” Like many people, they don’t know how to look. Savant explains that if they were ants, they’d see the world differently.

Savant asks Lindy to look at the hedgerow, and she sees a tunnel and feels dizzy. He then shows the children a white flower. Ben thinks the flower is too “sissy” for a boy, so Savant brings the children inside and shows them how the flower looks under a microscope. He details how the tubes move energy through the petals. He concludes that a flower is a “magnificent creation” and not “sissy.”

Back home, the children see their dinner differently. Instead of stew and dumplings, Lindy sees mountains and sponges. Tom doesn’t see peas but green stones. At night, Lindy notices her floral curtains and thinks of walking through a flowery field.

On their next visit, there’s rain, so Savant wears an “extraordinary outfit” featuring waterproof pants. Savant rides an old bicycle, and the children follow on their bikes. Savant doesn’t use hand signals, and he seems to aim his bike at trees, cars, and people. He starts singing “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain,” and the children join in. They eventually arrive at a dilapidated barn, go inside, start a fire, and unpack the food Primrose prepared.

Savant asks the children their favorite words. Ben says “acetylsalicylic” (aspirin) and Tom says “antidisestablishmentarianism.” Savant’s favorite word is “papilionaceous”—Latin for butterfly. Savant claims the butterflies in Whangdoodleland are as big as robins and called Flutterbyes. He also mentions the Whiffle Bird, who’s friendly and helpful.

Savant details his background. His mother is American, and his father is French. He has two adult daughters, and his wife died several years ago.

Savant shakes a bottle of ginger ale and opens it, causing the contents to fizz and bubble. Savant attributes the reaction to carbonation. The gas is lighter than the liquid, and the imbalance makes bubbles and a “hissing sound.” Savant asks the children to listen closely to this and other sounds.

Additionally, Savant wants the children to practice smelling. They close their eyes, and Savant holds various things under their noises and asks them to identify them. One time, Tom and Lindy smell a toasted marshmallow, but Ben doesn’t. When they open their eyes, there’s no toasted marshmallow. On the way home, Savant explains how homing pigeons and dolphins use their vision to know where they’re going.