Whangdoodle

The Whangdoodle is a fanciful creature, as described in folklore and children's literature, most notably used by British authors Roald Dahl and Julie Andrews.

It is of American origin circa 1856. Popularized by appearing in a sermon parody attributed to William P. Brannan as "Where the lion roareth and the whangdoodle mourneth for her first-born," published in The Harp of a Thousand Strings: Or, Laughter for a Lifetime (1858).

Roald Dahl Books

The Minpins

In one of Roald Dahl's books called The Minpins, the whangdoodles are mentioned by the mother of one of the main characters when she is telling him not to go in a forest because Whangdoodles live there.

James and the Giant Peach

One of the firemen near the end of the book refers to the centipede as a Whangdoodle.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka mentions that he saved the Oompa Loompas from Whangdoodles and various other monsters.

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

A different Whangdoodle is described in the children's novel The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by singer and actress Dame Julie Andrews (under her married name Julie Edwards — more recent editions credit her as Julie Andrews Edwards).

A Whangdoodle is an intelligent creature that is capable of speech. (The last Whangdoodle also likes candy a great deal; his favorite kind is called "wodge".) It resembles a moose with rather short legs, fantastic horns and has a sweet tooth often marked with a daisy. It can change color based on its emotions (for example, blue is depressed) and grows a new set of bedroom slippers on its feet each year. Their bedroom slippers can be any color with any design. Even the Whangdoodles themselves do not know what their next bedroom slippers will look like until they start to appear on their feet.

Countless theories about the origin of Whangdoodles have been propounded through the ages. Recent research performed by Professor Tiberius Quidpro PHD, SC, DD,^{[citation needed]} details a book recovered from the Papal archives written by Cornelius Tacitus ca. AD 56, a Roman historian and senator of the Roman Empire, in which, suggests Julie Andrews Edwards based her book loosely on a “Mystical-Being” born somewhere in the area around the Mediterranean, ca. BC 12. Tacitus’ book ‘Perpexia Priscus Vicis Insulto, a di Obduro Maximus Whangdoolius’; translated from Latin as “Mysteries of the Ancient Time Reviled by the Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles” tells a detailed accounting of the life of a man named “Libròs Jòsef Matthias Maximus”. In his writings Tacitus explains how Libròs Jòsef Matthias Maximus was imbued with powers by the god and goddess Faunus and Justitia to balance the world of man and beast. Jove the ruler of the gods, impressed with his findings, bestowed upon him the title of ‘Whangdoodle’, and charging him with continuing this task until all man and beast are gone or a suitable replacement is found.

In the book, the spread of humanity and technology across the world threatens the Whangdoodle species with extinction, not because they are not hunted by humans but rather because they are endangered by their own shyness and by depression caused by humankind's rationalistic disbelief in fantastic creatures. The last surviving Whangdoodle retreats to Whangdoodleland, a place where humans cannot follow, and lives in a castle, reigning as king over the land, which is filled with fantastic creatures.

Plot summary

Two brothers and a sister named Ben, Tom and Lindy meet an eccentric but delightful man on an outing to the zoo. He tells them about the whangdoodle and that there is only one left. The boys did not believe that the whangdoodle really existed. So the man told them to look it up in the dictionary. A few days later on Halloween, Tom dares Lindy to knock on the door of a house that has a reputation for being haunted. To their surprise, the same man lives there. He is Professor Savant, a geneticist who has recently won the Nobel science Prize. The children and professor become great friends. As they spend more and more time with him, he teaches them to pay attention to the world around them, and exercise their imaginations. He tells them about the Whangdoodle and Whangdoodleland, which he has been studying for many years; however, although he has visited the land, he has never been able to meet the Whangdoodle himself, and has almost given up on doing so. He realizes that the children, whose imaginations are far more flexible due to their youth, may be able to help him, and they enthusiastically agree to do so.

Over time, they visit Whangdoodleland repeatedly, each time coming closer to their goal of reaching the Whangdoodle's palace. They meet many strange creatures, including the beautiful but messy Whiffle Bird. She becomes their guide and saves them many times with her warnings, which are always useful though often hard to decipher. Many monsters are sent by the oily Prock, who is the Prime Minister of Whangdoodleland and does not want them to meet the Whangdoodle. After many adventures during which the children show great bravery, they are finally able to reach the palace and meet the fabulous Whangdoodle. They realize that his greatest desire is another Whangdoodle to keep him company. He and the children convince the professor to use his scientific skill to try to create a female Whangdoodle. After great effort, the professor does so, allowing the Whangdoodle to marry and no longer be lonely. The entire land rejoices, and the children return home, with the promise that they will visit again.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

Some versions of the song The Big Rock Candy Mountain include a mention a Whangdoodle singing in the titular hobo's paradise.

References

Edwards, Julie Andrews. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. Harper Collins, 1989