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Little Billy is forbidden by his mother to enter the Forest of Sin behind his house. She tells him of the Whangdoodles and Hornswogglers and Snozzwanglers and Vermicious knids that live in the forest. And worst of all is the Terrible Bloodsuckling Toothpluckling Stonechuckling Spittler, who chases his prey while glowing clouds of hot smoke pour out of his nose, and then swallows them up in one gulp. But Little Billy doesn't believe what his mother tells him, and the Devil tells Little Billy that the monsters don't exist, and what really is to be found in the forest is a plethora of luscious wild strawberries. Soon, Little Billy is walking through the forest when he hears something coming after him, and runs to escape it. As he looks back, he sees puffs of orange-red smoke catching up with him. He escapes what he is sure must be the Spittler by climbing up a tree as high and as fast as he can. When he comes to a rest, he notices windows opening all over the branches, and discovers a whole city of little people, the Minpins, living inside the tree. The leader of the Minpins tells Little Billy that the monster waiting under the tree is the Red-Hot Smoke-Belching Gruncher, who grunches up everything in the forest. It seems that there is no way for Little Billy to safely get down from the tree and return home. But upon learning of the close friendship between the Minpins and birds, Little Billy devises a plan to rid the forest of the Gruncher: Little Billy flies on the back of a swan and use his scent to lure the Gruncher into a lake. The water of the lake puts out the fire in the Gruncher's belly, killing him . The Minpins are grateful to Little Billy for ridding the forest of their tormentor. They reward him by sending the swan to serve as Little Billy's own personal transport every night, which he uses to explore the world and to continue his newfound friendship with the Minpins.-----"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."----