The Whiffle Bird cautions the group to tread carefully as they encounter a confounding creature, the Oinck, who sings seemingly nonsensical songs. Nevertheless, Savant speaks reasonably to the Oinck, who tells the professor that if he stays on the road he’s on, he’ll get somewhere. He follows up his directions with another perplexing song. Ben thinks the Prock sent Oinck to confuse them, so the confounded party moves on.

The party finds a pink road and a geyser basin. In the Stump area of Whangdoodleland, the Whiffle Bird warns, “Watch out,” and Ben and Tom see mini motorcycles, Gazook 200s. Excited, they jump on the motorbikes, but the two Gazook 200s turn out to be two Gazooks. Once a person gets on them, they can’t get off. The Whiffle Bird tells them, “Up a gum tree!” (186). Stumped, the professor can’t figure out what the Whiffle Bird means. With Lindy’s help, however, he realizes the bird wants them to leap off the Gazooks and into the bubblegum trees. The Gazooks are frustrated and leave, but the boys are stuck in the trees, trapped by the sticky gum.

After highlighting the boys’ careless behavior, the Whiffle Bird says, “Keep a stiff upper lip!” (193). Savant tells them to chew the gum and blow a big bubble. The bubbles carry the boys out of the tree, but Ben’s bubble bursts, so he has to blow another one quickly to lessen the impact of his fall.

The party stays on the pink trail and sees the turrets of the Whangdoodle’s palace. Soon, they begin to hear teasing words. The Whiffle Bird warns, “Mayday!” as green apelike creatures, the Swamp Gaboons, taunt Savant and the children. They call them horrible, and when the children insult them back, the Swamp Gaboons mock them further. One Swamp Gaboon makes Lindy cry, and Savant has to stop Ben from assaulting it.

Savant tells the children to stay quiet. The party talks about the nice weather and the Whangdoodle’s palace. When a Gaboon insults Tom, Tom thanks it as if it had complimented him. Another Gaboon grabs Tom’s pants, but Tom ignores it. However, when a Gaboon bites his fingers, Tom hits it on the head before wishing it a polite goodbye. Desperate, the Gaboons plead for the group to return, threatening to hurt themselves if they don’t. The party ignores the Gaboons’ stratagem.

Savant uses the Swamp Gaboons to teach a lesson: People may try to distract others from accomplishing something—and sometimes people use distractions as an excuse—but if a person truly wants to achieve their goal, nothing can divert them. Savant believes the children remembered their purpose and didn’t let the Swamp Gaboons interfere.

Suddenly, the professor starts acting peculiar, mumbling about forgetting his red socks. To get to the palace, the quartet must cross a rainbow bridge that runs through an extremely deep chasm and waterfall. Savant tells the children to go to the palace without them: He’s too old, and he can’t see the bridge. All he sees is the chasm. The children try to push Savant to join them, but he tells them to go without him.

The Gyascutus appears, and Savant uses his umbrella to hit it. The children run across the bridge, but the Gyascutus hooks Tom’s shoulders. The Whiffle Bird rescues Tom by using its feathers to blind the Gyascutus. Lindy falls but manages to make it across the bridge safely with Ben, Tom, and the Whiffle Bird. They close the doors to the palace, block out the Gyascutus, and face the Prock.

The Prock takes the Whiffle Bird, who was hurt in the fight, from Tom. They’ll take care of her, and she’ll be fine. He then blames the children for causing a commotion and Whangdoodleland’s first accident in over 100 years. The Prock tells them their journey is done: The Whangdoodle won’t receive them. Lindy starts crying. Moved by her emotion, the Prock promises to try and get them an audience with the Whangdoodle. He shows them around the honey-scented palace—the crystal courtyards, the pools of milky water, the sparkly fountains, and the bountiful Flutterbyes.

The Prock tells them to wait, and then he takes their scrappy caps and brings them to meet the cheerful Whangdoodle, who has antlers, the body of a small pony, a literal sweet tooth, and bedroom slippers. He hasn’t seen humans in a while, but he still doesn’t trust them: They continue to create violence. The Whangdoodle changes colors multiple times, eventually becoming Lindy’s favorite color, lilac.

The Whangdoodle wishes Savant were here: He’d probably make good conversation. The Whangdoodle wishes there were something he could do for Savant, but if Savant can’t see the bridge, then he won’t see the Whangdoodle. Lindy claims that if Savant were here, he could make another Whangdoodle due to his knowledge of genetics. The Whangdoodle is impressed and talks to the Prock privately.

The Prock tells the children that they’ll allow one of them to go get the professor. The other two will be “hostages,” which should compel Savant to come. The Whangdoodle uses less incendiary words: One child will go get Savant while the other two wait in the palace. The Prock suggests Lindy should go since she has the sharpest imagination. Lindy is scared, but the Whangdoodle promises not to dispatch the Gyascutus. Lindy remains skittish, but the Prock gives her back her scrappy cap, the Whangdoodle gives her his ring, and she goes.

Lindy hurries across the bridge, but she can’t see Savant. She notices his flowery umbrella, and Savant appears from under it. He was using the umbrella to hide from the Gyascutus in case it returned. Lindy tells Savant that he must come with her, and she shows him the Whangdoodle’s ring. Savant says he still can’t see the bridge. Lindy tells him not to look. She takes his hand and, while telling him about Whangdoodle, leads him across the bridge.

Savant and the Whangdoodle meet, and the Whangdoodle compliments the professor on how he trained the children. The Whangdoodle wants Savant to create another Whangdoodle, but Savant says it’s not possible. Savant claims scientists have discovered the secret to life but that they don’t know how to put their findings into practice yet. They’ve done some cloning and implantation with frogs, but the genetics field remains elementary.

Dismayed, the Whangdoodle goes to be by himself. Lindy notices that Savant has started saying “can’t” instead of “can.” Ben, Tom, and even the Prock voice their support. Savant agrees to try and make another Whangdoodle, telling the Prock everything he’ll need, like microscopes and laser beams.

The Palace’s Great Hall becomes a laboratory filled with the equipment the Prock “borrowed” from the university. Unfortunately, real-world obligations, like a visit to Washington, DC, have closed Savant’s mind. Lindy suggests a scrappy cap, but Savant reveals that the hats have no inherent power. They’re a placebo—an item to get the children to believe in themselves. The Prock suggests that Savant try on a scrappy cap anyway, and Savant puts it on. He sees a light and forgets about the Prock and the children. Ideas race through his mind.

The Great Hall fills with steam, and the Whangdoodle drops by for a visit. He points out his slippers, but Savant can’t chat: He must concentrate. Before letting Savant get back to work, the Whangdoodle expresses his longing for a “lady Whangdoodle” and his belief in Savant.

While Savant toils, the Prock shows the children more parts of the palace. He explains that the Whangdoodle doesn’t only eat wodge: He also eats olives and broccoli. He tells them about Jiffies—penguin-like creatures who work in a jiffy so they have lots of time to “play.” There are also the tiny and furry Flukes who serve as messengers. The group checks in on the Whiffle Bird, and the children talk more with the Whangdoodle.

The rains come, so the Prock believes something extraordinary is on the horizon. Soon, the Jiffies announce that Savant is finished: He made a female Whangdoodle.

The Great Hall goes from a laboratory to a banquet hall, with silver and ample food. Ben and Tom wear capes, and Lindy wears a dress made from ambrosia flowers. The Splintercat, the Oinck, and the other Whangdoodleland creatures arrive. The Prock is there with a jeweled cane. Lindy sings and dances with the Prock, while the “female Jiffies” are drawn to Ben.

Savant reminds the Whangdoodle that his wife doesn’t have all her strength yet, so the Whangdoodle must be extra careful with her. The Whangdoodle plans to call her Claire—short for Clarity. The female Whangdoodle says, “Umbledumbledum”—a Whangdoodleland term of endearment. The Whangdoodle doesn’t want Savant to leave, so Savant promises to come back and visit.

The Whangdoodle and the Prock board the Jolly Boat with Savant and the children. The children remember their adventures, and the Whangdoodle tells Savant that he didn’t vanish like the other Whangdoodles because he was sure someone still believed in him. Savant is going to Washington, DC, but he doesn’t believe the children need him anymore. They can make a world as enchanting as Whangdoodleland, and if they do, others may follow along.

Grandma knits slippers for Lindy, and Lindy says they’re like the slippers of the Whangdoodle. Her mother is confused, but the telephone distracts her. Mr. Potter is perplexed about how all of the stolen laboratory equipment came back. He shows his sons a picture of Savant in the newspaper: Savant is now the special scientific adviser to the president.

Mr. Potter wonders if Savant’s genetics work will benefit God. Ben says scientists have a deep responsibility to use their knowledge with honor. He attributes this insight to Savant. His parents wonder if he and his siblings will ever stop bringing up Savant. The children don’t think they will.