The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense

The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense is a children's book written and illustrated by Joe Johnston. The plot involves Teebo facing a band of Duloks on the Forest Moon of Endor.

Synopsis
The Ewok Teebo is a dreamer and a poet who is misunderstood by his tribe. One spring afternoon, three Duloks come to Teebo's home, Bright Tree Village. Led by the self-proclaimed King Vulgarr, the Duloks announce that a giant monster has kidnapped Teebo's sister, the wokling Malani. Giant footprints lend credibility to the tale, and Vulgarr convinces Chief Chirpa to send every warrior he can spare. Chirpa orders the woklings cloistered and sets off in hang gliders with all able-bodied Ewoks to the spot described by Vulgarr; the Duloks also depart. Logray, the village shaman]], surmises that the beast in question may be the Grudakk, although kidnapping woklings is unusual behavior for the creature. In the bustle of hiding the young ones, Teebo slips out in a hang glider to follow the older warriors.

With the village undefended, Vulgarr and 30 members of his band attack. The remaining Ewoks are unable to hold back the assault, and the Duloks tie them all up. The invaders find the hidden woklings and throw them in a Dulok wagon to be skinned and eaten. The Duloks reveal that the "large creature" was simply a foot-shaped slab of stone. Logray curses them, but they ignore him and depart with their booty.

Meanwhile, Chirpa and his band follow Vulgarr's directions to the Canyons of Mist. There in a cave the find not a monster but an old, grizzled Dulok who calls himself King Ulgo the Magnificent. Ulgo's Ewok-fur vest and taste for sacred lantern birds angers the warriors, and with tempers flaring, Ulgo attacks. The Ewok Warok accidentally strikes the Dulok with his glider and sends him tumbling to his death on the rocks below. Realizing they have been tricked by Vulgarr, the Ewoks head back to Bright Tree Village. There, Logray says a prayer to the Father Tree to save the tribe.

On his own adventure, Teebo cannot find the warriors when he realizes he is being chased through the skies by a fearsome mantigrue. Teebo panics and loses altitude, and the monster attacks and forces him to crash land. On the ground, Teebo is attacked by a band of Yuzzums on rakazzak beasts. He darts for a tree only to find that it is actually the leg of a massive creature. The Yuzzums scatter in fear, but Teebo soon finds himself in the huge hands of Logray's Grudakk. The behemoth carries Teebo to its lair, where it tries to feed him rather than eat him. Still, Teebo suspects the creature may merely want him as a plaything, so he escapes the next morning.

His relief is short-lived, as he soon stumbles upon Vulgarr and his Duloks. He witnesses a tussle in which Vulgarr's bodyguards kill a usurper Teebo nicknames Crooked Tail. Vulgarr declares a wokling picnic, and Teebo throws a stone at him from in hiding. A cold wind convinces Vulgarr that the meadow is haunted, and he orders the band to move on.

Shortly, the Bright Tree Ewoks are upon them. During the ensuing battle, Teebo sneaks up to the Dulok cage and frees the woklings. The tide turns against the Duloks, but Vulgarr makes one last-ditch effort to escape by catching Teebo and threatening to slit his throat. Suddenly, the Grudakk attacks the Duloks and saves the day. Logray reveals that the Grudakk is actually the guardian of the Father Tree, the tallest tree in the forest. The Ewoks plant Vulgarr in the soil of the battlefield and leave him to, according to Logray, grow into a tree himself.

That evening, the Ewoks celebrate their victory and the recovery of their young ones. Logray finds Teebo and asks him to become his apprentice.

Characters

 * Arbo
 * Batcheela
 * Chief Chirpa
 * Crooked Tail
 * The Grudakk
 * Logray
 * Malani
 * Pondo
 * Teebo
 * King Ulgo
 * King Vulgarr
 * Warok

Species

 * Dawndaddy
 * Duloks
 * Ewoks
 * Lantern birds
 * Mantigrue
 * Rakazzak beasts
 * Yuzzums

Locations

 * Forest Moon of Endor
 * Bright Tree Village
 * Caverns of Mist
 * Happy Grove
 * Whispering River

Vehicles/vessels

 * Dulok wagon
 * Ewok hang glider

Other items

 * Bellberries
 * Bellberry bush
 * Brother Sky
 * Father Tree
 * Flying snake
 * Forest Father
 * Great Spirit
 * Mother Land
 * Rootwood
 * Scrubwort
 * Secret tree name
 * Sistermoon
 * Spell of the seven oaths
 * Springmelon
 * Stranglevine
 * Watermoss
 * Wigglewood

Behind the scenes
The Adventures of Teebo introduced many elements of the Ewok mythos that would later appear in the Star Wars: Ewoks cartoon and the live-action Ewoks movies. For example, the book marks the first appearance of the Duloks and the mantigrue, as well as the rakazzak-riding Yuzzums. It also sets up Teebo's apprenticeship to Logray, the Ewok shaman. Further, the giant Grudakk's behavior is quite similar to that of the Gorax from Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. Finally, the Duloks kidnap and carry away the Ewoks in wooden cages very similar to those used by the Sanyassan Marauders in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.