THE GUMBEROO

The Gumberoo is a rare yet well-attested beast most often encountered in the burnt-over lands of the Northwoods, and Paul Bunyan himself described it in detail. According to him, the creature has a pot-bellied body resembling a bunkhouse stove, complete with an umbilical damper, and is sheathed in tight, glossy black skin tough enough to repel bullets. Its small round head, set directly on its shoulders without a neck, recalls a toad resting in a cool spot, while its long, powerful forearms are apelike in strength. Behind them are three bowed hind legs, each ending in a clawed foot that clutches an iron ball like a stove support, useful for steadying itself though too slow for running. For true speed the Gumberoo relies on eight pairs of springy middle legs encircling its body, which allow it to roll headlong down hillsides after leaping from treetops, moving so fast it is nearly invisible to the eye. Its forearms also enable it to swing from branch to branch with surprising agility. Once valued for the waterproof quality of its hide, which was cut from its middle legs to make boots, the animal has become scarce. Nearly indestructible, it cannot be felled by gunfire, though heat will cause it to swell until it explodes. One specimen was even photographed by S. W. Allen, though the negative itself burst apart from the force.