"There are no criminals in Oz," eh? Don't they have any surly teenagers daubing grafitti on the palace walls as a statement of social protest? Not a single case of drunk and disorderly conduct? Anywhere?

Oz is a fairyland; it doesn't necessarily have to be like other countries in terms of its social problems.

This was my favorite of the Oz books, although I still don't own a copy (I was forever lending it from libraries). I still have large chunks of the massive poem/riddle memorized from when I was seven! Could anyone tell me what the significance of the wolf is? I finally re-read the book online and came across the scene where they're all camped out at the mysterious cabin, and the Patchwork Girl informs the party of the wolf that came to the door during the night. That just confused the heck out of me, because it came out of nowhere and was never explained. I have enough childlike faith in the Oz series to know that it means something...someone explain, please?