HD&L's parents

Elaine Ramshaw elaine1 at snet.net
Sun Oct 5 05:27:47 CEST 2008


The unpublished-in-the-story hint in "Return to Xanadu" relating to HD&L's
parents was, of course, printed in Rosa's essay accompanying the reprint of
the story in Uncle $crooge 357. I have no idea how M.J. Prior got the idea
that the hint pointed to their being in Scotland (or did I misunderstand
your posting?). The hint points to their being in the vicinity of Tralla La.
That would account for their being out of contact with Calisota and the rest
of the world. In Rosa's essay he says that the hint "was meant to establish
a basis for another story set in Tralla La which would involve a plot that
Duckfans were asking me to undertake 19 years ago, and for which I still get
a few requests each week. Take a look and see if you can guess what that as
yet unrevealed 'secret of Tralla La' is!" In the deleted section, the high
lama says to HD&L: "I wish to speak to you three on another matter.... My
aide, Lahdee Dah, tells me your names are Huey, Dewey and Louis...of the
land of Duckburg? ["well, yes, that's correct," they reply] Tralla La has
many secrets...but one unspoken truth involves you children! But for now, I
can tell you no more! If you do not succeed in saving our valley, this truth
matters not! But if you do succeed, return here and we will speak!"  

Clearly the story some Duckfans have been asking Rosa to write is the story
that explains what became of HD&L's parents. My understanding is that
putting them in the vicinity of Tralla La was the only way Rosa could find
in the Duck universe to have them be alive but unable to contact the kids.
(My godson at age 10 wanted the parents to have had to go into outer space
for some reason to save the world; this plot similarly keeps them alive in a
place where no contact was possible. But that's like a silly superhero story
to Rosa, not something that could happen in the "real life" duck universe.) 

Elaine
 




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