Stranglethorn crisis A conflict occurred in 3 ABY on the Forest Moon of Endor concerning the fate of Bright Tree Village . The crisis began when a vial of plant growth formula was accidentally spilled on a stranglethorn , causing it to grow to an unreasonable size . The large vine began to overcome the village , surrounding the main structures and forcing the Ewoks into a panic . As the stranglethorn tried to reach the base of the village in order to take root in the forest , the Ewoks were forced into a furious battle with the vine , knowing that if it was allowed to take root in the forest , it would be virtually unstoppable . To find an antidote for the stranglethorn ' s incredible growth , the young Ewoks Wicket Wystri Warrick and Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka undertook a quest to find the ingredients for the formula . After a long journey in which the two Ewoks were forced to infiltrate a hostile Kete Hive , the Ewoks returned to the village to face the out of control stranglethorn . Coating a bag of acorns in the antidote , the Ewoks fed the formula to each vine , causing the stranglethorn to shrink back to its regular size . Prelude . In 3 ABY , during a daily lesson with her father , Chief Chirpa , the young Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka began to learn the qualities of the three lessons , a moral code that each upcoming leader of the tribe would have to learn before taking their place as ruler . Although Chirpa tried to explain how each lesson would prepare Kneesaa for the trials ahead , the young Ewok was unable to grasp the importance of the teaching . Believing that his daughter just needed some extra time to study , Chirpa left his daughter in Logray ' s hut to pore over several old manuscripts . However , immediately after starting to study , Kneesaa overheard her fellow Ewoks laughing and playing just outside the hut . Distracted by the obvious fun the others were having , Kneesaa decided that her father would understand if she took a temporary break and decided to join her friends . In her rush to leave the hut , Kneesaa inadvertently knocked over a vial of plant growth formula . The vial came to rest over a small stranglethorn plant that had been resting by the windowsill and began to pour its contents onto the plant . The small carnivorous plant began to grow at a rapid rate when combined with the formula , and soon it was overpowering Logray ' s entire hut . The young Ewoks continued to play outside of the hut , unaware of the danger that was soon to overtake the entire village . The crisis . First conflict . The stranglethorn vine continued to grow outward from its small pot , and eventually one of the stranglethorn heads interrupted the Ewoks ' play area . Accidentally backing into the stranglethorn , Kneesaa was frightened to see the huge plant but was able to step out of the way quickly enough to avoid being eaten . The Ewoks quietly observed the movements of the vine but were unsure what course of action to take . The warrior Paploo tried to grapple the vine by himself and was able to vault himself on top of one of the stranglethorn heads . However , the massive plant was too strong for the Ewok , and he was thrown clear from the area . The unsuccessful attack triggered the arrival of several other plant heads that began to chase after the Ewoks . Paploo was only barely able to escape after one of the heads managed to accidentally catch hold of his drum instead the Ewok himself . As the plant continued to grow , the Ewoks were thrown into a panic , fleeing frantically from the ever advancing stranglethorn . Kneesaa was able to reach her father and Shaman Logray to tell them of the turn of events . Logray understood immediately what had happened . He scolded the Ewok princess for her carelessness and devised a plan to obtain the antidote made of Keet nectar , ganga root , and Trome sap from his hut . Quest for the antidote . However , Kneesaa pointed out that the stranglethorn had begun its growth from Logray ' s hut , and trying to obtain the antidote would be near impossible . Just then , Wicket Wystri Warrick arrived to tell Chief Chirpa that the stranglethorn had cut off all escape from the village by blocking the village exits . Logray surmised that the plant was looking to take root in the forest floor , which would supplement its growth and allow it to become near unstoppable . Realizing how dire the situation had become , Chief Chirpa ordered Wicket and Kneesaa to guard the supply lift , the only remaining exit left in the village . Chirpa and Logray then left to combat the vine and prevent it from reaching the ground below the village . The two young Ewoks remained where they had been ordered to stay , but as soon as Chirpa and Logray had disappeared out of site , a large stranglethorn head appeared at the supply lift . The vine was able to ensnare Kneesaa , but before it could devour the young Ewok , Wicket was able to knock Kneesaa out of the stranglethorn ' s grip , landing the both of them onto the supply lift . The stranglethorn lunged for the two Ewoks , but the jaws of the plant found their way around the supply lift instead , causing the lift to plummet to the ground below . Wicket and Kneesaa were able to avoid a grisly death by jumping from the lift into a hay bale , but since the two Ewoks had abandoned the supply lift , the plant was easily able to take control of the last exit . With the supply lift controlled by the stranglethorn , the plant had blocked off the last of the exits to the village , cutting off all escape . Realizing that it was her fault that the village was in such danger , Kneesaa decided that it was her duty to obtain the ingredients for the antidote , and as Kneesaa set off with Wicket , the two Ewoks began a journey to obtain the necessary supplies . Keet nectar . The first ingredient for the antidote was Keet nectar , a sweet juice that was procured by the hostile Keet s , a race of large insectoids . Wicket and Kneesaa were eventually able to find a Keet Hive , but the opening to the structure was up several meters , and the sides of the hive were much too smooth for climbing . However , after watching a Keet walk up the side of the hive with his sticky feet , Kneesaa devised a plan . Using several leaves and coating them with a sticky substance that surrounded the hive , the two Ewoks tied the leaves around their feet , giving them the ability to walk straight up the outside of the hive . Silently infiltrating the Keet Hive , the two Ewoks watched as a line of Keets slowly carried a batch of nectar pearl s into a large storehouse contained in the hive . However , when the Ewoks tried to sneak in after the Keets , they came face to face with the Keet Queen , the largest Keet , who was ill - disposed to their attempt at stealing her nectar . The Ewoks fled from the Keet Queen and her warriors , eventually succeeding in escaping the murderous insects . Doubling back , the Ewoks were able to enter the nectar pearl storehouse . In Wicket ' s enthusiasm to obtain a pearl , he took from the bottom of the pile , causing the entire mound of pearls to collapse . As a stream of pearls began to flow from the storehouse , the Keets finally located the trespassing Ewoks ; however , the mass of pearls bowled the Keets over , and the Ewoks rode on top of the nectar pearls to freedom . Flying out of the front door on top of the nectar pearls , the Ewoks landed directly in the sticky bog surrounding the Keet Hive . Seeing that the Ewoks were covered in a sticky goo , the Keet Queen was stricken with laughter at their predicament , and she allowed the two Ewoks to escape with a nectar pearl . Ganga root . After obtaining Keet nectar , the next ingredient on the list was ganga root , a colorful tuber that stuck the plant firmly in the ground . The two Ewoks luckily came upon a supply of ganga roots after leaving the Keet hive , but try as they might , they were unable to extricate even one root from the ground . Despairing that their quest might be over , the Ewoks witnessed a bobber bird that had come to feast on the ganga plants . As the Ewoks watched , the large bird poked its beak into the base of the ganga plant , spearing the root and driving a large amount of air out of the inflated tuber . The bird was then able to remove the ganga root with ease . Realizing what they needed to do , Kneesaa and Wicket grabbed a sharp staff and thrust it into a nearby ganga root . Grabbing the deflated ganga root , Kneesaa thrust it into her pack , ready to leave the scene . Unfortunately , the bobber bird had finished eating the rest of the ganga roots in the area , and seeing that the two Ewoks held the last one , it chased after them , trying to eat their prize . The Ewoks fled through the forest and were eventually able to escape the bird when it accidentally thrust its beak into a log while lunging for the Ewoks . Trome sap . After escaping the bobber bird , the two Ewoks made their way to the Trome tree , a large tree that sat on the top of a high cliff . Seeing that the Trome tree contained one final branch , Kneesaa climbed on Wicket ' s shoulders to remove the branch and take its sap . However , just before Kneesaa could grab onto the branch , a large Trome appeared . Claiming that the Ewoks were going to try and cut down the Trome tree , the giant Trome advanced on the two Ewoks , pushing them back against the precipice of the cliff . However , Wicket decided to go down fighting , and he lunged at the Trome , pushing him backward and collapsing him on the ground in a heap . The giant Trome had in fact been three Tromes that were standing on top of one another . Since their scare tactic had failed and because of their small size in relation to the Ewoks , the Tromes briefly retreated from the Ewoks . With the Tromes no longer a threat , the two Ewoks returned to their task of removing the branch but were once again stopped by the Tromes , who had returned to confront the Ewoks once more . The three Tromes pleaded with the Ewoks to not take the last branch from their tree . The tree apparently also served as a home for the Tromes , and if the last branch was removed from the tree , their plant would die , leaving the Tromes without a home . Burdened with a moral dilemma , Kneesaa decided to not remove the branch . However , the young Ewok Princess requested that the Tromes return with them to their village to help save it , which they happily agreed to . Back to the village . Back at the village , the stranglethorn had taken several woklings captive , including Nippet , Wiley , and Malani . The giant plant had placed the woklings on top of the highest tree where there was no chance for escape . Paploo had once again tried to fight the stranglethorn , but had once again been unsuccessful , finding himself in the grip of the giant plant as well , with the stranglethorn mercilessly tickling his foot with its vine . As Kneesaa , Wicket , and the Tromes entered the village , they found Chirpa and Logray in a struggle with the stranglethorn to keep it from reaching the ground . Chirpa was delighted to see his daughter , and asked her if she had obtained the ingredients to the antidote . Kneesaa sadly told her father that she had failed to get all the ingredients , but that she had come up with a plan to obtain the antidote that was still trapped in Logray ' s hut . Using the Tromes as a diversion , Kneesaa hoped that the Ewoks would be able to sneak into the Shaman ' s hut and grab the antidote . However , Kneesaa also saw how deeply in danger the woklings of the tribe were and decided that she would be the one to save them . At the same time , Wicket decided to enact Kneesaa ' s plan and took the Tromes to Logray ' s hut . As the Tromes began to distract the plant heads by running frantically about , Wicket moved secretly inside of the hut and grabbed the antidote . Meanwhile , using the sticky shoes that she had used to enter the Keet Hive , Kneesaa scaled the tree that the woklings had been trapped on , rescuing them from the hungry stranglethorn . Equipping each of the woklings with a pair of sticky shoes , Kneesaa and the woklings escaped the large tree and reunited with the rest of the tribe . Distributing the antidote . With the antidote in hand , Wicket and the Tromes returned to Logray and Chirpa who were in a fight for their lives against the stranglethorn . The plant had almost reached the forest floor and was fighting viciously to get past the two Ewoks . Struggling against a particularly brutal vine , Logray told Wicket that a drop of the antidote would need to be placed in the mouths ' of each stranglethorn head . Devising a plan to feed the stranglethorn the antidote , Wicket gathered a bag of acorns and covered them with the antidote . With the antidote now in the form of a projectile , Wicket and the Tromes began to throw the acorns into the mouths of each head , causing them to immediately shrink . As more and more vines were shrunk from the distribution of the acorns , the rest of the tribe began to come together to give the acorns out to the remaining heads of the stranglethorn . The stranglethorn was eventually reduced back to its original size , and the tribe erupted in cheers for Wicket ' s quick thinking . Wicket held the beaten stranglethorn above his head as the Tromes and Ewoks came together in celebration . Aftermath . With the crisis averted , Kneesaa went to Logray to swear to him that she would no longer avoid her studies and that she would learn the three lessons diligently . However , Logray revealed to Kneesaa that she had already learned all three lessons in her quest to retrieve the ingredients to the antidote . With this declaration , Chirpa congratulated her daughter on her accomplishment , declaring that she would make a great chieftess one day . The crisis also resulted in the discovery of the usefulness of sticky shoes , and even Logray , one of the oldest Ewoks in the tribe learned to use the leaf shoes to ascend the trees of the village . Behind the scenes . The stranglethorn crisis is the defining conflict in the eleventh episode of the first season of " " written by Bob Carrau . The threat of the stranglethorns serves as a way for Kneesaa to learn the Three Lessons , an informal code that every upcoming Ewok leader must learn before assuming leadership . The plot line of Kneesaa preparing to be chief established during this crisis is continued throughout the rest of the Ewoks cartoon .