Waddle Dee

Waddle Dees are the most common inhabitants of Dream Land and also King Dedede's servents.

Physical Appearance
Waddle Dees have tan, pear-shaped faces, chestnut-colored eyes and no mouth. They have a round body, light-orange/tan feet, small stubs for arms, and rosy cheeks just like members of Kirby's species. They do have a mouth in the manga illustrations, however.

Most Waddle Dees are either burgundy or some shade of red, but they have other colorations including green, orange, blue, golden, and light-purple.

History
King Dedede's castle is filled with Waddle Dees who are commanded by a single Waddle Doo. The Waddle Dees serve King Dedede's whim as well as keep the castle clean and perform guard duty. In Pink-Collar Blues, it is speculated that Waddle Dees are wanderers from across the sea and will settle down in an area where they are shown hospitality to return the favor. It can be inferred that Dedede is rather ungrateful for their work, as he has gotten rid of all of them twice. They seem to enjoy the work and do not have problems with King Dedede's personality.

The actual number of Waddle Dee in the castle is unknown. This issue was brought up in the episode Pink-Collar Blues, and not even Waddle Doo knows the exact number. Escargoon had counted at least 1,209 of them before he confused Kirby as a Waddle Dee and lost count, so there could be at least that many. Escargoon quickly concludes that it's impossible to count them all. In another episode, Waddle Doo ordered "2,000 steak sandwiches for the Waddle Dees!"

Episode 047 is also the Waddle Dee's most prominent episode. They were kicked out of the castle when King Dedede ordered the Domestic Servant Robot from Nightmare Enterprises as their replacement. It was then revealed that the Robot was stealing valuables from the castle to pay of Dedede's debt to Nightmare Enterprises. When the robot attacked Dedede's Castle, he brought the Waddle Dees to arms, and managed to dismantle the robot with Stone Kirby's help. Despite Dedede's treatment, they protected his treasure anyway by taking it with them when they left the castle. Afterwards, they all did the Kirby Dance with Kirby.

The Waddle Dees in the anime are shown to talk, although their language is only understandable by Waddle Doo, who has to translate it for others.

They have no visible mouths, but they are able to eat, taking and eating a senbei (a flavored cracker) right from Escargoon's hands with it just disappearing into their faces, and leaving the scene munching on the senbei. They seem to have a comparable appetite to Kirby's, although they do get full eventually, unlike Kirby.