I'm A Real Boy

Behind the apartment building that George and the Man with the Yellow Hat live, a new building was being built. Mr. Glass wanted the building to be finished by the summer, because a new pool was going to be built with it. So, he insisted on night construction to make it go faster. This made it hard for George and The Man with the Yellow Hat sleep. The next morning, The Man with the Yellow Hat asked George if he wanted pancakes or waffles. George said, "Wa-wa", and The Man with the Yellow Hat thought he wanted pancakes. George really wanted waffles. He got mad when The Man with the Yellow Hat gave him pancakes. The Man with the Yellow Hat said, "I wish I knew what you were saying." It was time for him to go work at the Museum, and he left George alone with, "be a good little monkey".

At the museum, Professor Wiseman looked at The Man with the Yellow Hat and noticed how tired looking he was. "You look pooped, did you not sleep well?" she asked. The Man with the Yellow Hat responded, "The construction kept me up all night, and I gave George pancakes instead of waffles. Some days I wish he was a human kid so I could understand what he says." Professor Wiseman then stated, "I think you are in luck, I have been working on this formula, and it has the ability to change the DNA of living things. You just need a small sample of the animal or plant you want to change it to, and then overnight, it turns into what you want. I was working on it to save endangered animals, but you can test it on George and see if it makes him into a human, I just need something from you, like a piece of hair." The Man with the Yellow hat responded, "I am not sure if I really want to turn George into a boy…" "Don't worry", responded Professor Wiseman, "If you don't like it, I am trying to create an antidote, in case something goes wrong, you can change him back." The Man with the Yellow had then said, "What if you can't." "I think I can, I am a genus, you know."

So, that night at dinner time, The Man with the yellow hat announced to George that he was going to turn him into a human. George thought about that. At first he thought he was going to miss being a monkey, but then he thought of the things he could do as a human kid. Most of the things he tried thinking of, like riding a bike, or playing ball, he could do as a monkey, but then he thought of the children that he knew, they all wore clothes, and shoes. Some played instruments, and all children went to school. He thought of the time he went with Ally to kindergarten, it was messy, but it was fun. He was eager to drink the potion, even though it tasted really horrible. He was disappointed that nothing happened shortly after. The Man with the Yellow Hat explained that it was going to take some time for it to work. Then George felt sleepy. He fell asleep in his chair. The Man with the Yellow Hat carried him to his room and tucked him in bed.

The next morning, George went into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror, and was surprised to see a little boy instead of himself. Then he remembered that he drank the formula and he turned into a boy! He ran into The Man with the Yellow Hat's room and shouted, "Wake up!" he paused because he was surprised to hear himself talk. The Man with the Yellow Hat did not wake up right away, he thought he was dreaming. He was dreaming about himself as a little boy. Then George again shouted, "Dad, Wake Up!" Half awake and half asleep, The Man with the Yellow Hat mumbled, "Dad, where's dad?" (His dad has been dead for several years) Then he started to realize what was happening, "Dad! I'm dad! Good morning George!" He gave George a big hug. George was so excited about being a boy, he wanted to go out and show everyone his new self. Noticing that George was naked, the Man with the Yellow hat shouted, "wait, you need clothes!" Unfortunately, they did not have much boy-sized clothes. All they had were George's coats, a swim suit, and rain boots. It was a warm spring day, but George was stuck wearing his swim suit and his rain coat. They went out shopping for clothes. George was proud of his new clothes; he wore a light blue t-shirt, jeans, and white shoes. He looked in the mirror, and was proud to be a boy. It was lunch time and he was hungry. The Man with the Yellow hat and George went to Piskettie's. When they got there, George went straight for the kitchen. "Hi Chef Piskettie!" Chef Piskettie was confused. He never saw this boy before, but the boy seemed to know him. "Have I seen you before?" he asked. George replied, "You have, but I am different than I was, it's me George!" Chef Piskettie was confused. "Who is this boy George? Then he realized who he might be talking to. "George? You mean the monkey?" George replied, "Yeah, but I drank some weird juice and now I am a human boy." "George! So glad to see you! It is quite interesting to hear you talk. I hope you still like eggplant parmesan. I will make a special one for you." "Yes, thank you", replied George. George and the Man with the Yellow Hat enjoyed the best eggplant parmesan. They went back to the apartment. Hudly was in the lobby as usual. George went up to pet him. Hudly was confused, he never seen this boy before, but he smelled familiar. He smelled a lot like that messy monkey, but he looked like a boy. He did not mind, this boy was much gentler than that monkey.

George decided to surprise his friends. He told the Man with the Yellow hat that he was going to the park. The Man with the Yellow Hat shouted, "ok, be a good little monkey..er… boy!"

George went out to the park. Steve, Betsy, and Charky were playing. He shouted, "Hi!" Betsy and Steve were surprised to see the boy, like everyone else, they did not recognize George. Steve asked, "Do I know you from somewhere?" George replied, "Yeah I used to be a monkey." Steve then said, "Right, that is crazy." George replied, "No, really I drank some funny juice from Professor Wiseman, and overnight I turned into a human boy." Betsy exclaimed, "That is so cool! What does it feel like to be a human?" George replied, "It is interesting, it is so weird talking, and I am still getting used to wearing clothes." Betsy, Steve, Charky, and George started playing. They had fun and were all tired out by the end of the afternoon. One thing George noticed was that he was far more tired as a boy than as a monkey.

The next day, George went to school. He was excited to do what human children do. But by lunch time, he was exhausted. They already had center time, reading time, and writing time. George already knew how to write his name, but had a hard time writing everything else. His teacher said, "You will get it." At recess, he was excited to climb on all the playground equipment, but it was much harder. He realized that his shoes were getting in the way, but even after taking his shoes off, he realized that having toes, instead of extra fingers, did not help much.

That night, George told the Man with the Yellow Hat that he wished he could be a monkey again. "Why you say that, the man with the Yellow Hat asked?" "Because although I like doing human things, I miss doing monkey things. I mainly miss my extra hands, there is not much I can do with toes."

The next day, The Man with the Yellow Hat asked Professor Wiseman if she finished the antidote. She said that she was almost done, but was missing one thing. George was with him this time, because Proffessor Wiseman wanted to see how the formula worked. He said, "I wish you could turn me back into a monkey" She replied, "well I can't seem to get it to work on these mice, they were rats, but they won't turn back, I don't know what is wrong." George then thought about it. "How did the other formula work?" She said, "It used the DNA of the animal that you want the other animal to turn into." "That's it! Said George. "If you use the DNA of the original animal, It will turn into the other animal." Professor Wiseman asked, "Do we have anything with DNA from when George was a Monkey?" George had his rain coat. It had monkey fur. The Man with The Yellow Hat then said, "I still wish I could understand George as a monkey." Professor Wiseman responded, " You are in luck, I am working on an animal to human translator."