Calvin snorted. "Good. He just made me kiss a girl!"

The Goblin King blinked. "Is that all?"

"That's plenty! Kissing a girl is high treason to G.R.O.S.S." Calvin pouted, crossing his arms and turning away from the strange man.

The Goblin King didn't even bother to ask what G.R.O.S.S. was. "Enough chit-chat. Where is Hobbes?"

Calvin rolled his eyes. "Are you blind? He's right here."

The Goblin King scanned the area for another child, or an adult, but could find none. All he saw was a stuffed tiger sitting on the ground. "Where?"

Calvin picked up the stuffed tiger and shook it. "Right here!"

"Oh!" The king nodded and held up a crystal, dropping it on his own head, "Now I see." The king had not needed to see imagination in a while and found that he had to use a crystal this time. If he had kept in practice of that particular skill he could have seen Hobbes for what he really was.

The tiger flicked his tail. "About time!"

"My apologies, Hobbes." The Goblin King nodded respectfully.

Calvin was growing impatient and stomped his foot. "So are you going to turn him into a goblin or what?"

Hobbes stared at the six year old in amazement. "Turn me into a what?"

"A goblin. Dad read me a story last night and if you wish someone was taken by goblins then they get turned into a goblin."

Hobbes was shocked again. "You actually paid attention to a story besides Hamster Huey and the Gooey Gabaloo? That's remarkable!"

"It was a good story." Calvin argued, "Lots of goblins, and chickens. If the princess had just been eaten by a swamp monster…"

The Goblin King rubbed his head. "Calvin."

"That would have made the story. There could have been a lot more blood too…"

"Calvin!"

"And ogres! Why weren't there any ogres?"

"Calvin!"

"A blood thirsty tiger or two would have helped a lot…"

"CALVIN!" The Goblin King yelled.

"What?"

The king calmed himself down and formed another crystal. "Now, you've wished Hobbes away…"

"What does that mean?" Hobbes whispered loudly.

"What's said is said and there is no going back."

"I think he's going to turn you into a goblin now." Calvin whispered back – loudly.

"You have two options…"

"I would prefer a blue goblin, but green is good too." Hobbes told his friend.

"You can either…"

"What about black and red?" Calvin said, making gestures with his hands that were meant to represent the evilness of the coloring.

"Ehem?" The king interrupted.

"Orange is really one of my favorite colors, but that does sound like a good combination." Hobbes agreed.

"If you were green it would make it much easier when we play army…"

"You won't be playing with him anymore!" The Goblin King yelled, losing his temper.

"Why not Mr. Fancypants?" Calvin retorted.

"Because I am taking him away and giving you all of your hopes and dreams!" The king roared, scaring off several birds.

"Hopes and dreams, eh?" Calvin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "My first wish is…"

"You really don't get it, do you? You already had a wish. Hobbes is being taken by the goblins and you get to live a life without him."

"Oh, is that it? Then I'd rather keep Hobbes." Calvin decided, "If I got all of my hopes and dreams there would be a lot of money involved. Since all I'd get is a life without Hobbes, I'd rather keep him."

Hobbes grinned. "That's so sweet!"

Calvin rolled his eyes. "Is not!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

The Goblin King stomped his foot, causing a ripple of magic that knocked both boy and tiger off of their feet. "You cannot keep him because you wished him away. The only way you can get him back is if you run the labyrinth!"

Calvin stared at him in a confused state. He kept staring for a few minutes while the king caught his breath with a grin on his face. After a while, as Calvin keep staring, the king turned to Hobbes, who had taken a sandwich out of a paper bag and was now snacking.

"Why is he staring at me?"

Hobbes swallowed his peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich. "He's trying to figure out what 'labyrinth' means."

"Oh for goblin's sake!" The king growled, "A labyrinth is the same thing as a maze."

"Like the ones on the back of cereal boxes?"

"Yes, like the ones on cereal boxes, but significantly more complex." The Goblin King grumbled impatiently.

Calvin stared at the man for another second.

The king rolled his eyes. "Complex means confusing, or difficult."

Calvin nodded his thanks. "So you want me to go through a maze and win Hobbes back?"

Hobbes groaned. "I hope it's comfortable in the place we're going. I'm going to be there for a while."

Calvin shot a glare at his tiger. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't think I could find my way out of the maze?"

"Calvin, I don't think you can find the way out of the bathroom. In fact, I know you can't find your way out of the bathroom." Hobbes snickered, "Remember when we went to your aunt's house and you had to call your mom to help you…"

"That's enough of that story!" Calvin shouted.

"All I'm saying is, I don't think you can do this and it might be better to just forget it." Hobbes chided.

"But then the only person I'd have to play with would be Susie!" Calvin protested.

The Goblin King was getting tired of this. Calvin was the most irritable child he had ever met. Even Sarah hadn't been this bad! And it didn't help that he had only wished away a stuffed tiger. The words had been invented so that the number of goblins could increase and so that children – or adults could get rid of unwanted friends or family. Not so that little boys could bother the Goblin King and turn their toys into goblins.

"You only get thirteen hours to run the labyrinth and if you cannot beat it you will both become my goblins!" He warned.

"Both of us?" Calvin asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Goblin King checked himself. "No, only Hobbes, and you'll have to be a chicken. And then Hobbes will be better off than you."

"No way!" Calvin gasped, "When I want to be a chicken I'll use my transmorgifyer! I'm running the maze thing just so Hobbes can't be a goblin without me!"

"Finally we're getting somewhere!" The king sighed, "Are you ready to go?"

"I never leave home without a chocolate syrup and turkey sandwich!" Calvin affirmed.

"I don't even want to know what that means. Off to the labyrinth we go!" As soon as the words were out of the Goblin King's mouth they arrived at the front of the famed labyrinth.