Greta panicked as the razor-clawed pit bull stood on his hind legs and reared
back his paw, clearly intending to sink his blades into her heart.
At that moment, Francine succeeded in wiggling the pepper spray container in her hand so that the nozzle was pointed toward Wolfie's face.
She pushed the button. The chemical spray hit Wolfie dead on, but lasted only a split second before Jean's telekinetic influence ripped the container from Francine's hand.
The pit bull blinked and sputtered. Francine realized in despair that she had only succeeded in annoying the dog.
Stepping past Greta, the enraged Wolfie pointed his blades at Francine's chest...
...when Nemo suddenly started to shake his head, as if emerging from a trance.
He gasped when he saw the imperiled Francine. "My human! NOOOOO!"
Wolfie's razor claws froze in midair only inches from the surface of Francine's coat. Enveloped by Nemo's magnetic rays, he flew into the air, performed a double backflip, and landed on top of Rascal, knocking her over and plunging his blades into her ribcage.
Rascal struggled painfully for breath, then became silent and still.
Moments later, the invisible force binding Arthur, Francine, and Greta weakened, and the three children fell onto the straw-covered floor.
While Wolfie and Jean rushed to The Professor's side, Francine went over to Nemo and scooped him up in her arms. "Thanks, Nemo. We owe you our lives. But no more trashing department stores or else you're out on the street, got that?"
Nemo purred and gazed affectionately at Francine, unable to understand a word the girl was saying.
Arthur confronted The Professor and his comrades. "Wait a minute, Professor," he said with a hint of indignation. "Did you even try to free Jean and Wolfie from Rascal's control?"
The Shih Tzu lowered his head meekly. Francine, still fondling Nemo, walked up to Arthur's side.
"No," said The Professor.
"What?" Francine's eyes went wide. "They could have killed us!"
The Professor beamed a contrite confession into Arthur's and Francine's minds. "I knew when I crafted this plan that some of you might be sacrificed. You see, Rascal knew that I have a weakness for human children, and she couldn't resist exploiting it. When I said I could break her control over Jean and Wolfie, I was bluffing. With Rascal concentrating her mind control on them, there was no way I could have freed them in time to save you. So I freed Magnemo instead, which was something Rascal didn't expect."
Arthur folded his arms and scowled. "You don't care about our lives, do you?"
"Well," said The Professor, "you are, after all, only humans."
Francine looked sourly at Arthur. "Gee, Arthur, I wonder who the real good guys are here."
"We must leave you now." The Professor and the other surviving X-Pets turned and started to leave the barn. "Say hello to Pal for us."
Ignoring them, Arthur and Francine walked back to the side wall of the barn, where Greta was standing and looking glumly at an object she held in her hands.
As they drew closer, they observed that it was a golden, glowing unicorn horn.
"Arthur, please leave," said Greta without raising her head.
Without a word, Arthur turned and followed the X-Pets out of the barn. Once outside, he glanced around and saw that the guard dogs had all departed.
Meanwhile, Greta tried to hand the unicorn horn to the reluctant Francine.
"You saved my life," she said. "According to the rules and regulations of unicorn magic, I'm required to give you my horn."
Francine looked at her quizzically. "What would I do with a unicorn horn?"
"It's good for three wishes," Greta explained.
The still incredulous Francine took the horn from Greta's hands. Holding it up and pointing it toward the barn roof, she proclaimed, "I wish for world peace!"
"Be careful!" Greta admonished her. "Don't take the power of the horn lightly. Besides, you can't wish for world peace. You can only make a wish that affects yourself and nobody else."
"Myself?" Francine lowered the horn and stared at it. "What kind of a deal is that? What if I want to wish for something good to happen to somebody else? Like, for Marina to get her memory back?"
"Simple," Greta replied. "Give the horn to Marina, and let her make the wish."
"Oh, I get it." Francine stuffed the horn in her pocket along with the pepper spray container.
"Whatever you do," Greta advised, "don't let Mr. Baker know you have it. At least not until you've made your wishes."
"Okay." Francine started toward the barn door, and Greta followed her.
As the two girls exited, Arthur came up alongside them. "What was that all about?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," Greta replied. "Just girl talk."
----
"This is a magical wishing unicorn horn," Francine told Marina. "You can use it to get your memories back. You won't be a ten-year-old first-grader anymore."
"Really?" Marina sat at a table in the special education classroom, with a Braille children's book open before her.
"Really." Francine placed the horn in Marina's hands.
"It's very smooth," said Marina.
"Now repeat after me," Francine instructed her, "I wish I had my memories back."
"I wish I had my memories back," Marina repeated.
The blind girl suddenly became bewildered. "Where am I?" she asked, then set down the horn and brushed her hands over the Braille book in front of her. "Why am I reading this first-grade stuff?"
Francine picked up the horn and smiled with amazement.
"I don't think this is Mr. Baker's classroom," said Marina.
----
"This is a magical wishing unicorn horn," said Francine as she handed the horn to Sue Ellen. The two girls were seated on chairs in the Armstrongs' living room.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Sue Ellen asked as she rubbed her fingers along the glowing horn.
"No, it's real," Francine assured her. "Now, repeat after me. I wish I was cured of HIV."
"Uh...I wish I was cured of HIV," Sue Ellen repeated.
The girls looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.
"It's some kind of joke, isn't it?" Sue Ellen reiterated.
----
On the couch in the Frensky living room sat Francine, who had been grounded for stealing Catherine's pepper spray. While her eyes idly watched TV, her hand repeatedly rubbed the candy-textured surface of the unicorn horn.
"Maybe it's really magic," she pondered. "It worked on Marina, after all. Or was that just a coincidence? Well, there's only one way to be sure."
As she thought about the strange events she had witnessed, her sister Catherine came out of the bedroom. "Hey, Cath," Francine called to her.
"What?" Catherine stopped on her way to the kitchen.
"If you could have a wish granted," asked Francine, "any wish in the whole world, what would you wish for?"
"Um...I don't know," said Catherine indifferently. "Money, or a cool sports car, or beauty..."
"Okay, let me rephrase that," Francine continued. "You can have any wish, as long as it affects you and nobody else. You can't wish for money or cars or any material stuff."
"Uh..." Catherine thought for a few seconds. "Okay, so I can wish for perfect health, or unlimited intelligence, or unlimited beauty..."
"Yeah," said Francine. "All those things are legal."
"What about immortality?" Catherine suggested.
"Uh...I guess so. I never thought of that one."
"Hmm. If I wished for perfect health...well, I guess that's the same thing as immortality, because I'm not healthy if I die. If I wished for unlimited intelligence, I would just be miserable because everybody else is stupider than me. So it's gotta be either immortality or unlimited beauty. And I wouldn't want to be ugly for the rest of eternity, so I guess I'll have to go with unlimited beauty."
Francine's face fell. This was not at all the answer she was looking for.
"While I'm at it," Catherine went on, "I suppose I could wish to be another species, like a rabbit or a moose. What do you think, Frankie? Would I look cuter as a rabbit or a moose?"
----
As Francine turned off the light and climbed into her bed, Catherine persisted in her meaningless chatter. "I think cat girls are the cutest of all, with their cute little pointy ears. On the other hand, the poodle girls with their floppy ears aren't bad-looking either. Oh, I just don't know, Frankie."
Francine groaned. The unicorn horn that lay on her desk seemed to shine even more than the night light.
"What would you wish for, Frankie?" Catherine asked.
"I'm not sure," Francine answered.
The room was silent for a few seconds.
"You're always talking about how boys have it better than girls," said Catherine. "Maybe you could wish to be a boy."
"Hmm," mused Francine. "That's a possibility."
Catherine stopped talking. Minutes later, Francine drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
(To be continued...)
At that moment, Francine succeeded in wiggling the pepper spray container in her hand so that the nozzle was pointed toward Wolfie's face.
She pushed the button. The chemical spray hit Wolfie dead on, but lasted only a split second before Jean's telekinetic influence ripped the container from Francine's hand.
The pit bull blinked and sputtered. Francine realized in despair that she had only succeeded in annoying the dog.
Stepping past Greta, the enraged Wolfie pointed his blades at Francine's chest...
...when Nemo suddenly started to shake his head, as if emerging from a trance.
He gasped when he saw the imperiled Francine. "My human! NOOOOO!"
Wolfie's razor claws froze in midair only inches from the surface of Francine's coat. Enveloped by Nemo's magnetic rays, he flew into the air, performed a double backflip, and landed on top of Rascal, knocking her over and plunging his blades into her ribcage.
Rascal struggled painfully for breath, then became silent and still.
Moments later, the invisible force binding Arthur, Francine, and Greta weakened, and the three children fell onto the straw-covered floor.
While Wolfie and Jean rushed to The Professor's side, Francine went over to Nemo and scooped him up in her arms. "Thanks, Nemo. We owe you our lives. But no more trashing department stores or else you're out on the street, got that?"
Nemo purred and gazed affectionately at Francine, unable to understand a word the girl was saying.
Arthur confronted The Professor and his comrades. "Wait a minute, Professor," he said with a hint of indignation. "Did you even try to free Jean and Wolfie from Rascal's control?"
The Shih Tzu lowered his head meekly. Francine, still fondling Nemo, walked up to Arthur's side.
"No," said The Professor.
"What?" Francine's eyes went wide. "They could have killed us!"
The Professor beamed a contrite confession into Arthur's and Francine's minds. "I knew when I crafted this plan that some of you might be sacrificed. You see, Rascal knew that I have a weakness for human children, and she couldn't resist exploiting it. When I said I could break her control over Jean and Wolfie, I was bluffing. With Rascal concentrating her mind control on them, there was no way I could have freed them in time to save you. So I freed Magnemo instead, which was something Rascal didn't expect."
Arthur folded his arms and scowled. "You don't care about our lives, do you?"
"Well," said The Professor, "you are, after all, only humans."
Francine looked sourly at Arthur. "Gee, Arthur, I wonder who the real good guys are here."
"We must leave you now." The Professor and the other surviving X-Pets turned and started to leave the barn. "Say hello to Pal for us."
Ignoring them, Arthur and Francine walked back to the side wall of the barn, where Greta was standing and looking glumly at an object she held in her hands.
As they drew closer, they observed that it was a golden, glowing unicorn horn.
"Arthur, please leave," said Greta without raising her head.
Without a word, Arthur turned and followed the X-Pets out of the barn. Once outside, he glanced around and saw that the guard dogs had all departed.
Meanwhile, Greta tried to hand the unicorn horn to the reluctant Francine.
"You saved my life," she said. "According to the rules and regulations of unicorn magic, I'm required to give you my horn."
Francine looked at her quizzically. "What would I do with a unicorn horn?"
"It's good for three wishes," Greta explained.
The still incredulous Francine took the horn from Greta's hands. Holding it up and pointing it toward the barn roof, she proclaimed, "I wish for world peace!"
"Be careful!" Greta admonished her. "Don't take the power of the horn lightly. Besides, you can't wish for world peace. You can only make a wish that affects yourself and nobody else."
"Myself?" Francine lowered the horn and stared at it. "What kind of a deal is that? What if I want to wish for something good to happen to somebody else? Like, for Marina to get her memory back?"
"Simple," Greta replied. "Give the horn to Marina, and let her make the wish."
"Oh, I get it." Francine stuffed the horn in her pocket along with the pepper spray container.
"Whatever you do," Greta advised, "don't let Mr. Baker know you have it. At least not until you've made your wishes."
"Okay." Francine started toward the barn door, and Greta followed her.
As the two girls exited, Arthur came up alongside them. "What was that all about?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," Greta replied. "Just girl talk."
----
"This is a magical wishing unicorn horn," Francine told Marina. "You can use it to get your memories back. You won't be a ten-year-old first-grader anymore."
"Really?" Marina sat at a table in the special education classroom, with a Braille children's book open before her.
"Really." Francine placed the horn in Marina's hands.
"It's very smooth," said Marina.
"Now repeat after me," Francine instructed her, "I wish I had my memories back."
"I wish I had my memories back," Marina repeated.
The blind girl suddenly became bewildered. "Where am I?" she asked, then set down the horn and brushed her hands over the Braille book in front of her. "Why am I reading this first-grade stuff?"
Francine picked up the horn and smiled with amazement.
"I don't think this is Mr. Baker's classroom," said Marina.
----
"This is a magical wishing unicorn horn," said Francine as she handed the horn to Sue Ellen. The two girls were seated on chairs in the Armstrongs' living room.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Sue Ellen asked as she rubbed her fingers along the glowing horn.
"No, it's real," Francine assured her. "Now, repeat after me. I wish I was cured of HIV."
"Uh...I wish I was cured of HIV," Sue Ellen repeated.
The girls looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.
"It's some kind of joke, isn't it?" Sue Ellen reiterated.
----
On the couch in the Frensky living room sat Francine, who had been grounded for stealing Catherine's pepper spray. While her eyes idly watched TV, her hand repeatedly rubbed the candy-textured surface of the unicorn horn.
"Maybe it's really magic," she pondered. "It worked on Marina, after all. Or was that just a coincidence? Well, there's only one way to be sure."
As she thought about the strange events she had witnessed, her sister Catherine came out of the bedroom. "Hey, Cath," Francine called to her.
"What?" Catherine stopped on her way to the kitchen.
"If you could have a wish granted," asked Francine, "any wish in the whole world, what would you wish for?"
"Um...I don't know," said Catherine indifferently. "Money, or a cool sports car, or beauty..."
"Okay, let me rephrase that," Francine continued. "You can have any wish, as long as it affects you and nobody else. You can't wish for money or cars or any material stuff."
"Uh..." Catherine thought for a few seconds. "Okay, so I can wish for perfect health, or unlimited intelligence, or unlimited beauty..."
"Yeah," said Francine. "All those things are legal."
"What about immortality?" Catherine suggested.
"Uh...I guess so. I never thought of that one."
"Hmm. If I wished for perfect health...well, I guess that's the same thing as immortality, because I'm not healthy if I die. If I wished for unlimited intelligence, I would just be miserable because everybody else is stupider than me. So it's gotta be either immortality or unlimited beauty. And I wouldn't want to be ugly for the rest of eternity, so I guess I'll have to go with unlimited beauty."
Francine's face fell. This was not at all the answer she was looking for.
"While I'm at it," Catherine went on, "I suppose I could wish to be another species, like a rabbit or a moose. What do you think, Frankie? Would I look cuter as a rabbit or a moose?"
----
As Francine turned off the light and climbed into her bed, Catherine persisted in her meaningless chatter. "I think cat girls are the cutest of all, with their cute little pointy ears. On the other hand, the poodle girls with their floppy ears aren't bad-looking either. Oh, I just don't know, Frankie."
Francine groaned. The unicorn horn that lay on her desk seemed to shine even more than the night light.
"What would you wish for, Frankie?" Catherine asked.
"I'm not sure," Francine answered.
The room was silent for a few seconds.
"You're always talking about how boys have it better than girls," said Catherine. "Maybe you could wish to be a boy."
"Hmm," mused Francine. "That's a possibility."
Catherine stopped talking. Minutes later, Francine drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
(To be continued...)
