A special thank-you to Dreamcatcher-Megan, bleazel158, Luc-Peabody, S-H-J, The-DetectiveSmartie, purpledragon6 and RC2012 for your reviews! Also, thank you purpledragon6 for your constructive criticism! And a big Thank You to everyone who has followed, faved and read this story :D
CHAPTER THREE
"Look, Mr. Peabody! Look look look look!" Little Sherman said, running into Mr. Peabody's room, "Look, Mr. Peabody! I made my own book for you!"
"How very nice, Sherman!" Said Mr. Peabody, putting down his own writing at his desk to pick up Sherman's 'book'. It was several pieces of paper glued together.
"Read it! Read it, Mr. Peabody! Please!" Sherman said.
Mr. Peabody complied. He cleared his throat and turned to the first page-and since Sherman had written the book from right to left, the first page was the page on the very back of the book.
"Let's see," He began, "The hat is on the mat."
"See? That's a picture. The hat is saying to the person there, 'get off my mat!' And the person is saying, 'no, I won't!' And the hat is saying, 'yes you will, or I won't sit on your head anymore!'" And so saying, Sherman burst out laughing.
Mr. Peabody turned the page.
"The cat is on the bed."
"See?" said Sherman, "The person left the hat and went to the bed, but the cat was on it! And the cat said, 'get off!' But the person said, 'I'm tired!' And the cat said, 'Oh alright' and the person said, 'Thanks!'"
Sherman then took the book from Mr. Peabody, and began to read it himself, pointing out exactly what was going on in each picture.
Mr. Peabody nodded his head and listened to the story.
"And there's you, Mr. Peabody!" Sherman said at the end, pointing to a picture of a dog with glasses and a bow tie, "You solved the whole problem by saying, 'Stop!' And everyone did. The End."
Sherman put down the book and smiled widely.
"Thank you, Sherman," said Mr. Peabody, "That was a wonderful story."
Sherman's smile grew wider.
"And I'm going to make another one!" he said.
He ran out of the room and within seconds came back with paper, pencils and glue, and proceeded to create a new story right there in Mr. Peabody's room.
"Don't look, Mr. Peabody," He said, "It's going to be a surprise!"
"I won't," said Mr. Peabody. He finished what he had been writing, and then picked up Sherman's first story.
"I'm going to put this in a safe place, alright Sherman?"
"Okay," said Sherman, "Just don't look at what I'm writing, Mr. Peabody!"
Mr. Peabody smiled, and carried Sherman's story along with his own paper to a large stack of fifteen file cabinets that he had in his room. He carefully opened up a particular one, and placed both his paper and Sherman's story inside.
"You can look now, Mr. Peabody!" Sherman said, "Come and see!"
"Coming!" Mr. Peabody said, and just before he read the new story, he tackled Sherman to the ground and began tickling him.
Present Day
As Mr. and Mrs. Peterson left the hallway for the other parts of their house, Sherman and Penny laid Mr. Peabody's book on the hardwood floor to investigate it.
"Alright, when was it published?" Penny asked.
"Um," said Sherman, glancing through, "Fifty years ago."
"So do you think he was trapped fifty years ago?" Penny asked.
"I don't know," said Sherman, "That's close enough for a letter or something. Why would he just give us this book, and nothing else?"
"Let's write down the name of the publisher," Penny said, writing down the name found on the copyright page, "We can look it up later and find out what your dad was doing there."
"Great," said Sherman, "And maybe we should look through the book for clues while we're at it."
"Right," said Penny.
Sherman began randomly searching through the pages, starting in the middle of the book.
"How to pick the right outfit for every year." He read.
"What to do if you confuse the Gregorian and Julius calenders." Penny said.
"Proper procedures to follow when tempted to bring back extinct animals." Sherman read.
"The quantum mechanics of-"
"Alright, this isn't working," interrupted Sherman, "What kind of clues would he give us, and where would they be?"
"Well, it's all about time travel and stuff," said Penny, "But I don't see any pictures of a time machine."
"You're right, Penny!" said Sherman, "Let's skip through it and see if there are any plans for the WABAC."
"But even if there are, how will we know how to find your dad?" Penny asked.
"Let's worry about that later," said Sherman, flipping through the pages. He soon reached the end.
"This can't be right," he said, "Why would Mr. Peabody write me a book with everything in it about time travel, but without a way to build the WABAC?"
"Maybe because this book was hidden in the children's section of the library?" Penny offered.
"Maybe," said Sherman, "There must be something else in this book. Something hidden. Mr. Peabody wouldn't hide this book for me for nothing! We need more clues."
The two of them sat and thought for a minute.
"I know!" said Sherman, "Let's look at the table of contents. There might be something there."
"Great idea!" said Penny.
So Sherman opened up the book to the table of contents. It read the following:
Chapter One...Unpuzzle the Mystery of Time
Chapter Two...Reading is Paramount in Time Travel
Chapter Three...Operation: On Good Piloting Skills
Chapter Four...Viewing the World through the Traveler's Eye
Chapter Five...Xandler's Paradox
Chapter Six...Zoning Issues and Temporal Displacement
Chapter Seven...Yellow Signs: Cautionary Tales of Travel
Chapter Nine...Rules Every Time Traveler Should Know
Chapter Ten...Mechanics: Knowing Your Time Machine
Chapter Eleven...Valor: When to Be a Hero in Time
Chapter Twelve...Good Luck, Future Time Travelers!
"This isn't any help," said Penny.
"Hang on a second," said Sherman, "This doesn't look like something Mr. Peabody would write."
"How so?"
"Well, for one thing, there's no chapter eight," Sherman pointed out.
"You're right!" Said Penny, "Mr. Peabody would never leave out a chapter like that. But the publisher might've. Let's ask him."
"Penny, we don't have the WABAC anymore," Sherman reminded her, "And this was published fifty years ago."
"Then maybe we should look up all we can about the publisher right now," Penny said, "And see if we can find out if that chapter was left out by accident."
She picked up the book and ran with it into the back room where they kept the computer that Penny always used.
Sherman quickly typed in the name of the publisher in the search engine, but what they found surprised them.
"For his highly acclaimed book about time travel," Sherman read out loud, "Mr. P. Body created his own publishing company, which has since published several other acclaimed works by other authors, and has reprinted classical works which otherwise might have been forgotten in time. So, it looks like Mr. Peabody made this whole book himself."
"Then he left out chapter eight on purpose," said Penny, "But why?"
"Wait, look at this!" Sherman announced, "Mr. P. Body himself has not been seen since the institution of his publishing company."
"Woah," said Penny, "That means he might not have stayed in that time frame. Or if he did, he became very quiet about it."
"What are we missing?" Sherman asked, turning the pages again, "Why doesn't he just tell us how to find him?"
"Maybe the book has some secret writing in invisible ink?" Penny offered.
"No," Sherman answered, "There can't be any invisible ink, because more than one book was printed. So where would be the first place that Mr. Peabody would think that we'd look for clues?"
"The beginning," Penny offered, "Right?"
"Maybe," said Sherman, "Let's go back to the front of the book and-"
Suddenly the doorbell rang.
"Um, Penny?" said Sherman, "Are your parents expecting anyone?"
"Not that I know of," she responded.
The doorbell rang again, and they heard Mr. Peterson walk over to open it. From the back room they heard his mumbled voice, and the mumbled voices of a few other people, before Mr. Peterson called out for Sherman.
Sherman and Penny hesitantly made their way to the front door and there, standing in the hallway, was Mr. Peterson, Mrs. Peterson and three armed guards.
"Um, hi?" He asked.
"Sherman," said Mr. Peterson, "These nice men have come to take us back to court."
"What!" Sherman yelled, "We just left court! And we're not supposed to go back until tomorrow."
"I know," said Mr. Peterson, "But I guess that someone changed his mind."
"You see, Sherman," said one of the heavily-armored guards, "Since your case is so high profile, the court is going to have it at a more...secluded time."
"This doesn't seem right," muttered Sherman, clutching Mr. Peabody's book as he walked out the door.
"You can say that again," mumbled Mr. Peterson, out of hearing of the guards. His wife shushed him instantly.
"Come on, Penny," said Sherman, waving the book, "Let's look this over in the car."
"Right," said Penny.
The children headed for the Peterson family vehicle, but were stopped by one of the guards.
"Not that way," he said, "We will be taking you in that one over there."
He pointed to a nondescript vehicle, and Sherman and the Peterson family made their way inside.
"Now, isn't this a nice car, Sherman?" Mr. Peterson said, trying to lighten the mood.
"I guess," said Sherman, "Penny, let's look at the book again."
"Alright Sherman," said Penny, just as the guards started the car.
"Where were we?" She whispered.
"No invisible ink," Sherman reminded her, also whispering.
"Right," she said softly, "Now what? Should we try to find him fifty years ago?"
"A little hard if he's hiding," Sherman responded, "Let's think about clues. Um, a code?"
"Where, in the page numbers?" Penny asked, "We would have found it by now."
"Not necessarily," said Sherman, "He's really smart, remember?"
"But it can't be a code that's too hard," said Penny, "If he expects you to solve it."
"The question is, why would he even write a code?" Asked Sherman, "Why not write a letter and mail it?"
"Again with the letter!" Said Penny, "There must be some reason why he can't write you one."
"But doesn't he want me to find him?" Sherman asked.
"I'm sure he does," said Penny.
"Then why can't he be direct about it?"
"What are you two yakking on about?" Asked one of the guards.
"Um, nothing, Sir!" said Sherman.
"Yeah, nothing!" Said Penny.
The two of them looked at one another, and silently decided to be quiet for the rest of the ride to court.
Half an hour later, Sherman once more found himself in court. It was mostly empty now, and Sherman recognized only a few people who had been there only hours before. One was the billionaire Edwin Whiner, and another was an old woman who looked as if she hadn't even moved from her seat.
"Sherman," said the Judge, "I am pleased to announce that this court has found you a suitable guardian."
"You mean I get to stay with the Petersons?" Sherman asked, "Yes!"
"No," said the Judge, "Someone who can better take care of you. No offense, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson."
Mr. and Mrs. Peterson didn't respond to that, probably because they were offended.
"You see," said the Judge, "This court has, after a long decision-making process, selected Mr. Edwin Whiner to be your guardian."
Sherman's jaw dropped.
"It is the belief of this court that a billionaire such as himself will best be able to provide for such a growing young boy, and will best be able to handle your bank account." explained the Judge.
"Um, Mr. Judge Sir," said Sherman, "Can't I pick someone else?"
The Judge looked surprised.
"I mean," Sherman continued, "Do I really need a guardian? I think I can take care of Mr. Peabody's money by myself until he gets back."
The Judge sighed. "Sherman," he began, "The law requires you to have a guardian, and Mr. Whiner has proven to the court that he can handle your money for you."
"Can't I choose my own guardian?" Sherman asked.
"I'm afraid that you are a little too young to make such a decision," said the Judge, "The proper guardian for you must be able to handle all of your business affairs."
"I can do that by myself," said Sherman, "Pleeeeeeeeeease let me choose my own guardian, Mr. Judge Sir! I don't know Mr. Whiner at all, Your Honor Sir. He's a stranger to me. Can't I have the Petersons?"
"See, Your Honor," said Mr. Edwin Whiner, "The child doesn't know any better. That's why I should take him under my care immediately."
"Quiet!" Said the Judge, "Don't speak out of turn. If the boy is uncomfortable, then he must be given time. Sherman," he addressed the boy, "We will give you three days to get used to the idea. Dismissed."
As the Petersons and Sherman left the court, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were both so mad that they didn't dare to speak.
On their way to the car which would drive them back to the Peterson home, Penny leaned over to whisper to Sherman.
"What are you going to do now?" She asked.
"I'm going to prove that I can handle Mr. Peabody's money," he said.
"And how are you going to do that?" Penny asked.
"You'll see," he whispered back, "When do you want to explore my apartment for clues again?"
"Better do it soon," she responded, "We might only have three days."
"Let's do it tomorrow," said Sherman, "Right after our trip to the bank."
Penny looked at him quizzically, but at that point they reached the car. And once inside, no one said a word.