Chapter 1

Billy Wilder did not usually live up to his last name. At 12 years old, he was just entering puberty and was not sure that all girls were really worth the trouble. However, he would make an exception in the case of his 11 year old sister, Ann. She was the apple of his eye, and he tried to look after her as best he could, though he was hardly a physically imposing specimen. At 4'-10" tall and 73 pounds, much of which was still baby fat, he was the butt of much bullying and trash talk at school. The 7^th Grade was a chore he hoped to get through all in one piece, but he had his doubts.

Ann was in the 6^th Grade, and she was a real beauty at her age. She was just beginning to show that she was going to have breasts of ample size and a butt to drool over. Not only that, Ann was a friend to everybody. She was one of the most popular girls in her class and was the darling of the teachers. The contrast between siblings was amazing on the outside, but, inside, they were exactly the same. At least, when it came to feelings for each other. Ann appreciated everything that her brother did for her, and even tried to help him when he was set upon by bullies. That generally did no good, but she did try.

The elder Wilders were camping nuts and grabbed every opportunity to hit the road whenever school was in recess for more than two days. They even squeezed in a weekend or two during the year when they could take it no longer. Jim Wilder owned his own computer consulting firm, so he was able to bug out whenever he wanted to, and Elsie Wilder was a stay-at-home mom, so she was available to travel at the drop of a hint.

Billy and Ann were not nearly so enamored of the camping craze as their parents, but love and duty to the parents carried them along with little or no complaints. On this particular occasion, the Wilders were visiting a new camping area in a state park that was new to them all. They planned to be there a week, so there was plenty of time for hikes, something Billy did enjoy. In fact, he often went "exploring" on his own, though he was responsible enough to make sure that he did not go too far from camp or get lost.

On a Wednesday, Billy was wandering around while his parents and Ann were visiting the little village that served the new park. Billy came across a path that he had never noticed before, and he could not resist following it. The weather had been threatening all morning, so Billy had his poncho with him in case the rain came, as well as a sandwich and a water jug.

It was about 11:00 o'clock when the weather finally fulfilled its promise, but this was carrying things to ridiculous extremes. It didn't just rain, it gully-washed! Billy got his poncho and hood on in time to stay reasonably dry, but the wind that came with the rain was making it just too damned uncomfortable to stay out and exposed to the elements any longer than necessary.

Billy found some shelter by leaning against a vine-covered cliff. This broke the wind and rain some, but he was still in a very uncomfortable position. In an effort to escape the worst of the downpour, Billy leaned against the cliff wall. When he put significant pressure on the wall, the vines parted and Billy fell into a cave of sorts. It wasn't much of a cave, but it was deep enough to do a good job of breaking the wind and rain.

It was pretty dark in the little cave, what with the vines blocking most of the light that could get through the clouds. Billy had a flashlight with him, but he wanted to save that for emergencies, so he left it turned off. It didn't take long for his eyes to adjust to the dim light, so he looked around, somewhat concerned about the possibility of a snake or other varmint sharing the cave with him.

There was no sign of animal presence, but something was there! There was a kind of rose colored glow to be seen near one wall of the little cave. That was sufficiently unusual for Billy's curiosity to be tweaked, so he looked closer to try to identify what was causing the strange glow. It appeared to be a bracelet. Intrigued, Billy picked it up. As soon as he touched the bracelet, he seemed to be compelled to put it on his right wrist.

The bracelet ends snapped together and locked. Then, strangest of all, the metal of the bracelet seemed to contract around Billy's wrist. Before he could get the bracelet off his wrist, it sank through the skin! Once it was out of sight, the bracelet stopped shrinking, and the rose glow disappeared. Billy was now in a state of panic, but he seemed unable to move. Then the final miracle happened.

Billy "heard" within his head a voice speaking to him. Master, I am the genie of the charm that you wear. I am not a very powerful genie, but I am prepared to grant you any wish within my power.

"What ... What can you do for me?" Billy asked in a very tremulous voice. Like all kids in the USA, Billy had heard and read the stories of genies that granted wishes to very lucky people. Of course, he had never truly believed the stories, but they had been fun to fantasize about. Therefore, Billy was primed with a touch of belief when he first heard the voice in his head. As a result, he didn't panic, but he was very close to it.

Master, I can do a lot of things, such as make sure that you are never sick or injured, and I can increase your physical attributes, such as strength and stamina. However, my main abilities are centered around shape shifting.

"That first part sounds wonderful, but what is shape shifting?"

Shape shifting means that I can cause your shape to change to practically anything you desire at the moment you express that desire. For example, if you wanted to look like your father, all you need do is to think the command, and you would instantly change to look just like him. Give it a try, and you will see what I mean.

Okay, make me look like my father.

Billy felt himself change, though there was nothing painful about it. Suddenly, his head bumped on the low ceiling of the little cave, and he had to bend over to remain standing. He looked at the parts of his body that he could reach to see, and he saw that he was a man the size of his father and wearing the clothes that Jim Wilder had been wearing the last time Billy saw him. Billy laughed and said, "Hey, Genie, this is great! What else can you make me into?"

Billy felt another non-painful wrench, and he was suddenly seeing the world from about 30 inches off the ground. He looked down and saw cartoonish dog paws. He looked at his rear and saw that foolish tail that Pluto had. Billy laughed again and thought, Let's try something really wild. Make me look like Lizard Man on the Saturday morning TV cartoons.

Very well, Master, I can do that, but I need to know what size you want to be. Remember that Lizard Man is eight feet tall, and there is not enough room in the cave for you at that size.

Yeah, right, I forgot about that. Thanks for remembering for me. Change me to look like Lizard Man, but only four feet tall.

A miniature Lizard Man now stood in the cave. Suddenly, there was enough light for Billy to see everything in the cave in great detail. That's when he remembered that the cartoon Lizard Man could see in virtual darkness. Wow, that power was suddenly now his! Billy was able to use another of Lizard Man's senses and determine that the storm had stopped. Genie, please change me back to my original form. It's time for me to return to camp. I don't want to worry my parents.

Chapter 2 »