The next day, Jon arrived at the campsite. It was some miles outside of town next to a lake. Most of the city kids had spent at least one summer here, but Jon, having moved to town only a couple of years earlier, had never seen it before.
As he walked around the grounds, he saw a girl, about 10 years old, walking toward him in VERY baggy clothing!
"Hi Jon!" said the girl. As soon as she was close enough, Jon recognized her.
"Karyn?" he said.
"Yep."
"What happened to you?"
"That wish I made yesterday about changes to my body lasting only as long as I wanted them to? Apparently, that goes for any change. I got here and began to remember the fun I'd had when I was here as a kid. I guess I wanted to BE a kid again, and, POOF! I'm a L'il Karyn."
"You're a shape-shifter!?"
"I haven't thought about that! I thought it was just little changes, like the size of my breasts or being older or younger. But ... wow. Could I turn into an animal?"
"I don't know if it's a good idea or not."
"Only with my normal brain, of course. I want to know enough to change back."
"But what if you don't?"
"I'll just do a little change. I know! I'll think about being a chimpanzee!"
Before Jon could respond, the little girl's body sprouted hair. The hair on the back of her head, on the other hand, diminished. Her posture changed, and, finally, instead of a human being, a small ape stood smiling in Karyn's clothes. It chattered happily, slid free of the clothing, and climbed a nearby tree with ease. It faced Jon and continued to smile.
"Okay," said Jon warily. "But can you change back?"
The chimp returned to the ground, went over to its clothes, and dressed. Then, it changed into the Karyn Jon knew, and liked, best.
"That was great!" she said. "I could see and smell things like I couldn't before! It was an entirely new world! I almost didn't want to change back!"
"That's what I'm worried about," said Jon.
"Oh -- here! Give me the rock!" After Jon had handed it to Karyn, she said "I wish that, no matter what I turn into, my brain will always be human enough to know when I want to change back!
"Does that sound better?"
"If it works. Now, give me the rock. I've been thinking, and I had some ideas."
Karyn returned the rock to him.
"I've decided that we should come up with some action, something we do when we make a wish that will make the rock work. That way, just holding the rock and saying "I wish" by accident won't make anything happen."
"What kind of action should we make?"
"I don't know. I thought I'd talk about it with you."
"I know!" said Karyn. Her shape changed again, and she turned into a blonde woman Jon had seen many times in reruns of an old TV sitcom. The transformed Karyn crossed her arms and blinked. "How about that?"
"A little too much," said Jon. "And, before you think of the other lady, I don't know how to twitch my nose."
"All right," said Karyn, returning to normal. "How about if we clench our toes when we wish?"
"That'll work." Jon held the rock and said "I wish that, from now on, the rock would only grant wishes if the holder clenches his or her toes while wishing. And I wish that, no matter what, Karyn and I will never have difficulty clenching our toes, and that we'll never lose our toes or our legs, for that matter!"
"Covering all the bases, aren't you!"
"Yep. And I had my toes clenched when I added that second part."
"Better test it, though."
"Right. I wish that Ms. Carson from English class was standing naked in front of me!"
"Hey!"
Nothing happened. "It worked," said Jon. "I didn't have my toes clenched and she didn't appear!"
"And I think we're both lucky that she didn't! I don't think we could come up with a wish that would've fixed THAT one!"
"So, what next?"
"Give it to me," said Karyn. "I wish that, whatever clothes I'm wearing when I change, they'll change to fit me when I'm human, and, if I'm an animal, just disappear when I become the animal and reappear when I change back to human."
"Now who's being thorough?" asked Jon.
"And I also ... wish that I was holding TWO wishing rocks, each just like the other, instead of one!"
AS a second rock appeared in Karyn's hand, Jon asked "What did you do THAT for?"
"Do YOU want to get into arguments over who gets to use the rock?"
"Good point. Hand me the new one to test it out."
"All right. But for both our sakes, leave our teachers alone!"
"I wish I had a Big Mac," said Jon.
"What did you wish that for? And why isn't it working?"
Jon had no Big Mac in his hands. "I was testing the clench factor," he said. "I didn't have my toes clenched. But now ... I wish I had a Big Mac!"
A hamburger appeared in his hand.
"My turn," said Karyn. "I wish ... I had a live unicorn standing before me!"
No unicorn appeared.
"All right," she continued. "Now, with toes clenched ... I wish ... "
"We won't be able to explain a live unicorn," said Jon.
"Unless ... I wish unicorns had always, really existed and that one were in front of me right now!"
Immediately, a beautiful white horse with a long, spiral horn in its forehead appeared. It regarded the two humans cautiously, but with a definite wisdom in its eyes.
"Beautiful," said Karyn. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" And, immediately, Karyn turned into a unicorn herself.
"But Karyn!" said Jon. "You just wished unicorns into existence! What will that do to the world?"
"It's only within the range of the rock, isn't it?
"Isn't it?"
