Stanley and the Magic Lamp - Jeff Brown [3]
“There! Homework’s done,” he said. “That was a very ordinary sort of wish, Stanley. Isn’t there anything special you’ve always wanted? Something exciting?”
Stanley knew right away what he wanted most. He had always loved animals; how exciting it would be to have his own zoo! But that would take up too much space, he thought. Just one animal then, a truly unusual pet. A lion? Yes! What fun it would be to walk down the street with a pet lion on a leash!
“I wish for a lion!” he said. “Real, but friendly.”
“Real, but friendly,” said the genie. “No problem.”
Stanley realized suddenly that a lion would scare people, and that an elephant would be even greater fun.
“An elephant, I mean!” he shouted. “Not a lion. An elephant!”
“What?” said Prince Haraz. “An eleph—? Oh, collibots! Look what you made me do!”
A most unusual head had formed in the air across the room, a head with an elephant’s trunk for a nose but with small, neat, lionlike ears. There was a lion’s mane behind the head, but then came an elephant’s body and legs in a brownish-gold lion color, and finally a little gray elephant tail with a pretty gold ruff at the tip. All together, these parts made an animal about the size of a medium lion or a small elephant.
“My goodness!” said Stanley. “What’s that?”
“A Liophant.” Prince Haraz seemed annoyed. “It’s your fault, not mine. You overlapped your wish.”
The Liophant opened his mouth wide, gave a half roar, half snort Grrowll-HONK! that made them all jump, then sat back on his hind legs and went pant-pant like a puppy, looking quite nice.
“Well, we got the friendly part right,” said the genie. “The young ones mostly are.”
Stanley patted him, and Arthur tickled behind the neat little ears. The Liophant licked their hands and Stanley was not at all sorry that he had mixed up his wish.
Just then, a knock sounded on the bedroom door, and Mrs. Lambchop’s voice called out, “Homework done?”
“Come in,” said Stanley, not thinking, and the door opened.
“How very quiet you—” Mrs. Lambchop began, and then she stopped. Her eyes moved slowly about the room from Prince Haraz to the Askit Basket, and on to the Liophant.
“Gracious!” she said.
Prince Haraz made a little bow. “How do you do? You are the mother of these fine lads, yes?”
“I am, thank you,” said Mrs. Lambchop. “Have we met? I don’t seem to—”
“This is Prince Haraz,” Stanley said. “And that’s a Liophant, and that’s an Askit Basket.”
“Guess what,” said Arthur. “Prince Haraz is a genie, and Stanley can wish for anything he wants.”
“How very generous!” Mrs. Lambchop said. “But I’m not sure …” Turning, she called into the living room. “George, come here! Something quite unexpected has happened.”
“In a moment,” Mr. Lambchop called back. “I am reading an unusual story in my newspaper, about a duck who watches TV.”
“This is even more unusual than that,” she said, and Mr. Lambchop came at once.
“Ah, yes,” he said, looking about the room. “Yes, I see. Would someone care to explain?”
“I tried to before,” Stanley said. “Remember? About—”
“Wait, dear,” said Mrs. Lambchop.
The Liophant had been making snuffling, hungry sounds, so she went off to the kitchen and returned with a large bowl full of hamburger mixed with warm milk. While the Liophant ate, Stanley told Mrs. Lambchop what had happened.
Mr. Lambchop thought for a moment. “Unusual indeed,” he said. “And what a fine opportunity for you, Stanley. But I do not approve of using the Askit Basket for your homework, boys. Nor will your teachers, I’m afraid.”
“My plan is, let’s not tell them,” Arthur said.
Mr. Lambchop gave him a long look. “Would you take credit for work you have not done?”
Arthur blushed. “Oh! Well, I guess not … I wasn’t thinking. Because of all the excitement, you know?”
Mr. Lambchop wrote NOT IN USE on a piece of cardboard and taped it to the Askit Basket.
“It is too late for more wishing tonight,” Mrs. Lambchop said. “Prince Haraz, there is a folding cot in the closet, so you will be comfortable here. Tomorrow