Three Evil Wishes Read Free Page A

don’t!”
    I reached out to swipe the bottle from him.
    Too late.
    He grasped the cork and tugged it out of the bottle.

5

    T he cork came away from the bottle with a loud pop! And a stream of thick purple gas shot out of the opening.
    Ohhhh! What a sick smell!
    I started to choke on the sour gas. I held my breath and clutched my throat with my hands.
    Jesse was sputtering and coughing. The bottle thudded onto the ground as it fell from Jesse’s hand.
    The awful purple gas swirled around us like a tornado. It lifted up leaves and twigs. It howled through the trees.
    â€œWh-what’s going on?” Jesse choked out.
    I dropped to my knees and grabbed for the bottle.I thought maybe I could cork it back up. Stop the gas from shooting out.
    I gripped the bottle in one hand. But where was the cork?
    Before I had a chance to search, I heard my brother’s cry.
    â€œHannah—whooooa! Check it out!”
    I raised my eyes. Dark purple clouds of smoke gathered together, growing thicker.
    â€œJesse, what’s happening?” I shouted above the roar of the swirling wind.
    The purple clouds floated together to form a thick ball of whirling gas. I crouched down close to the ground and held my breath. I squinted as the howling wind whipped dirt and leaves into my face.
    The purple clouds pulled together. Thickened. Took shape.
    I saw two arms. A broad chest. Two legs formed from the swirling purple gas.
    The purple clouds tossed and tumbled.
    And then a head rose on top of the swirling body.
    A man’s head. An old man’s head.
    The smoke stopped twirling. The body settled to the ground.
    The howl of the wind ended. All was silent now.
    No more swirling gusts of gas. Only the sour smell remained.
    Jesse and I gaped in amazement. The old man—all purple, all shades of purple—stood before us in a flowing purple robe. He blinked his purple eyes. He worked his jaw and rubbed his chin.
    â€œWho—who are you?” I choked out. My whole body was shaking. I hugged myself to stop the trembling.
    Barky growled and hid behind me.
    The purple man raised one arm high in the air.
    I gasped. What did he plan to do?
    He turned his head slowly—and sniffed his armpit!
    â€œWhew!” He made a disgusted face and turned to me.
    â€œYou’d stink too if you’d been inside a bottle for a hundred years!” he cried. He had a raspy, old man’s voice. He held his nose. “Hoo. I need a bath. A long bath!”
    With a groan, he raised both arms high above his head. Then he stretched his arms, his legs, his back. “Hoo. That feels good.” He smiled. “I need a massage. That’s what I need. Being folded up so small gives me such a cramp!”
    Jesse still hadn’t closed his mouth. He gaped at the purple man in shock. “Are you for real?” my brother blurted out.
    The old man continued stretching. Rubbing the back of his neck. He gazed down at my brother. “Who’s to say what’s real and what isn’t real?”
    â€œBut did you really come out of that bottle?” Jesse demanded.
    â€œI didn’t take a taxi!” the old man replied.
    Despite my fear, I chuckled. The old guy was funny.
    He stopped stretching and made a short bow to us. “I’d bow lower,” he told us. “But my back is killing me.”
    â€œWhy are you bowing to us?” I asked.
    â€œYou are my new masters,” he replied. He studied Jesse, then me. “How come you’re so short?”
    â€œGive us a break!” I cried.
    â€œWe’re still growing,” Jesse added.
    â€œYou’re children?” The old man slapped his forehead. “This is what children look like these days?”
    He narrowed his eyes at me. “Young lady, how can you walk in the woods without a bonnet?”
    â€œI don’t own any bonnets,” I replied. “I wouldn’t even know where to buy one.”
    He rubbed his chin. “Hoo.