The old man raised his arms in a defensive maneuver and said, "Oh my!"
John thought that he would get the best of the man who had robbed him of his
ability to speak, but unfortunately he made the mistake of misinterpreting the
elder gentleman's reaction. The old wizard wasn't surprised at all, in fact he
seemed more disappointed than anything else.
John wondered what was happening. Suddenly his attack was slowed almost to a
snail's pace. He then realized that he was suspended in mid-air barely moving at
all.
"This will never do," said the old man. "I just wanted to test this wand with a
simple transformation, and then change you back into your former self. But you
are such an angry young fellow, aren't you? Perhaps some time learning to
respect how good your life actually was may be order."
John fell flat onto the ground, catching himself on all fours. He scurried
back toward Katie who had overcome her fears, and now hugged him by the neck in
a protective fashion.
"Don't you hurt my boyfriend any more you... you..." she stammered.
The old man lowered his arms and sighed. "My young lass. It was never my
intention to harm anyone. I only want to teach your friend here a lesson.
Perhaps you can assist me." His eyes glowed softly for a moment.
"Ahh yes. I see that you are quite fond of dogs. You always wanted a pet, didn't
you? Hmmm... you have always loved the name Jingles. Something about the
holidays eh? Well..." His eyes began to glow with more intensity.
John was contemplating his next move when he saw Katie's eye begin to glow also.
He had to try and save her. This bozo was about to turn her into something named
Jingles.
He leapt at the old man again and was surprised to find himself pulled back at
the neck. What the... he thought.
His neck had a collar around it! and... and the rope lead back toward his girlfriend!
"Down Jingles!" she commanded. "Bad boy!"
Oh no! No no no no! he screamed inside his head. Once again he had misinterpreted the situation. The old man wasn't changing Katie's form, just her perception of the situation. Now John was Jingles, and Katie seemed to be his owner.
"I'm sorry sir, I have been trying to get him to behave better than this," Katie said, addressing the wizard. " I wish he was more manageable. I received him as a gift. I wouldn't have chose such a big animal."
"Really my dear?" the old man said. "If given the choice, what kind of animal would you have preferred?"
"Oh, it's not that I don't like dogs," she quickly replied, "I just am more into ........."