Just then, Tom Killingsworth, a cousin of John's who was visiting and helping out with the roundup, rode up on horseback. He had seen John's transformation, and sized up the situation at a glance.
"John! Can you still understand me?" Tom asked. John nodded his now-massive head. "Boy, am I glad of that! What happened? How did you get changed like this?"
With his right fromt hoof, John scratched out, " BELT BUCKLE GRANTS WISHES" in the dust. "You mean it's some kind of magic buckle?" Tom inquired. Again, John nodded. "Well, where is this buckle now?
John scratched out the words, "FELL OUT OF PANTS POCKET INTO CREEK." "OK, then," Tom said, "let me see if I can find it and change you back to normal."
Before he could take two steps toward the creek, however, John bellowed at him. Tom instantly turned around. As he did so, John now scratched out, "THIS OTHER BULL IS JARED." Tom's eyes bugged out in astonishment as he realized the implications of what John had just written. "OK, then, you two," he ordered, "stay right where you are while I try to find this thing."
Tom walked over to where he had seen John's pants fall into the creek. Almost instantly, he spotted something shiny in the water. He waded in and retrieved it, then walked over to the two transformed teens. "Is this it?" he asked. The two youths nodded emphatically. "In that case," Tom replied, "I wish for both of you to return to human form and be back in the clothes you were wearing when you were transformed--NOW!!"
It took only a few seconds before John and Jared sttod before him in their rightful forms. The two cowboys hugged Tom in relief and joy. Tom then spent several minutes chewing them out for their foolishness. When he grimly pointed out that they both could have either been separated from their families forever, or been sent to the slaughterhouse and killed, John and Jared both burst into tears of horror and shame.
Tom put his arms around the two and comforted them. "Now," he asked in a gentler tone, "which one of you does this thing actually belong to?" "It's mine," Jared spoke up, explaining how he had found it on the roadside several days before. "So you really didn't know anything about it, do you?" "No, sir," Jared responded, "not the way I do now!" John silently nodded his emphatic agreement.
Tom silently thought matters out for a few moments. "Well," he commented slowly, "I hope you boys both realize what an important lesson you've just been through. This buckle gives whoever wears or holds it an incredible amount of power--and an equally incredible amount of responsibility as well! It's a literal illustration of the old saying, 'Be careful what you wish for--you just might get it!' Do you both get what I'm saying?"
John and Jared both swallowed hard and replied, "Yes, SIR!" "OK, then," Tom went on, "I won't belabor the point. If you're going to use this thing, I'd suggest that you concentrate on using it to help others--but WITHOUT drawing attention to yourselves! Do you understand why?" Again, the two youths gulped, then nodded. They realized that any unusual display of power from the buckle could get one or both of them into trouble--trouble that they might not be able to get back out of!
"All right, then," Tom responded, "we'd better get you two back home." "Wait a minute, Tom," John put in, "we'd better call Jared's parents and let them know he's all right. He's been missing for over a week now--they've even called the police in!" Jared groaned in dismay, and began to cry again. John and Tom both put their arms around the sobbing young cowboy. "Oh, I wish I could give them a reasonable excuse without having to mention this buckle!"
The buckle glowed briefly in response without any of them noticing. Then, John's face lit up with inspiration. "I've got it," he said, "we can just say you got stressed out from overwork and just wandered off without realizing how long you'd been gone! After all, having to run his family's farm basically by himself IS a pretty big load for a kid to handle--even a top hand like Jared!" "Yes," Tom responded slowly, "that just might do the trick!"
Jared, however, wasn't so sure. "How can you call me a top hand when I've pulled a stupid stunt like this?" he said dejectedly. "Now, wait a minute, Jared," Tom replied. "You didn't know any better when you made the wishes that brought you to this point. You had no real way of knowing how literally they'd be carried out--but you both know now, don't you?" The two teens nodded solemnly. "OK, then," Tom went on, "now that you DO know, you can learn from this experience and be more careful in the future. As for the rest of John's idea, I think it's quite reasonable--and I think I can help you guys work things out so that Jared's folks won't be too upset. First, though, like John said, we'd better call them."
With that, Tom extracted a small cell phone from the front pocket of his chaps. Jared told him his home phone number, which Tom dialed. When the phone was answered, Tom introduced himself, then explained the situation in line with John's suggestion. As he did so, Jared fervently whispered, "I wish for my parents and the police not to be too upset with me, and that things work out so that my friend John and I can be together more, and even work together." Again, the buckle glowed softly for a few moments in response.
A few moments later, Tom terminated the call, a pleased smile on his face. "It's OK, Jared," he reported. "They were more concerned than angry--especially when I pointed out the kind of load Jared has had to bear in the past few months. They're calling the police now to explain things to them and get the search called off. They DO want to talk to you, but not to chew you out! I told them I'd already done that, and that you'd been pretty upset with yourself as a result. I also promised them that we'd bring you home, so we'd better get moving. John, can DanO carry both of you long enough to get back to the house?" "Easily!" John assured him. With that the two teens mounted DanO, while Tom mounted his own stallion. He paused just long enough to phone John's father and explain the situation, then turned and rode back toward the ranch house, with John and Jared following.
John's father looked relieved to see Jared as the two youths dismounted. "Are you OK, son?" he asked Jared. Jared nodded. "OK, then, John, you and Tom go ahead and drive Jared home. We've got the roundup all taken care of, son, so don't worry. You did the right thing in looking for your friend. It shows your concern for him, and I'm very glad to see that!" "So am I, sir!" Jared said softly, as he gave his best friend a warm hug, actually kissing John on the cheek. John blushed with pleasure, then unashamedly hugged and kissed Jared right back. The two adults smiled, then Tom led the boys to the garage, where they took one of the farm's pickup trucks to drive Jared back home.