Nearby, four 3-year-old children were playing on the playground equipment. The only boy was a brown-haired child named Jeremy. He was playing with three girls: an average-sized brunette child named Beth, a slightly bigger brunette child named Lori, and a taller blonde child named Annie.
Mabel thought it was time to attempt some physical changes as well as mental changes with the ring. She silently wished that the three children were each on year older in both mind and body. As she watched, Jeremy and Beth grew slightly from 33 inches tall to 37 inches, while Lori and Annie went from 34 inches each to 38 and 40 inches respectively. Mabel was impressed with the ring’s power but noticed that their clothing hadn’t changed sizes with them. She again silently wished for their clothing to match their ages but nothing happened. Mabel realized the ring might be powerful but it did have its limits.
Mabel couldn’t help but also notice some other subtle changes to the children. Lori had had shoulder-length hair before that was now longer, while the part in Jeremy’s hair had changed. All four children’s speech patterns seemed changed as well, as if a year’s worth of vocabulary had entered their brains. They also seemed friendlier, as if they had spent the entire year that “passed” in each other’s company.
“This is so cool,” Mabel thought to herself. “I wonder what would happen if I made them even older?”
Mabel concentrated on the children and began to think about how much older to make them.