Mabel wanted to make the children even older just to see if she could. But now she knew that the ring didn’t affect clothing, just physical and mental ages and people’s perceptions. Then she remembered something that might help.
“Hey kids!” she said to the four 4-year-olds. “Come with me!”
The children followed her inside, into an empty classroom, where Mabel was able to find 4 smocks – really 4 old, adult-sized shirts.
“We’re going to do an art project next!” Mabel said. “Put your smocks on!”
Of course, the children complied happily with their teacher. They loved Miss Mabel. Once they had the smocks on, Mabel thought of a little white lie to tell them.
“I’ll be right back kids, I need to get some supplies,” she said. “Be good for a few minutes.”
What Mabel actually did was sneak around a corner just outside the door, out of sight of the kids but so she could watch them. Then she silently made her wish: that the four 4-year-olds would slowly age in mind and body.
After about a minute, she could see the results beginning. As they transitioned into 5-year-olds, they now looked like the older siblings of the 3-year-olds she had started with a few minutes ago. Jeremy and Beth were now about 39 inches tall, with Beth’s curly hair brushing her shoulders; Jeremy’s hair was largely unchanged. Lori, the slightly bigger and chubbier brunette, was 41 inches tall, and her dark brown hair now reached her middle back. Annie, the blonde, was 42 inches tall, and her baby fat had melted away, leaving her skinny as a rail. Her blonde hair was still in two pigtails.
On their own, the older children grew bored of waiting and pulled crayons and paper from off the shelf and began coloring. As they chatted with each other, Mabel was fascinated as their personalities seemed to develop and fully form in their little group.
Six-year-old Lori was the dominant girl, not bossy but she certainly led the conversation. “Let’s all color dinosaurs and trees and houses!” she declared as they started to color.
Annie had a bouncy, outgoing personality. “I’m colorin’ doggies!” she declared. “This one’s gonna be a beagle like my dog!”
Beth was shyer and wasn’t saying much. And it seemed like Jeremy was becoming protective of her. At one point, she dropped a crayon and he instantly went down to pick it up for her. “Here ya go,” he said. All Beth could do was smile and mumble a “thanks.”
Mabel quickly made her presence known again to the children. “Is everything all right here? Are you kids doing OK so far?”
“We’re fine, Miss Mabel,” said 7-year-old Lori. She was already 45 inches tall; she had to push bangs out of her eyes before her hairstyle changed in the front again to a part. Jeremy was 44 inches and Beth was still about 43 inches tall, with Beth looking around for a hair tie. Annie, still the tallest, was 46 inches tall, and her long hair had changed to shoulder length, losing her pigtails. She absent-mindely passed Beth one of her hair ties.
“OK, I’ll be back soon, Mabel said, returning to her out-of-the-way perch to continue watching the changes.