Kathryn smiled and held out her hand. She turned it over, revealing a simple gold ring with a large polished
gem in the middle and a carving to look like a beetle. Nate recognized it immediately and couldn't help but
smile. He took the ring from her and looked over it. He was surprised when the gem began to glow. She could
tell he was getting excited. He looked on the inside of the band and sure enough, the magic words were there.
Nate's heart raced from excitement and he looked back to Kathryn. "Really?"
"Really. I thought we'd start at the beginning for you. I created it just like it was in the movie. Do you
like it?"
"I love it." Nate was about to read the incantation. Kathryn stopped him.
"Be careful, for the spell will work exactly as it did in the movie and you may find yourself transforming at
inopportune times..." Kathryn warned.
"Heck, that's part of what makes it so exciting..." Nate smiled.
"Then, you should hurry home and try it out," replied Kathryn.
"Thank you so much," replied Nate and he ran out of the house, across the yard and into his own house. He was
so excited he couldn't believe it. On the counter was a note from his Mom reminding him the she and his
brother would be out of town for the week for his brother's church retreat and that he had the house to
himself. He smiled again and ran upstairs, pulling off his shoes and tossing them aside. He walked into the
bathroom and turned on the light.
He took a deep breath, looked down at the ring, and read the inscription, "In canis Corpore Transmuto."
Nate looked back at this reflection again, but nothing happened. He repeated the inscription again and again,
pacing around the bathroom. He put the ring on his right ring finger and admired it a little more when he
noticed white hairs starting to grow in as his nails got darker. He turned around to the mirror and saw his
reflection. Long strands of white, grey and black hair were growing in and growing thicker by the moment. The
excitement continued to increase as he was the fur grow in all over his body, even over his clothes as his
teeth grew out into canine fangs and his body reformed from a boy into a four legged dog. His hands and feet
shrank and reformed into paws. His ears grew out and flopped over as his face pushed out into a canine snout.
He dropped to all fours and walked out of the bathroom. This was amazing. At first it felt weird and alien to
walk like this, but he got the hang of it. He ran downstairs and then around the rest of the house, enjoying
his newly transformed self. Finally he climbed onto the couch in the living room and slowly drifted off to
sleep.
The next morning, he awoke and found he was back to his old self. He started giggling to himself from the
excitement and ran upstairs and into the bathroom. He was completely back to his old self. He saw the ring was
still there on the counter, almost begging him to read the inscription again. Instead, he stuck the ring in
his pocket and went next door to his friend Matt's house to hang out and play video games for awhile.