"I'll do it!" A man in his mid-thirties stood up and came to the stage, but stopped before stepping up on it. "Madame Illusia, I have seen many amazing and terrifying things here. Your power is great, and I am scared to stand before you. But I have dreamed of seeing magic ever since I was a little boy, and I can't pass up the chance to be part of it, no matter what the risk."
The witch raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Come and take my little test, then. What is your name, my honest and naive victim?"
"Charles." The man looked even more nervous at being called her victim, but did not hesitate. Stepping on the stage, he knelt near the cheerful-looking Sheepdog, and immediately got a sloppy lick from the animal. After a minute or two, the audience let out a collective breath - Charles was still human. He was rubbing the dog with both hands, and getting enthusiastic licks from his new pet.
"You see?" Illusia gave the audience a smile. "It is possible to leave my presense on two legs! Though I think a small adjustment should be made to make our friends there happier. After all, while a dog is man's best freind, true companionship exists between a dog and his boy!" She gestured at the man, who half-turned as he heard her speaking.
Charles shrank suddenly, his polo shirt and slacks becoming a striped T-shirt and shorts. Freckles appeared over his skin, and his hair turned from brown to copper red. Now a cute-looking seven or eight year-old boy, he looked confused for a moment, then gave a gap-toothed grin. "Gee, lady! I can really have him? He's a neat dog!"
"Yes, Charlie." The witch smiled. "And I'm sure your new parents will take good care of him and you." She scanned the audience and focused on an elderly couple in the front row. The man and woman clutched each other in fear, but then looked bewildered as they youthened into a handsome couple about the age that Charles had been just minutes ago. The woman blinked, then flushed. "Charlie! Get off the stage right now! And bring Sean with you!"
Charlie looked back at her, and scrambled up. "OK, momma!" He stopped in front of the witch. "Thanks again, lady!"
Illusia touseled his hair and grinned down at him. "You are welcome, my very innocent and foolish young friend. I'm sure you will be a very happy little boy. Not too smart, but always happy, and always a little boy."
Charlie wrinkled his nose in confusion, and his bright blue eyes seemed to dim just a little bit. "Uh, ok!" Then he hopped off the stage and stumbled over to his parents, with the dog at his heels. His father took his hand, and the new family walked out.
The witch waited until they were gone and then looekd over the audience. "Charles was a bit too honest and naive to be a grown man - so I adjusted his age to fit his nauseatingly innocent personality. He is now a slightly retarded little boy - and fifty years from now, a hundred years from now, he and his dog will still be as you just saw them. You see, Charlie will never grow up. He will learn new things each year, only to have them slip away before the next. He will make new freinds, but as they get older, both he and they will forget that freindship. Charlie is forever eight years old." She smiled, but this time the expression was cold. "Does anyone here think I just did a nice thing?"