Free George Brown and the Protector by Duane L. Ostler Page A

such a nuisance the day before at
Aunt Agnes’ house, and he had kept making new messes for her to
clean up all morning--such as when he poured salt in his milk, and
put catsup on his cereal.
    From the front of his house George looked up
and down the street, but didn’t see anyone or any sign of the
protector’s car. He smiled. Just because there was no person in
sight didn’t mean the protector wasn’t there. The last time he had
surprised George as a dog, and in the park he had been a bird.
George looked in all directions for any type of small animal. He
didn’t intend to be caught off guard this time.
    The sun was shining and it promised to be a
warm, beautiful day. There was a gentle breeze and several
butterflies were fluttering in the air. George couldn’t see any
dogs along the street, or any cats either (other than DoorJam, who
was snoozing on the front porch). Although he could hear some birds
singing nearby, George couldn’t actually see any birds either.
    George settled himself down to wait. He had
just plopped down cross-legged on the grass when he heard a voice
in his ear.
    “So, are you ready to go to China?” it
asked.
    George stumbled to his feet and turned
swiftly around, but there was no one there.
    “Whoa, there!” said the voice again. “Settle
down! You nearly crushed me!”
    George looked around wildly. There was still
nothing in sight other than a butterfly fluttering gently through
the air near his head.
    George did a double take. The butterfly! Of
course! George looked at it intently. It didn’t look anything like
the protector. George couldn’t tell if it even had a mouth to talk
with.
    “Yep,” came the voice again. “Today I’m a
butterfly. It’s actually kind of pleasant for those days you just
want to float around on the breeze, light as a feather. But it can
be dangerous if a strong wind comes along – or if you get too close
to a human who thinks you're a potato chip, or who jumps around and
flails his arms like you just did!”
    “Sorry about that,” said George. “I wasn’t
expecting you to be a butterfly. I’ll try to be more careful.”
    “So,” said the protector again, “are you
ready to go to China?”
    “You bet!” exclaimed George.
    “Well, ant number 4 has the car parked right
around the corner,” said the protector, “so let’s get going.” The
butterfly headed off for the corner at a surprisingly fast pace,
with George trotting along to keep up with it.
    When they reached the car, Ant number 4 was
seated in the driver’s seat staring straight ahead as usual. The
butterfly flew through the open passenger seat window and down to
the little door. As George opened the car door to get in, he heard
a tiny voice floating up to him. “No need to come down here and
shrink. Just take a seat in the back. Ant number 4 knows where to
go. I’m just going to make a quick change and will be right out.”
George then saw the butterfly flutter through the tiny door.
    George sat down in the back seat, and ant
number 4 started the car and began driving. George still couldn’t
imagine how they could travel halfway around the world to China in
this little car, but he had already seen the protector do so many
amazing things that he no longer doubted they would do it
somehow.
    Ant number 4 took the car into the country,
past the orchard and then to the field where the fallen star was
located. The car came to a stop. George heard the protector’s tiny
voice say, “We need to start from a secluded spot, and this place
is as good as any. I’ll be right up and set up the portable
transporter.”
    George remained in the back seat, waiting.
Ant number 4 stayed exactly where he was, staring blankly ahead
into space. Suddenly there appeared on the passenger seat a stubby
little man with his shirt tail hanging out and an unshaven growth
of stubble on his face. As the man opened the door and got out of
the car, George was surprised to see that he was even shorter than
George