But when he looks at us he changes. If we took him away now, he'd alter still more."

"Celia, think back. When you were very young and played with dolls."

"They were never human toys."

"No. But you were never human, Celia. Fuzzy Head isn't a human doll now. Johnny changed him by playing with him!"

"What do you mean?"

"Once Fuzzy Head was just a wooden doll in a toy shop on earth. But Johnny poured a part of himself into Fuzzy Head. A child always does that. Even when a human child puts itself into its fantasy life there's almost a physical transference. And Johnny could do it better than a human child!"

"You mean?"

"We can't take Johnny now. When he learns to put aside childish things, he'll be ready to go with us, but not before. He'll have to detach himself from Fuzzy Head first. If we did the detaching, something rather dreadful might happen to Johnny. There would be—a tearing!"

"Oh, don't! That's horrible!"

"Yes. You see, Celia, Fuzzy Head is still too much a part of Johnny. You might almost say flesh of Johnny's flesh and bone of Johnny's bone!"

"But some day we'll have Johnny?"

"Of course. But he'll have to stay here with Fuzzy Head and his human parents until he grows more mature. In ten—twelve years perhaps. Human years. They pass swiftly."

There was a sudden, pulsing brightness in the shadows.

As Johnny stared, a tight, hard lump in his throat, it swirled around the radiant man and woman and lifted them into the air. It touched Johnny too for an instant, almost caressingly. Then it dimmed and vanished.

As the shadows came rushing back Johnny gripped Fuzzy Head fiercely and held him close.

"I'll never leave you!" he sobbed. "You're mine, forever and ever. When I have to punish you, it hurts me, too! Awfully, Fuzzy Head!"

Hot tears stung the corners of Johnny's eyes.

"I'm going to stay here 

 Prev. P 11/14 next