“What’s that red balloon doing here?” asked Dr. Dan. “Well, never mind. Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop. Something about Stanley, my nurse says. He’s not been taken flat again?”
“No, no,” said Mrs. Lambchop. “Stanley has remained round.”
“They mostly do,” said Dr. Dan. “Well, let’s have the little fellow in.”
“I am in,” said Stanley, standing directly before him. “Holding the balloon.”
“Ha, ha, Mr. Lambchop!” said Dr. Dan. “You are an excellent ventriloquist! But I see through your little joke!”
“What you see through,” said Mr. Lambchop, “is Stanley.”
“Stanley became invisible during the night,” Mrs. Lambchop explained. “We are quite unsettled by it.”
“Headache?” Dr. Dan asked Stanley’s balloon. “Throat sore? Stomach upset?”
“I feel fine,” Stanley said.
“I see. Hmmmm …” Dr. Dan shook his head. “Frankly, despite my long years of practice, I’ve not run into this before. But one of my excellent medical books.
Difficult and Peculiar Cases by Dr. Franz Gemeister, may help.”
He took a large book from the shelf behind him and looked into it.
“Ah! ‘Disappearances,’ page 134.” He found the page. “Hmmmm … Not much here, I’m afraid. France, 1851: a Madame Poulenc vanished while eating bananas in the rain. Spain, 1923: the Gonzales twins, age eleven, became invisible after eating fruit salad. Lightning had been observed. The most recent case, in 1968, is Oombok, an Eskimo chief, last seen eating canned peaches during a blizzard.”
Dr. Dan returned the book to the shelf.
“That’s it,” he said. “Gemeister suspects a connection between bad weather and fruit.”
“It stormed last night,” said Stanley. “And I ate an apple. Raisins, too.”
“There you are,” said Dr. Dan. “But we must look on the bright side, Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop. Stanley seems perfectly healthy, except for the visibility factor. We’ll just keep an eye on him.”
“Easier said than done,” said Mr. Lambchop. “Why do his clothes also disappear?”
“Not my field, I’m afraid,” said Dr. Dan. “I suggest a textile specialist.”
“We’ve kept you long enough, Doctor,” Mrs. Lambchop said. “Come, George, Stanley—Where are you, Stanley? Ah! Just hold the balloon a bit higher, dear. Good-bye, Dr. Dan.”
By dinnertime Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop and Arthur had become quite sad. The red balloon, though useful in locating Stanley, kept reminding them of how much they missed his dear face and smile.
But after dinner Mrs. Lambchop, who was artistically talented, replaced the red balloon with a pretty white one and got out her watercolor paints. Using four colors and several delicate brushes, she painted an excellent likeness of Stanley, smiling, on the white balloon.
Everyone became at once more cheerful. Stanley said he felt almost his old self again, especially when he looked in the mirror.