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**Spread the Word**

"It seems this festival will be as successful as the last one," Mrs. Guide said to Phyllis as they walked around the festival grounds, looking at the people.

"Yes, this is a good turn out," Mrs. Tapestry said, then she saw Gladys giving her an odd look. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Because I know the true reason why you asked me to go on a walk with you," Gladys said. "It's not for the exercise. You think you can find the other boys, or pets now, and tell them the information about the Wishing Tree."

"Okay, you're right," Phyllis said, but she didn't seem too upset that Gladys figured her out. "Is it so bad to help them?"

"No, but it's going to be impossible to find them," Gladys said, indicating the crowds of people.

"We found two of them," Phyllis said.

"That was just luck," Mrs. Guide said.

"From The Five," Mrs. Tapestry said.

"Not that idea again," Gladys mumbled, rolling her eyes. "You think The No-Brand Heroes will help us find the other guys?"

"They helped us so far," Phyllis said. "Plus, we're their favorite gals. So they will help us. Otherwise, they wouldn't have granted our wishes."

"Okay Phyllis, we'll keep an eye out looking for them, but we're not going on a wild goose chase," Mrs. Guide said.

"You think this is a dumb idea?" Mrs. Tapestry asked. "Well, I think telling that boy Richard the truth about A. J. was a bad idea."

"I thought it would help," Gladys said. "But you're right. Maybe that wasn't a bright idea. So we're even now."

"I'm glad that's settled," Phyllis said. "Maybe we should keep it our little secret."

"Very well," Gladys said.

Mrs. Guide then paused, and put out her hand to stop Mrs. Tapestry.

"What is it?" Phyllis asked, as Gladys put her hand down.

"Look over there," Gladys said, indicating to Phyllis what she saw. Phyllis laughed when she saw what caught Gladys's attention.

"See? It wasn't a dumb idea," Mrs. Tapestry said.

"Then maybe telling the owners the truth about their pets isn't a bad idea as well," Gladys said, as the women walked in a new direction.

"Well, not at first," Mrs. Tapestry said.

"I'll think it over, but right now, I'm thinking of a way to talk to those people," Mrs. Guide said.
~*~

"Oh, look Gina! It's one of those instant photo booths!" Ruth said, pointing the photo booth out. "Let's get a picture!"

"Sure!" Gina agreed and the young women walked over to the photo booth, taking Nick along in the cat carrier.

To their dismay, they found out that photo booth had enough room for two people to go in, but not enough room for the cat carrier to fit.

"Rats!" Ruth said, when she found out the photo booth was only big enough to hold only her and Gina. "I wanted a picture of us with Snowball."

"Couldn't we take him out?" Gina asked, as Nick listened in.

"I'm afraid that he might get scared and run away," Ruth said. "Then he might get lost."

"Yeah, and I don't want to leave him outside all alone," Gina said.

Nick was about to say that he wouldn't run away, but someone else spoke up.

"Excuse me," an old woman's voice said behind them.

Ruth, Gina, and Nick turned around to see two elder women. Nick recognized one of the old women.

`Mrs. Tapestry!` he thought, when he saw Phyllis.

"My friend and I heard your conversation, and we think we have a solution for you," the other old woman said. "Why don't you two young ladies get your picture taken and we'll watch your cat?"

"Well, . . . uh . . ." Gina tried to say. She felt sort of uncomfortable leaving Snowball with them.

"We won't do anything wrong," Mrs. Tapestry said. "Besides, what kind of trouble can two old women cause?"

"I think we can trust them," Ruth said, smiling over at what Mrs. Tapestry said.

"Well, . . . okay, but may we ask what are your names?" Gina asked.

"Phyllis Tapestry," Phyllis said.

"Gladys Guide," Gladys said.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ruth Garden, and this is Gina Knight," Ruth said, introducing her friend.

"And his name is Snowball," Gina said, lifting the cat carrier so Gladys and Phyllis could see the cat. Ruth then handed the cat carrier to Gladys.

"We won't be long," Ruth said. She and Gina then went into the photo booth.

When Ruth and Gina were inside the booth, Gladys and Phyllis looked inside the cat carrier to see Nick.

"Nick, right?" Gladys asked. Nick's eyes widen in surprise.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Nick asked. He then remembered that people couldn't understand him now.

"Howie told me," Gladys said. Nick looked confused. "Like you, I made a wish on the Wishing Tree, but I wish to understand animals."

"You saw Howie?" Nick asked.

"Yes, and your friend A.J. as well," Gladys said, and she told Phyllis what Nick said.

"They both wanted to undo the wish, but if a group makes a wish on the Wishing Tree, the same group must be together to reverse the wish," Phyllis said.

"Oh . . . wow," Nick said.

"Anyway kid, even though it's not what you wanted, it's really your vacation," Gladys said.

"I know," Nick said, smiling. Gladys then looked at Phyllis.

"Well that was easy," Mrs. Guide said.

"Boy must be smart enough to go with the flow," Mrs. Tapestry said.

Nick laughed hearing at that. Mrs. Tapestry then told Nick where she and Mrs. Guide lived, if he wanted a place to talk. Mrs. Guide added that they will help the guys communicate with each other. After that, Ruth and Gina came out of the photo booth.

"Thank you for watching Snowball," Gina said, as Mrs. Guide handed her the cat carrier back, while Ruth got the photos.

"Our pleasure dear," Mrs. Guide said.

"It's so nice to see friends enjoying themselves. Gladys and I were about your age when we met and look how long our friendship has lasted," Mrs. Tapestry said. She and Mrs. Guide then smiled at each other.

Ruth and Gina thanked Mrs. Guide and Mrs. Tapestry again. The college girls and the old women then said their good-byes and left in separate directions.
~*~

"Say Gladys," Phyllis said, after their talk with Nick.

"Yes?" Gladys asked.

"Why didn't we tell that boy A.J. where we live and that we will help him?" Phyllis asked.

"Do you think I want that kid in my house?" Gladys said, and Phyllis snickered. "He'll eventually find out."

After a few minutes, Mrs. Guide stopped, when she saw some familiar faces.

"What do you know," Gladys said, indicating the people to Phyllis. "They're the ones who got the last of the boys."
~*~

"'Snowball?'" Kevin asked Brian, astounded.

Brian nodded back and smiled. He and Kevin were still in the cat carriers. Linda and Grant decided to put the cat carriers down on a bench, while the families talked together.

"I can't believe Nick wasn't upset over that name," Kevin said. "It's not like him."

"He was probably thinking about the girls that adopted him," Brian said with a smile.

"Now that's Nick," Kevin said and the cousins laughed.

Marcus then came over to check up on the cats. He looked into the carriers and examine them.

"Hey Grant! Come here!" Marcus called out. Grant soon appeared, and he was followed by Linda.

"What is it?" Grant asked.

"Is something wrong with the cats?" Linda asked.

"They're okay. I just want you to look at them," Marcus said.

Grant and Linda bent down and peered into the cat carriers.

"Why are we doing this?" Grant asked Marcus, sounding a little annoyed.

"Don't you think the cats look little alike?" Marcus asked. Grant then looked at him. "Like they're related?"

"No," Grant said, standing up.

"Not even a little?" Marcus asked. Grant shook his head.

"They don't look like they're related," Grant said. "They don't look even close to brothers."

"Not brothers . . . maybe cousins?" Marcus said. Grant gave Marcus a look that Marcus was talking nonsense.

"Cousins? Where did you get that crazy idea?" Grant asked.

"Well, maybe they do look somewhat alike," Linda said, still looking at Brian and Kevin. Grant then turned around, interested to hear Linda's explanation.

"Hello Linda," a voice said.

Linda stood up, to see who was talking to her.

"Mrs. Guide, I didn't expect to see you here," Linda said, then turned to Grant. "Grant, you remember Mrs. Guide?"

"Yes," Grant said.

Marcus, Grant, and Linda moved away from the cats and Linda called their parents over.

Brian and Kevin saw Linda and Grant introducing Mrs. Guide to the parents. It seems that Mrs. Guide volunteer at their school tutoring students. Gladys then introduce her friend to the families.

"Kevin, look!" Brian exclaimed, seeing Mrs. Guide's friend.

"Mrs. Tapestry!" Kevin said, seeing Phyllis. "We got to talk with her! She must know how to undo the wish!"

"How?" Brian asked, as Kevin tried to get Mrs. Tapestry's attention.

"She's too busy now; we'll try later," Kevin said, seeing Phyllis talking to the families.

"It's nice to meet you," Grant said, shaking Mrs. Tapestry's hand.

"Thank you," Mrs. Tapestry said, smiling. "Did anyone tell you that you look like a young Errol Flynn?"

"No ma'am," Grant said, sort of embarrassed.

Marcus quietly chuckled to himself, watching Grant, and decided to save his brother.

"Hey Grant, the show with the surprise entertainment is going to start soon," Marcus said.

"Oh yeah. Linda, will you like to join us?" Grant asked, looking at her.

"Sure!" Linda said smiling, but then her smile faded. "But I can't leave Midnight alone. That area doesn't allow animals in the audience."

"Don't worry," Mrs. Guide said. "You go to the show, while Phyllis and I watch over your cats."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Crown asked.

"It's not a problem. You go and enjoy the show," Mrs. Guide said.

"Thank you Mrs. Guide! Midnight is over there, with Marcus's and Grant's cat, Brian," Linda said, showing Mrs. Guide where the cats are.

The Ellard family thanked Phyllis and Gladys, before they left with the Crown family. When the families were gone, Mrs. Tapestry and Mrs. Guide walked over to the bench and sat down. Mrs. Tapestry sat next to Kevin, and Mrs. Guide sat next to Brian.

"Are you Kevin?" Phyllis asked the green-eyed black cat in the carrier. Kevin looked really surprised hearing her words.

"Yes, you can recognize me?" Kevin asked, astounded.

"He's Kevin, Phyllis," Gladys said to Mrs. Tapestry. Then she looked at the blue-eyed white cat with yellow and orange markings. "Then you must be Brian."

"I am! How did you do that?" Brian asked. Gladys smiled.

"I made a wish to understand animals," Gladys said to Brian and Kevin. "Under the Wishing Tree."

"We met up with your friend Howie earlier, and he told us about your situation," Phyllis said.

"Then you know we need help!" Kevin said. "This wish has to be reversed! Can you take us to the Wishing Tree?"

"Sorry kid, but we're going to tell you what we told Howie, A.J. and Nick," Gladys said. "Because the wish was made by a group, the wish can only be reverse by the same group."

"No way!" Brian exclaimed.

"Why?" Kevin yeowed.

"It's how the Wishing Tree works," Mrs. Guide said, coming up with the best explanation she could think of.

"Will it work with half of the group?" Brian asked, and Mrs. Guide shook her head; Kevin was thinking of another way to fix their wish.

"Can you make the wish for us?" Kevin asked, looking at Gladys and Phyllis. "Can you wish for our wish to end?"

"I'm sorry child," Mrs. Tapestry said, after Gladys translated Kevin's words to her. "Only the group has the power to reverse the wish they made."

"Then we need to find the other guys!" Kevin said. "Do you know where they are?"

"We do, but we can't take pets away from their owners without a reasonable explanation," Gladys said.

"And no one is going to believe the true explanation," Brian said.

Kevin couldn't believe his ideas on how to reverse the wish didn't work. Mrs. Tapestry notice Kevin's frustrated expression.

"What's with the long face, boy?" Phyllis asked Kevin. "That's the wrong way to enjoy your vacation."

"Excuse me?" Kevin said, looking at Mrs. Tapestry. "My friends and I have been changed into animals, separated from each other and you call this a vacation?"

"Did he just say something rude to me?" Phyllis asked Mrs. Guide, after hearing Kevin's growls. Mrs. Guide smiled.

"He doesn't believe this is their vacation," she explained.

"Are you saying our wish really did come true?" Brian asked. Mrs. Guide nodded.

"Who's going to bother a pet with business?" Gladys said. "No one will ask for your autographs. To the world, you are just pets, not the BackStreet Boys."

"Maybe you're right," Brian said, thinking it over. "No more schedules, no more meetings, no more hiding! I can finally sleep in!"

"That's the spirit boy!" Mrs. Tapestry cheered, seeing Brian's happy cat face.

"Brian, we can't just abandon our lives!" Kevin exclaimed. "What about our responsibilities? What about our families?"

Brian's ideas on relaxing faded away when Kevin spoke.

"My, aren't you the pessimist one?" Gladys said to Kevin.

"Oh, don't be so hard on him Gladys!" Phyllis said. "He just doesn't see it yet."

"See what?" Kevin asked, and Gladys translated his words to Phyllis.

"Just how lucky you are," Phyllis said to Kevin. "You could be stuck doing a boring task, but now you been given the chance to escape the busy life for a relaxing one. Do you really want to go back to work so soon? Why are you worrying so much? The Five will take care of everything. Remember what I said about The Five helping people they like? They have helped you and your friends to be adopted by people who will take the best care of you. Stop thinking about what went wrong and try to think about what is right."

Kevin never heard advice like that before and began to think it over. He thought about Linda and what she said about the Crown family living on a ranch. It almost sounded like his childhood home.

"Have any of you boys blamed The No-Brand Heroes for the result of your wish?" Gladys asked Brian, while Kevin thought over Mrs. Tapestry's advice.

"I don't think so," Brian said, shaking his head.

"That's good," Phyllis said, seeing Brian's shaking his head. "The Five doesn't like it when people blame them when an outcome of a wish didn't come out as they wanted. The result of a wish is not the will of The Five. I bet that's why you boys have a lot of help from them, because you didn't blame them for the outcome of your wish, and you still don't."

"So those voices we heard was The Five?" Brian asked.

"Yes. Phyllis and I think those collars you wear is from The No-Brand Heroes," Gladys said. "Mostly because no one seemed to notice them until after you were adopted."

"A lot of good they did," Kevin finally said, looking at his collar. "No one wanted to stay with our real names."

"I kept my name," Brian smirked.

"Don't rub it in," Kevin said and sighed. "Still, it's the only complaint I have."

"Mrs. Tapestry! Mrs. Guide!" Marcus said, running up to them.

"What is it boy?" Mrs. Tapestry asked, when Marcus stopped in front of them.

"You got to see it!" Marcus said, excited. "The show! It's awesome! There's these two guys, and they perform magic tricks with wild cats! Mom asked me to tell you about the show and wanted to know if you would like to see it."

Gladys and Phyllis looked at each other, and shared a secret smile, before they faced Marcus again.

"It's a nice offer, but who's going to watch the cats?" Mrs. Guide asked.

"Mom said that I could take over, while you watch the rest of the show," Marcus said, sounding reluctant to miss the rest of the performance.

"It's alright," Mrs. Tapestry said, seeing Marcus's reluctance. "Tell your mom it was nice of her to offer, but we don't need to see it. We saw the performance last year. You go back before you miss the excitement."

"Okay. Thanks!" Marcus said; happy, because he could see the rest of the show now.

Marcus smiled to Mrs. Tapestry and Mrs. Guide as he left, and they waved back to him. When he was out of sight, Gladys and Phyllis broke out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" Brian asked, wondering what they were laughing about.

"Well boy, you just witness The Five helping you again!" Phyllis said through her laughter.

"How?" asked Kevin.

"Remember when I told you the members of The Five?" Phyllis said. "I said two of them are brothers and magicians."

"Wait, you're saying that act on stage is the magician brothers?" Brian asked.

"You got it kid," Gladys said, smiling, when she and Mrs. Tapestry were done laughing. "Gregory and Fredrick. Those wild cats are actually their companions."

"Oh yes!" Phyllis said, remembering that part of the legend. "Gregory, the eldest, has a cheetah named Wind Dancer. Fredrick, the youngest, has a snow leopard named Frost Singer."

"Um . . . why would two magician brothers help us, by putting on a show?" Kevin asked, still curious.

"It's a distraction," Gladys explained. "While the families watch them, we have the opportunity to talk to you."

Kevin nodded, understanding it now.

"You said you saw the other guys, how are they?" Kevin asked.

"They look fine, Your friend A.J. was upset when we told him how to undo the wish," Gladys said. "But he soon calmed down."

"Kevin?" Brian asked, seeing Kevin thinking.

"I guess this is our vacation," Kevin said. "But I can't stop worrying about the other guys."

"Don't you worry about your friends, boy," Mrs. Tapestry said, after Gladys translated Kevin's words to her. "We promise your friend Howie to help all of you keep in touch with each other."

"What about our families?" Kevin asked, looking at Mrs. Tapestry and Mrs. Guide.

The old women looked worried, after Gladys told Phyllis what Kevin said. To get in touch with their families was beyond Gladys's and Phyllis's power.

"We'll think of something," Gladys finally said to Kevin and Brian. She rather wanted The No-Brand Heroes to help them with that part.

Phyllis still noticed how tense everyone was and decided to lighten up the mood, by telling Brian and Kevin where she and Gladys lived.

"If you want a place to talk, you'll find us there," Phyllis said.

"Thanks," Brian said, but Kevin still felt uncomfortable with the situation.

"Still worried?" Gladys asked, looking at Kevin.

"Give it a try," Phyllis said. "If it doesn't work out, you can live with us."

"Maybe . . . it's not so bad as I thought," Kevin said, and smiled at the old women.

Minutes later, the Ellard and the Crown family returned. They thanked Mrs. Tapestry and Mrs. Guide for watching their cats. After a few more conversations, the families got their cats, and left to enjoy the rest of the festival. Gladys and Phyllis watched them leave, after they said good-bye to the families.

"Mission accomplished," Phyllis said proudly.

"Whatever Phyllis," Gladys said, as they started walking. "That's enough excitement for me for one day. Let's go home. You buy the drinks."
~**~

**~To Be Continued...~**