“He gave us some horrible sushi,” Brenda interrupted.
“Yes. But what are sushi? They’re rolls of rice! Don’t you see? The ear didn’t hear you properly. You asked for a Rolls-Royce and it gave you some rolls of rice!”
“The second wish was a ton of money,” Brenda said.
“That’s right. And then you met that woman and she gave you a tin of honey. It was almost the same, but it got it wrong a second time. And then, last night . . .”
“I said I wanted my hair again,” Brian remembered.
“Yes. And what did we get instead?” Brian and Brenda stared at Bart. “We got a hurricane!”
There was a long silence. All three of them were staring at the ear.
“It’s a deaf monkey!” Brian shouted.
“Yes.”
“Blooming heck!” He licked his lips. “But in that case, if only I’d spoken a little louder . . . I could have had anything I wanted!”
Brenda’s eyes widened. “You’ve still got one wish left!” she exclaimed.
Bart snatched the ear. “But it’s my monkey’s ear!” he said. “You bought it for me and this time I want to make the wish. I can get a new bike. I can never have to go back to school. I can be a millionaire. I want to make the wish!”
“Forget it!” Brian’s hand flew out and grabbed hold of the ear. “We’ve only got one more chance. I’m head of this family—”
“Dad—”
“No!”
Father and son were both fighting for the ear while Brenda looked on, still trying to make sense of it all.
“I want it, Dad!” Bart yelled.
“I wish you’d go to hell!”
The words were no sooner out of Brian’s mouth than there was a flash and an explosion accompanied by a cloud of green smoke. When Brian and Brenda next opened their eyes, the monkey’s ear was lying on the kitchen table. There was no sign of Bart.
Brenda was the first to recover. “You idiot!” she screeched. “You nincompoop! What did you say?”
“What did I say . . . ?” Brian remembered his words and his face went pale.
“You told him to go to hell!” She sat down, her mouth dropping open. “Our son! Our only boy! That was what you wished!”
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” Brian thought feverishly. “You heard what he said! The monkey’s ear is broken. It doesn’t hear properly.”
“You told him to go to hell!”
Since then, Brian and Brenda Becker have looked for Bart on a hill and in a well. Recently, they moved to the city of Hull and they’re almost certain that one day he’ll turn up there.
But they haven’t found him yet.
Anthony Horowitz, The Complete Horowitz Horror
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