*76
The batter hits a grounder between
second and third. The shortstop scoops
it up, tosses it to third base. OUT! The
third baseman fires it off to second.
OUT!  The second baseman hurls the ball
to the girl at first. OUT! A triple
play!

The crowd goes wild! Everything is back
to normal, with nine players on each
team.

You smile and Lexi purrs loudly in your
ear. "Back to the streets of Truism!"
you say.
*77
Lexi hops onto your shoulder and you
both look around. There is a normal
Little League game underway. Everyone is
having fun!

"There's nothing fishy here!" you say to
Lexi. Lexi shrugs her shoulders.

"That's the way the ball bounces!" she
says. You both leave the ballpark.
*78
Inside the school, the kids are still
working. They look tired and sad.

"Practice makes perfect," you say,
reading the words of the Saying Spell in
the sky. "If these kids have to become
perfect, they will be here forever."

"Time will tell," Lexi pipes up from
your left shoulder.

You notice that there is no Proverb
Prescription anywhere in sight, not even
a mixed-up one.
*79
"Hmm," you say. "It doesn't look like
there are any Proverb Prescriptions
here. Let's try somewhere else."

"You bet! We've got other fish to fry!"
Lexi agrees and you walk away from the
school building.
*80
Through the windows of the Truism
Elementary School you can see all the
students hard at work. But this can't
be! It's nearly 5 o'clock!
*81
You go inside the school building and
see all the kids still hard at work.
Lexi is sitting comfortably on your
shoulder. The principal walks up to you.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" the
principal asks. Before you can answer he
adds, "And take that cat outside! No
animals allowed in school!"
*81.1
You say, "That was close!"

"You bet, [NAME]," Lexi says. "You might
say we escaped by the skin of our
teeth!" You grin at Lexi.

"Should we cast the Proverb Prescription
you are carrying to try to undo
[CSPELL]?" she asks.
*85
The students of Truism Elementary School
are still hard at work. No one even
stops to look at you when you peer in
the window of one of the classrooms.

"Do you want to cast the Proverb
Prescription you are carrying to try to
undo [CSPELL]?" Lexi asks.
*88
The bell rings! The teachers and
students all look up from their books.
You've done it!

In a flash everyone is out of his or her
seat and rushing to the door--off to
home, to clubs, to sports, but
definitely not to homework!

You wave at them and Lexi waves her tail
happily. Satisfied, you head off for
another part of Truism.
*89
The sun is setting and the halls of
Truism Elementary School are deserted
except for a few janitors getting
everything ready for tomorrow. All is as
it should be.
*90
As you stand outside the Truism Tribune
building, you notice that no one ever
seems to leave or enter the building.
"Aren't reporters always coming or
going?" you ask Lexi. Lexi looks as
confused as you are.

You notice that there is no Proverb
Prescription around.
*91
"Hmm," you say. "It doesn't look like we
can do any good here right now. Let's
try some place else."

Lexi sighs and the two of you head to
another part of Truism.

"Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go!"
Lexi sings merrily.
*92
You walk into the office of the Truism
Tribune. The editor-in-chief is making
the next day's assignment. You hear her
telling one of the reporters to reprint
last year's story about the big winter
snowstorm.

"That's ridiculous!" you cry. "It's the
middle of July--who wants to read a
story about last year's snowstorm?"
*93
You and Lexi enter the newsroom.

"Why are you reprinting last year's
news?" you ask the editor-in-chief.

"Well," she says brightly, "that way we
are guaranteed to get the interesting
stories!"
*94
You look at the editor suspiciously.

"Sometimes no news is better than good
news," Lexi says. You nod.

"Why don't we cast the Proverb
Prescription you are carrying to try to
undo [CSPELL]?" Lexi asks, tapping your
grandfather's satchel.
*97
The editor-in-chief waves as she rushes
by. You hear her tell someone to look
into a story about the 1962 World's
Fair.

Lexi sighs, "Do you want to cast the
Proverb Prescription you are carrying to
try to undo [CSPELL]?" she asks.
*1000