George's Marvelous Medicine

In the kitchen, George adds the ingredients one by one, but it doesn’t look quite right. George suddenly remembers that he added brown paint to the medicine, so Mr. Kranky hurries into the village, buys the paint, and comes back. George adds the paint and boils the mixture.

Seeing her husband’s excitement, Mrs. Kranky tells him to calm down, but Mr. Kranky replies that they are making “the greatest medicine ever discovered in the history of the world!” (69). George and Mr. Kranky decide to test this new batch, which they name “Marvelous Medicine Number Two,” on a chicken. After taking the medicine, the chicken shoots up into the air and comes back down, then sparks come out of its beak. Instead of the entire chicken growing larger, only the legs grow until they are 15 feet tall.

Mr. Kranky declares the medicine a failure, and George remembers that forgot to add dogs’ flea powder and brown shoe polish to this batch. Mr. Kranky returns to town to buy them.

Mr. Kranky returns with the flea powder and the shoe polish, and George adds them to the pot, stirs the mixture, and boils it again. George then tries out the new batch of medicine on a rooster. At Mr. Kranky’s invitation, Mrs. Kranky comes out to watch.

After taking the medicine, the chicken shoots into the air, then comes back down. After a moment, its neck begins to grow, stopping at about 6 feet. Mrs. Kranky points out that a chicken with a long neck is not useful, and Mr. Kranky asks George if he forgot to add anything else. George remembers that he added engine oil and antifreeze to the mixture. Mr. Kranky goes to the garage to get some.

George adds engine oil and antifreeze to the mixture, then boils and stirs it. Mrs. Kranky points out that it’s not enough to add the same ingredients; they must add the same amounts as well. She warns that the medicine could have unintended effects.

George tries the new batch of medicine on another hen. After trying the medicine, the hen makes a whistling noise, then shrinks until it is the size of a chick.

Mr. Kranky says that George must have forgotten something else. Mrs. Kranky expresses doubt that they can get it right.

Grandma approaches and asks why no one brought her usual morning cup of tea. Mrs. Kranky apologizes and offers to make some for her. Grandma yells to have George do it. Looking down, she sees a cup in George’s hand, full of his latest medicine. Thinking that the cup contains tea, she accuses George of taking care of himself without thinking of her. George and Mrs. Kranky try to explain that the cup doesn’t have tea in it, but Grandma doesn’t listen. Amused, Mr. Kranky encourages her to drink it. Grandma reaches down, takes the cup from George, and drinks it in a single gulp, swallowing 50 times more of the latest medicine than George gave to the chicken.

Grandma begins to make a whistling noise and let off steam. Mrs. Kranky panics, while Mr. Kranky watches in amusement. Soon the steam and the whistling stop, and Grandma begins to shrink. Grandma reaches her normal size but continues to shrink. Mrs. Kranky asks Grandma how she feels, and Grandma yells in response, “How would you feel if you’d been a glorious giant a minute ago and suddenly you’re a miserable midget?” (86). When Grandma reaches the size of a cigarette, Mrs. Kranky picks her up, desperate to stop her from shrinking, but Grandma continues to shrink until she vanishes from sight.

Mr. Kranky compliments George on his medicine. Mrs. Kranky is upset for a while, but by lunchtime, she suggests “it’s all for the best, really” (89). George is shaken, sure that he experienced magic.