I was exploring on the beach after a real bad storm passed through when I found a weird looking bottle. It was shaped real odd and seemed to be a lot heavier than it should be. hen I picked it up, I noticed that it was covered with lots of dirt and crusty old gunk.

I wonder what it’s for and where it came from?

There could be a note for help inside from someone stranded on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. He must have tossed this bottle in the water and it floated over thousands of miles to this beach. I’ll bet he’s still waiting for someone to rescue him. I could give the note to the Coast Guard and they could find him!

No, I guess not, this bottle is way too heavy to float all that way. What else could it be?

What if there’s a magic Genie inside? I could clean it up, then polish it real hard so the Genie will pop out and give me three wishes. I’d wish for a huge castle filled with all the best toys and games. All my friends could come and stay there. We’d have big pizzas delivered and all play with the Genie.

I don’t think there’s a magic Genie inside either. My big brother told me that things like that don’t happen in real life. It must have come from somewhere though. It sure is strange looking, what else could it be?

I’ll bet it’s part of some sunken pirate treasure that washed up during the storm! There could still be a huge chest of valuable gold coins and jewels on the beach somewhere. If I could find it, I’d buy presents for all my friends... even my big brother.

Maybe it’s not a bottle at all. I wonder if the storm had caused damage to an alien spaceship? They might have had to land on the beach to make repairs. This is probably a broken engine part that they left on the beach. They might still be around here studying seagulls or driftwood. If I find them, they might show me their spaceship!

No pirate treasure or space aliens around here anywhere. The beach is loaded with lots of seaweed and driftwood, and that’s all!

This bottle is probably just garbage from someone’s picnic or beach party. I’ve found some pretty weird stuff around here before... but not anything as weird as this bottle.

There might be a little tiny city inside with lots of real small buildings, cars and trucks. It would be full of little people playing, working, and walking around on the narrow streets. If I could get the top off, I could talk to them and find out what they know. Maybe they’d be real smart and could help me with my math homework.

Hey, it has one of those black rubber corks that scientists use! This bottle could be a special radiation proof container for high energy top secret rocket fuel. The fuel might be made special for a super fast rocket that would go to Mars or Venus. It probably fell off a truck or ship that was delivering it for a secret test. I would get a medal from the President for finding and returning it!

Maybe not, I don’t think anyone would loose top secret rocket fuel. I wonder if it’s some mad scientist’s formula instead?
Yeah! It could be a formula that would turn me into a monster if I drink it. I’d be huge and hairy with great big muscles and a super sharp horn. Then I could go down the street and scare that bully, Eddie Nichols.

Nah... I don’t want to be a monster, besides, the formula would probably taste super yuckie.

It could still be some kind of formula.
If it doesn’t taste too bad, it could turn me into a super genius. I’d be the smartest kid in the country. When all the top scientists want to know how to get to another galaxy, they would come and ask me. I’ll bet my teacher would never complain about my math again!

When I finally got the cork out, some terrible, smelly brown water poured out. My dog, Fred, stuck out her tongue and sneezed when she smelled it. Boy did it smell really bad!

Now it’s just a dirty, smelly old bottle!

Oh well, it still looks like a neat bottle. I’ll bet I can clean it up and wash out the nasty smell.

I guess I’ll keep it, even if it is just an ordinary but weird looking bottle.