Super Stanley - Tea for the Queen

Stanley carefully added water to the cup and turned off the tap. He picked up his favorite plastic tiger spoon and began to stir the water and teabag wildly, his little red cape flapping behind him as he worked. 

Water splashed onto the counter and sneaked toward the box of unused teabags, but it wasn’t important. He must hurry! Cleanup is not important when you are five.

It was a no-school day, so Mama (otherwise known as the "Queen") was home with him but was not feeling well and was still in bed.

Super Stanley’s mission was clear; he must heal the Queen. She always made him hot tea when he didn’t feel well so he would do the same. 

But not really the same. Stanley was not allowed to use the microwave, even though he knew all of his numbers, nor was he allowed to turn on the hot water tap.

He watched the teabag swirl around and around after lifting the spoon. When it slowed down, the tea was ready.

Stanley turned to his trusty sidekick Bob the cat. “Bob, the evil wizard has poisoned the Queen. We must get this potion to the Queen to make her better. It will be a dangerous mission!”

Bob looked at Super Stanley and licked his whiskers. “Meow,” he said.

With a jiggly China teacup on a saucer – only the best for the Queen – Super Stanley stepped down from his stepstool very carefully so he wouldn’t spill. This was not easy in his superhero boots. The day before they had been his snow boots, but because of this important mission for the Queen they had been upgraded.

Super Stanley headed for the stairs, which had now become a mountain he must climb to reach the castle and the Queen.

“Bob,” Stanley said, “stay close. There are many enemies and bad guys hiding all around. Keep your knives handy,” referring to Bob’s claws.

“Meow,” Bob answered.

Climbing the mountain was very dangerous. No ordinary boy could do it, but Stanley was a true superhero and had a lot of experience fighting the bad guys. At the end of every mission, he had been the victor. Now he must find and fight the evil wizard who poisoned the Queen and bring him to Justice.

Stanley didn’t know who Justice was, but that’s where all the good buys took the criminals on TV. 

He crept up the mountain carefully, looking behind every tree and bush for any foolishness preparing to jump out and attack him and Bob.

Suddenly there was a movement to the left. Stanley set the teacup down and braced himself for action by standing up tall, sticking out his chest and clenching his fists tight on his hips – the typical superhero stance.

It was the Carpet Creature! 

Stanley stepped over to the banister and jumped up, straddling it and sliding downward. He slid off and jumped down the bottom two steps to race over to his toys in the corner of the living room. Super Stanley grabbed his Lego sword from where he’d left it and raced back to the stairs. 

Over and over again he stabbed the Carpet Creature until it released its hold on Bob, who had been in a trance and could only blink at Stanley. 

Now that the Carpet Creature was done for, Bob’s trance was released, and he thanked Super Stanley profusely.

“Meow,” said Bob, as he rubbed his body alongside Stanley’s leg.

Super Stanley again picked up the clattering teacup and saucer and continued his journey up the mountain. The little hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up as he realized he and Bob were not alone. He turned to the right and saw Dust Man trying to attack from that side.

“Bob!” he shouted, “step aside while I put him where he belongs!”

The China again was placed on a step, but this time Stanley raced upwards to the bathroom to grab the dust ray. In a previous life, the dust ray had been Mama’s hairdryer, but it also received an upgrade today and was now a tool for superheroes. 

He aimed at Dust Man with seconds to spare before he and Bob would end up as nothing but a dusty memory. His chubby finger pushed the trigger on the “dust ray” and watched as Dustman was completely blown away.

Super Stanley and Bob looked around carefully as they resumed their climb. No other bad guys in sight. They reached the peak of the mountain and walked quietly along the ridge, which was previously known as the hallway.

Even Superheroes must pee sometimes, and Stanley decided this was one of those times. With all the excitement in crime fighting, he almost didn’t make it in time. 

“Whew,” Super Stanley sighed. “That was close. Next time I should “go” before I have to grab my weapons. Superheroes don’t pee their pants,” he explained to Bob.

“Meow,” agreed Bob.

After washing his hands with lots of soap, Stanley was ready to continue on his mission. Bubbles were everywhere, but you can’t be too careful after you’ve fought the Dust Man. Using a lot of soap is important and any pieces of Dust Man that may have blown onto you should be scrubbed off and go down the drain. Unfortunately, our superhero had soap inside and out of the sink, as well as all over the floor, but he couldn’t stop to clean up. After all, Super Stanley was on a mission.

“Bob, I need to finish my costume, so I look official to the Queen,” Super Stanley remarked.

“Meow,” Bob offered.

“Yes! I will check the clothes in this basket. I need a mask to hide my identity. ALL good superheroes have a secret identity,” he explained to Bob.

Stanley pulled down the basket of clean laundry sitting atop the dryer and it fell to the floor. First, he grabbed a pair of Dad’s black socks. He could cut two holes in one of them, but it would be difficult to stretch it all the way around his head, so he tossed them aside. 

There were many T-shirts and underwear inside the basket, but they were also thrown out.

“A-ha!” Stanley shouted, pulling out a red contraption that matched his cape. “This is perfect!” he told Bob.

Super Stanley took his prize into the bathroom and laid it out on the counter. Then he went to Mama’s sewing box and found her good scissors. Dad wasn’t home and Mama was sleeping, so he would handle things himself and make the coolest mask ever! The art teacher said Stanley was very creative and he was going to use that superpower today. 

“This is a really weird t-shirt,” he thought to himself, “it’s way too short for Dad.”

He held it up to his face to estimate where the holes for his eyes should be cut. Once he was satisfied of the correct spot, he cut a ragged, but somewhat circular hole on each side. He held up his mask, looped the straps over his ears and tied the two ends behind his head. There were hooks on one end, but they served no purpose on a mask.

“Perfect!” cried Super Stanley, as he gazed at the reflection of a real superhero in the mirror, complete with a red lacy mask that matched his cape.

By now I think we all know that the mask had been a bra in a previous lifetime, but five-year-old boys have great imaginations, so we will let him go on with his mission like a proper superhero.

Bob looked up at Super Stanley and blinked.

“Onward, Bob,” said our hero.

Stanley didn’t know what “onward” meant either, but it was a word that a lot of superheroes used, and it wasn’t a bad word, or Mama would make that funny sound like she sucked in air really fast before telling Dad to change the channel.

Sometimes superheroes need a snack before a big mission. Maybe he should eat before attempting to cross the crocodile-infested moat around the castle.

“We need food, so we have nennergy to cross the moat,” Stanley said. “Let’s get a sandwich,” he said. 

Bob thought it was a good idea too, and said, “Meow.”

The two scrambled down the stairs and ran into the kitchen. Out came the bread, peanut butter and a spoon. Stanley wasn’t allowed to use the knives so a spoon would have to do the job.

Three slices of bread were laid out and covered thickly with peanut butter. Stanley slapped two of them together and set his sandwich down in front of his chair at the table. He picked up the other slice of bread and offered it to Bob.

Bob wasted no time digging in, so Stanley chomped away on his lunch too. Peanut butter was on most of his fingers, the table, and all around his mouth. Bob was making quick jerking motions with his head and licking the roof of his mouth to try to swallow it.

Stanley climbed his stepstool again and poured a glass of water. He poured half of it into Bob’s bowl and took the glass to the table. The superhero and his sidekick did their best to wash their lunch down and get back to their mission.

“Ready, Bob?” asked Super Stanley.

“Meow,” Bob answered.

The pair went back up the stairs. As they passed Stanley’s room, he saw the cardboard box he had been using for a car a few days ago.

“Our boat!” cried Super Stanley. He entered his bedroom and examined the watercraft. 

Adjusting his mask, Super Stanley decided to use his creativity superpower again and turn this “car” into a “boat”. On the little table in the corner lay his markers and crayons. He scooped them up and plopped down onto the floor next to the box.

Stanley worked hard, only stopping to push his mask from his eyes and pushing it to the top of his head so he could see better. He drew portholes on both sides and people waving in some of them. It looked more like a cruise ship than a rescue boat you would take to cross a moat, but when you are a superhero you can use whatever you want.

A chair became his seat in the boat and a frisbee made a great steering wheel. The boat was ready!

“What do you think, Bob?” asked our hero.

“Meow,” Bob commented his approval.

A yawn escaped Stanley’s mouth, and he rubbed his eyes a little.

“I’m not tired, Bob,” he said. “Well, maybe just a little. Dad says you shouldn’t drive when you’re tired so maybe I should rest my eyes like he does sometimes.”

Stanley crawled onto his bed and covered up with his dinosaur blanket. Bob joined him and curled up against his back. Not because it was warmer, but because Bob’s job as a sidekick included protecting our hero.

“Thanks, Bob,” Stanley said, yawning again and petting Bob’s head.

Within a short amount of time, both were asleep, the tea long forgotten.

About an hour later, Super Stanley jumped up, waking quickly.

“BOB!” he shouted. “We overslept! C’mon!”

Having had both a snack and a nap, Super Stanley felt he had enough “nennergy” to cross the moat and get the tea to the Queen to save her from the wizard’s poison.

Stanley pushed the boat into the hallway, placed the chair inside and picked up the cup and saucer where he’d left them by the bathroom door. He got the boat “started” and it made good time speeding through the moat to the castle. Once they arrived, it was just a matter of sneaking past the guards and getting the potion to the Queen.

“Bob, you keep watch while I carry this inside,” Super Stanley instructed.

“Meow,” agreed Bob.

Creeping quietly into his parents’ bedroom and slowly making his way to the bed, a little of the potion sloshed out onto the carpet, but he had to continue on, no matter what. The room was strangely quiet, but he could hear the Queen breathing softly.

“Your Highness,” Super Stanley said quietly. “Your Highness? I have a potion ready to make you feel better,” he continued.

Mama moved a little, her head turning toward Stanley.

“Oh, what do you have here?” she said, eyeing the cup and saucer in his hands.

“A potion,” Stanley said.

“A potion, huh? Thank you so much,” and she took the cup to drink from it, anticipating warm, soothing tea to glide down her throat.

“Accckkkkk,” choked Mama. “It’s - very cold - but thank you so much for making me better, my love,” she said and hugged him close to her.

“I can’t use the hot water,” mumbled Stanley.

“It’s great,” she said, “just the way you made it.”

Stanley smiled. “Bob and I had to travel up the mountain, fight the bad guys, and take a boat through the moat to get to you.”

“I see,” said the Queen. “I am grateful, the Kingdom is grateful. You have saved the day.”

“Not until I capture the wizard. I have to go now,” said Super Stanley.

“The wizard has gone away,” said the Queen. “We are all safe.”

Super Stanley nodded. “For now,” he said.

“Meow,” Bob added.

Super Stanley rose to leave the castle and the Queen, who was now in perfect health from the potion, even though it had been cold.

He heard the front door open and a voice rang out,” Anybody here?” It was Dad – he was early!

Super Stanley started running down the hallway to the stairs to greet him.

“STANLEY!” Dad’s voice boomed, “This mess! There is water and tea all over the counter, peanut butter on the table…” This voice sounded crabby, not like Dad. Stanley froze.

The wizard! 

Stanley pushed his mask down to cover his face and braced himself. Super Stanley and Bob the cat back in action!