8. Crime and Punishment

CHAPTER 8 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT At six o'clock the next morning, George and Harold dragged themselves out of bed, walked over to Mr. Krupp's house, and began washing his car. Then, while Harold scrubbed the tires, George roamed around the yard pulling up all the weeds and crabgrass he could find. Afterward, they cleaned the gutters and washed all the windows on Mr. Krupp's house.

At school, George and Harold sat up straight, listened carefully, and spoke only when spoken to. They didn't tell jokes, they didn't pull pranks—they didn't even smile. Their teacher kept pinching herself. "I just know this is a dream," she said.

At lunch, the two boys vacuumed Mr. Krupp's office, shined his shoes, and polished his desktop. At recess, they clipped his fingernails and ironed his tie. Each spare moment in the boys' daily schedule was spent catering to Mr. Krupp's every whim.

After school, George and Harold mowed Mr. Krupp's lawn, tended his garden, and began painting the front of his house. At sunset, Mr. Krupp came outside and handed each boy a stack of books. "Gentlemen," he said, "I've asked your teachers to give you both extra homework. Now go home, study hard, and I'll see you back here at six o'clock tomorrow morning. We've got a busy day ahead of us."

"Thank you, sir," moaned the two boys. George and Harold walked home dead tired. "Man, this was the worst day of my entire life," said George. "Don't worry," said Harold. "We only have to do this for eight more years. Then we can move away to some far-off land where they'll never find us. Maybe Antarctica." "I've got a better idea," said George.

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Harold. It was an old magazine ad for the 3-D Hypno-Ring. "How's this going to help us?" asked Harold. "All we gotta do is hypnotize Mr. Krupp," said George. "We'll make him give us the video and forget this whole mess ever happened." "That's a great idea!" said Harold. "And the best part is we only have to wait four to six weeks for delivery!"