The Orange Monster Guy

by Jill Wolfson

There was once a beautiful World of 2,003 Colors. Birds with yellow, red, and purple feathers winged across a sky that was twenty-seven shades of blue. Children gathered flowers of cotton-candy pink and sea-mist green.

Everyone was very happy. Everyone except a certain someone. For in this World of 2,003 Colors, he was the only colored one shade of one color.

Orange.

He had orange flyaway hair. It stuck out like carrots from his orange scalp. When he got angry (which was quite often), he snarled with orange, pointy teeth. His toenails were orange. Even his belly button was orange.

Everyone referred to him as "You know, that miserable Orange Monster Guy."

One day, the Orange Monster shook his orange fist at the sky of twenty-seven shades of blue and roared: "One color, orange, should be good enough for anyone!" Then he stuck out his tongue and blew a big razz of stinky orange breath. To his surprise and delight, all the birds turned orange. The sky looked like a huge puddle of freshly squeezed orange juice.

There was no stopping that Orange Monster now! He stomped around the entire world, blowing huge orange breath-balls and leaving gigantic orange footprints. Everything in his path—people, animals, houses, cars, flowers, trees—turned the same color.

Orange. Bring back the blues and reds!" the miserable orange people pleaded. They didn't have anything against the color orange. In fact, they'd always admired it in certain flowers and lollipops. But now that everything everywhere was suddenly this same hue, the world had become unbearably boring.

"We don't want to live in a world of one measly color!" they cried. But the Orange Monster just sneered and laughed and ignored their orange tears.

Luckily, someone had escaped this terrible orange fate. A little girl named Violet had bought oranges on sale at the local market. Minutes before the Orange Monster had stormed into town, Violet completely covered herself with the fruit, then held her breath.

"No need to orange that," the monster had said, passing by the pile.

Now, everyone stared with admiration at Violet's splendid colors. They all wanted to touch the paisley print bandana wrapped around her neck.

"Let's put her in a zoo," an orange lady suggested.

"Hold it right there!" Violet protested. She had to think fast. "Obviously, I'm the only one who's a match for that Orange Monster Guy. Obviously, I have—"

But suddenly, Violet was blinded by a burst of neon orange light. A horrible smell of soured juice rushed over her like a wave. The wind gusted to sixty miles per hour, swirling dirt and trapping her in an all-orange sandstorm.

"Who dares wear that paisley print scarf?" a voice bellowed with anger. In the monster's eyes, she could see her own face, reflected in orange. It was horrible! This was how she was going to look without all her wonderful colors. She couldn't let it happen!

In a burst of bravery, Violet stamped her right foot and blurted out: "You can't change me, you Miserable Orange Monster Guy!"

The monster just cackled a mean laugh. But when he blew on her, his stinky wind of orange breath merely bounced off Violet and hit the startled monster smack in his own orange face.

Violet then filled up HER cheeks and puffed out some bright purple.

"It smells like ripe grapes," the monster roared. "I hate it!"

And so the fight was on.

The monster blew orange at Violet. Violet nailed him with a splat of royal blue. The monster came back with a shot of orange to the nose. Violet puff-puff-puffed crimson red, daffodil yellow, and chocolate brown.

"Stop!" a tired voice finally pleaded. "You win! I give up!"

From out of the swirl of colors stepped Violet. She smiled and straightened her paisley-print bandana. People started cheering. Flowers suddenly sprouted into bundles of candy-apple red and mint green. Yellow, red, and purple birds winged across a sky twenty-seven shades of blue.

Everyone in the World of 2,003 Colors was very happy once again. Everyone, that is, except a certain someone.

"I got clobbered," the monster moaned, too sad to be mean. "Once again, I'm the only thing that's only one shade of one measly color."

That's when Violet held up a mirror so the monster could see his reflection. "I can't believe my eyes!" he said. "Why … I'm beautiful!"

Well, he wasn't exactly beautiful, but the battle had certainly changed the Orange Monster Guy. He now had pink flyaway hair, and when he smiled (which was quite often now), he showed off green pointy teeth. His arms were purple polka-dotted, and his feet were blue pin stripe. The only thing still orange was his belly button, and orange, everyone agreed, was the perfect shade for it.

And from that day on, in the World of 2,003 Colors, everyone referred to him as, "You know, that Happy-Go-Lucky Tutti-Frutti Guy."