Once upon a time, a scientist went deep into the forest and built a laboratory in the trunk of an old tree.  She was no ordinary scientist.  She did not want to look through a microscope.  She did not want to look through a telescope.  She did not want to dust off old bones.  She wanted to make drawings come alive. 

 

Her beakers were filled with paint.  Her cabinets were filled with fabric and thread.  Her test tubes were filled with buttons and beads.

 

Every morning, by the light of the sun or the rhythm of the rain, she would walk the pebbled path to her tree.  She would glance carefully about to make sure she was alone, unlatch the door that had been carved into the mighty oak's trunk and enter the passageway to her lab.

Once inside, she would begin her experiment:

Day after day, year after year, the scientist worked on her experiment. Now when she walked to her laboratory, she needed a cane to support her steps.

"I may be old," she said, "but my dream is still young.  I will never give up until it comes true."

One cold winter's night, it did.

The moon was full, the air was crisp with snow and the scientist was eager to finish up for the night.  Two beakers marked potion remained to be cleaned- one filled with purple, one filled with green. 

"I'm tired," she said.  "I need some fresh air."

She only opened the door a crack, but it was enough for the last two leaves of the mighty oak to float in and land, one in each beaker.

Suddenly there was a rumbling and then a tumbling and then a mumbling!  "Whoaaaaaa!!!" shouted  two doodles that had morphed and come alive. 

The scientist dropped her cane and scooped one soft creature into each arm.  "Dr. Stalk!  Professor Electra!  I thought you'd never get here!"

"Where are we?  Who are we?  WHAT are we?" they asked, looking up into the scientist's eyes.

"You, my dears, are my first Morphadoodles.  Professor Electra," she said, beaming at her long-awaited purple friend, "meet the esteemed, very green Dr. I.M.A. Stalk."

 

The two Morphadoodles, whose pictures had hung side by side in the Lab for years and years, nodded hello.  "Oh, you'll have to do better than that, gentlemen," she said, "I have great plans for you."

"Plans?" asked Dr. Stalk, as he reached into the pocket of his lab coat for a clipboard and pen.  "Is there something I should be writing down?"  And then he stopped and stared wide-eyed at the scientist.  "How do I know how to write?  How do I know this is a pen?"

"All in good time , my friend," she answered as she gently placed the pair on top of her lab table.  "There's something I need to show you first."

With a spring in her step that belied her years, she walked over to a framed photograph of a most unusual oak leaf that hung on the wall.  Curious, Professor Electra scuttled behind her.  "That's beautiful," he murmured.

"I knew YOU would appreciate it," she told  him, smiling from ear to ear.

Behind the photograph was a nook.  Inside the nook was a dusty journal. "This book will answer all your questions."  She unlocked it with a key that hung on a chain close to her heart,.  "And since you both already know how to read," she said drawing the two in her lap, "I urge you to read it carefully- with an artist's eye and a scientist's mind."

         

 

The scientist silently watched her creations as they read her ancient pages.

 

  

"Wow!" shouted Professor Electra as he tried to burrow into the scientist's deep coat pocket.  "We used to be pictures that started out in your HEAD!"

"Amazing," said the cool Dr. Stalk as he straightened his scarf.  "Pictures and ideas that came together and made us... Morphadoodles."  He studied the scientist.  "And so, my dear lady, what is your plan for us?"

The scientist picked up the journal and locked it with her key.  "From this day forward I want the two of you to be in charge of my Lab and invite children around the world to send you their doodles and data so that THEIR art can also come alive."

 

The two Morphadoodles stood very still.  "Won't you be here with us?" they asked.

"No," she said.  "Now that you're here it's time for me to move on."  With a warm hug for each, she began to walk away from the Lab that she had built in the mighty oak tree.  Then she stopped and turned.  "Remember," she said, "this is Top Secret."  Dr. Stalk nodded and a big tear started to slip out of his giant eye.  "Don't be sad, my friend.  You have the secret formula... You will make magic."

And with a twirl of her cane, she was off.  "Doodle on."