The Genie (sorry if this has been posted before) Three friends are stranded on a desert island. All they want is to go home, but no ships have passed by and they are quite alone in the middle of nowhere. One day, one of them digs a hole and, to his surprise, pulls out a lamp. "Maybe it's a magic lamp. Rub it and let's see if a genie appears!" one of the men shouts. The man who found it gently wipes the grit from the lamp and, to his astonishment, smoke pours from the spout to curl around their heads. "Holy cow! That's a real genie," he cries. "Yes," the deep voice fills the air. "I will grant you three wishes. Remember to use them wisely. There will be only three wishes allowed." One of the friends rushes forward and shouts, "I want to go home, now!" The genie snaps his fingers and the first friend vanishes in a puff of purple smoke. "I want to go home, too," the second friend proclaims. In an instant, he, too, is gone. The third man looks at the empty island and the blue expanse of the sea. He hears nothing but the cry of the seagulls and the crash of the waves. He swallows a sob and says, "I sure am lonely. I wish I had my friends back.