Once upon a time, in a small town, there were four friends named Jack, Jill, Tom, and Sarah. They were all in their early twenties and were bored with their mundane lives. One day, while sitting in their basement, they stumbled upon an old book that claimed to have the power to summon a demon.

Being young and foolish, they decided to give it a try. They followed the instructions in the book and chanted the incantation. Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared, and out of it emerged a demon named Balthazar.

Balthazar was not what they expected. He was short, chubby, and had a high-pitched voice. He looked more like a cartoon character than a demon. The friends were disappointed, but Balthazar was thrilled to be summoned.

“Thank you for summoning me,” Balthazar said. “I’ve been so bored in the underworld. What can I do for you?”

The friends were taken aback by Balthazar’s enthusiasm. They didn’t know what to ask for, so they asked him to do something fun.

Balthazar thought for a moment and then said, “I know! Let’s play a game. I’ll grant each of you a wish, but there’s a catch. You have to do something ridiculous to get it.”

The friends were intrigued. They asked Balthazar to explain the rules.

“Okay,” Balthazar said. “I’ll give each of you a wish, but you have to do something silly to get it. For example, Jack, you have to dance like a chicken for five minutes. Jill, you have to wear a tutu and sing ‘I’m a Little Teapot.’ Tom, you have to wear a clown nose and tell a joke. And Sarah, you have to do a cartwheel while singing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’”

The friends were hesitant at first, but they decided to go along with it. They each did their silly task, and Balthazar granted their wishes.

Jack wished for a lifetime supply of pizza. Jill wished for a unicorn. Tom wished for a million dollars. And Sarah wished for a trip to Hawaii.

Balthazar was pleased with their silliness and decided to stick around for a while. He became their new best friend and joined them on all their adventures.

One day, they decided to go to the beach. Balthazar had never been to the beach before, and he was excited to see the ocean. They packed a picnic and headed to the shore.

When they arrived, Balthazar was amazed by the vastness of the ocean. He had never seen anything like it before. He ran towards the water, but as soon as he touched it, he started to shrink.

The friends were horrified. They didn’t know what to do. Balthazar was getting smaller and smaller by the second.

Suddenly, a seagull swooped down and grabbed Balthazar in its beak. The friends chased after the seagull, but it was too fast. They watched in horror as the seagull flew away with Balthazar.

They were devastated. They had lost their new best friend. They sat on the beach, feeling sorry for themselves, when suddenly, they heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, guys! Look up here!”

They looked up and saw Balthazar, perched on a nearby palm tree. He was now the size of a small bird.

“I’m okay!” Balthazar said. “I can still grant wishes, but they’ll have to be small ones.”

The friends were relieved. They had their friend back, even if he was now the size of a bird.

From that day on, Balthazar continued to grant their wishes, no matter how small they were. He became a permanent fixture in their lives, and they couldn’t imagine their adventures without him.

And so, the four friends and their demon friend lived happily ever after, doing silly things and having fun. They never forgot the lesson they learned that day: be careful what you wish for, because you never know what kind of demon you might summon.