The third class genie - Robert Leeson

Alec believes his luck has changed when he discovers a beer can inhabited by a mysterious being.

Disasters were leading two-nil on Alec's disaster-triumph scorecard when he slipped into the vacant factory lot, with Ginger Wallace hot on his heels, ready to destroy him. There was a catastrophe awaiting him at home too, and of course school was yet another disaster area.

But his luck seemed to be changing when he discovered a sealed beer can that was obviously empty. Stranger still, when he held it up to his ear, he could hear a faint snoring.