Book excerpt: Fifty years before an American boy named Brody explored the streets of Basel, Switzerland with his family, Cody the Cockatrice had become obsolete. Because children had grown to believe he wasn't real, that he was just a mythological creature, Cody was no longer visible and his job as a child guardian was impossible. Then Brody takes notice of the strange statue standing guard over most of the water fountains around the city of Basel while on a tour with his family. As he fills his water bottle, their Swiss Chocolatier tour guide explains that the mythological creature was fathered by a rooster, mothered by a lizard, hatched by a toad, and had the tail and wings of a dragon. But wait. If he is an imaginary creature, how does Brody see a real one sitting right next to the statue?!Cody realizes Brody sees him and has no idea what to do. Fifty years is a long time! Can he be a Cockatrice God Parent (CGP) to an American? If so, will he have to leave Basel and go back to America with the boy? Cody decides to follow the family down the Rhine River on their Disney river boat cruise, where he finds he is more than needed by Brody and his brothers.