pages: latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf, 49
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latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 49 | THE DISSOLVING DICE 33 Presentation. The opening "yarn" may run as follows: "I once read a story about a man who invented a most ingenious piece of furniture of the 'com- bination' kind. It started, say, as a table, but by giving it a pull here and a push there, it became a step-ladder. Another pull and push, and it turned into a mangle, or by just turning a button or two, you could make it a clothes-horse. "The story says that at first it was a great suc- cess, but after a little while the thing began to work too easily, and sometimes changed of its own accord when least expected, which was a drawback. It was annoying, naturally, when you were using it as a step-ladder, and hanging up a picture, to have it suddenly turn into a clothes-horse, and land you on the floor. It was vexing, too, when it was a table, and the family were seated round it at breakast, to have it turn into a mangle, and mangle the cups and saucers. "I shouldn't care myself to have a piece of fur- niture like that: it would make life too exciting. But the story gave me an idea. It struck me what a convenience it would be, after showing one of my little experiments, to be able to turn the articles I had been using into what I wanted for the next. I haven't got very far as yet, but I have made a beginning in a small way, and I will show you how it's done. "I have here three wooden dice, with a cover for |