It was opening night at the Orpheum and The Amazing Claude
was topping the
bill. People came from miles around to see the famed hypnotist
do
his
stuff. As Claude took to the stage, he announced, "Unlike most
stage
hypnotists who invite two or three people up onto the stage to be
put into
a trance, I intend to hypnotize each and every member of this
audience.
"The
excitement was almost electric as Claude withdrew a beautiful
antique
pocket watch from his coat. "I want you each to keep your eye on
this
antique watch. It's a very special watch. It's been in
my family
for six
generations." He began to swing the watch gently back and forth
while
quietly chanting, "Watch the watch, watch the watch, watch the
watch
..."
The crowd became mesmerized as the watch swayed back and forth,
light
gleaming off its polished surface. Hundreds of pairs of eyes
followed the
swaying watch, until suddenly it slipped from the hypnotist's
fingers and
fell to the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces.
"Shit!" said the hypnotist.
It took three weeks to clean up the theater.
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