Timeless Trick

A teen-age boy says to his grandfather, "Lend me your watch. I want to show you a magic trick I've been working on."

The old fellow is reluctant, but he takes out his gold pocket watch, which he inherited from his father, and hands it to the boy.

The boy takes it and covers it with a handkerchief. He takes out a hammer, and while the grandfather looks on in horror, the young fellow smashes the watch three times. Then he waves his hands over it and mutters some odd-sounding words. Finally, he raises the handkerchief.

The watch is nothing but a mess of broken glass and smashed and bent parts.

"Darn it," says the boy. "It didn't work again."