Thack and Smith

A man named Thack set a grapefruit on top of the head of a woman named Smith. He told her to hold still. She tried, but something made her shudder. The grapefruit rolled off of her head and hit the floor with a small thud. Thack picked it up. He stared at it for a moment, then walked with it over to a chair. He set the grapefruit down on the seat of the chair and stepped back from it. Both he and Smith stared at the seated grapefruit. Then Thack walked back over to the chair and picked up the grapefruit. “You see,” he said, “like that.” She nodded her head to show she understood, and then Thack walked back over to her. He set the grapefruit back atop Smith’s head. This time she didn’t shudder. The grapefruit balanced atop her head for several minutes. Finally Thack walked back over to her and removed the grapefruit. “Now you see,” he said. “”Yes,” she replied, “I do.”