The Great Cludini

Every great magic trick consists of three parts. The first part is called 'The Pledge'. The magician shows you something ordinary ... a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it. The second act is called 'The Turn'. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret.

But making something disappear isn't enough ... you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call 'The Prestige'. Here's my pledge ... I can neither get into nor get out of the big bed. To that end, I require that either Mom or Dad pick me up. This pledge has been two years in the making.

Last night was your typical slumber party with Me, Mom and Dad all jockeying for the prime real estate. At some point in the middle of the night, Mom did protest when she woke up to find me curled around her head. I'm pretty sure that's the last she remembers until Dad rolled over and asked her "Where's Cluny?"

Mom begins to feel around in the covers, searching for me amid the blankets and pillows. Imagine her surprise when she comes up empty and starts to look around the shadowy bedroom, only to find me looking up at her from the floor.

Adhering to the magician's credo, I shall not reveal the secret of my prestige. The two of them have been been scratching their heads all day trying to figure out how I got out of bed ...