I pulled it out, but saw that something attached to the top of the hat was wrapped in old tissue paper...

As I carefully took the tissue paper off, I saw that it was a miniature head of some old guy wearing a straw hat! And on top of the little head's little hat was a neon-green beanie propeller!

I put the hat on top of my head, and looked at myself in the shop's old mirror.

"You better be careful with that hat! It's supposed to have magical powers!", the old guy, said.

I took a closer look and it was indeed Slim's image on the head. "So why is Slim's head on top of the hat? And what's up with the beanie propeller?" I asked.

"Slim has a strange sense of humor," he laughed.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever..." I said.

"This is a very special, very old straw hat," the man continued. "The hat was originally made in 1910, by an Indian guy in the circus with a twin growing out of his stomach. I forget his name..." he said.

"Ya mean Laloo?" I asked.

"No. The other Indian guy with the twin growing out of his stomach... I'm am old man... I don't remember stuff that well, anymore."

"Perumal Sami," I said.

"Yeah, that's the one! Funny how those Indian guys always had twins growing out of 'em. Anyway, Slim bought the hat real cheap at a second-hand shop. He liked it so much, he asked one of his friends who made pickled punks to make a model of his head and attach it to the top of the hat."

"Uh, why? And what about the beanie propeller?" I asked.

"I told ya, Slim has a strange sense of humor," he laughed.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever..." I said.

"Legend had it that Slim had an old friend, whose second cousin twice-removed knew an old witch doctor. Slim supposedly contacted this guy and asked him to put a magic, good luck spell on the hat," he continued.

"So how did you get the hat?" I asked.

"It was stolen from Slim about 10 years ago."

"So give it back! Geesh, Slim's still alive! Why are you keeping some old man's hat? He's probably been looking for it all these years!" I said.

Suddenly, there was a whistling sound...

"Would you like some tea?" asked the proprietor.

"No, I don't want tea! I wanna know why you haven't returned this hat to Slim Price!"

"I told ya, it was stolen from Slim about 10 years ago," he said, as he walked to the back to get a cup of tea.

"How did you get the hat? And who stole it?", I asked.

"John Strong," he said, with a disgusted look on his face.

"Big John Strong? Isn't he dead?" I asked.

"No, not him. His son."

"You mean the millionaire, extraordinare, full-o'-hot-air John Strong?" I asked.

"That's the one! He stole it right off of Slim's head! After daddy dearest died, Junior took up daddy's business. Well, not being his daddy, he didn't do so well. He heard Slim Price had a magic, good luck hat, and plotted for almost a year to snatch it! Lord knows he sure needed some luck!", he laughed.

"That's funny!" I said. "Tell me more!"

By this time, the old proprietor was getting really excited, and out-of-breath. Suddenly, I heard the sound of bells coming from outside... The proprietor ran out...

"Would you like some ice cream? I just love Good Humor's Strawberry Shortcake!" he said.

"No, I don't want any ice cream! Tell me the rest of the story!" I answered, anxiously.

"Be right back," he said.

The old man returned, and opened his ice cream pop.

"Okay. So, Junior now had Slim's magic, good luck hat in his possession, and wore it every chance he could. Only problem was that Junior's head was a lot bigger then Slim's, and the hat didn't fit him too well," he said.

"Ha ha ha! That John Strong sure has a big head! Uh, did they have any Chocolate Eclairs? It's my favorite!" I asked.

"Nope. No Chocolate Eclairs, sorry".

"Darn! Okay, so, how did you come to possess Slim's magic, good luck hat?" I asked.

"I was just getting to that! So, there's Junior buying two-headed cows, two-headed turtles, two-headed snakes, two-headed chickens and all these other two-headed animals, when whattayaknow -- along comes showman Bobby Reynolds! Sure enough, he up and marries the widow Strong!"

"Aww! How sweet!" I said. "BUT HOW DID YOU GET THE HAT?"

"I'm getting to that, geesh! So, to impress his girlfriend, Junior took her on the old wooden roller coaster in Coney Island. I forget its name..."

"Ya mean the Cyclone?" I said.

"Yeah, that's the one! So, Junior was of course wearing Slim's magic, good luck hat! But, as I told you, earlier, the hat didn't fit Junior's head very well."

"So it blew off?" I asked.

"Uh, no. Sitting in the car right behind them was Mama Strong, and new hubby, Bobby."

"Sigh... But how did you get the hat???" I asked, impatiently.

"Bobby just reached over and took it off Junior's head. Just like that! Junior didn't even feel it, he was so busy holding on for dear life on the coaster! Ha ha ha!"

"One more time... HOW... DID... YOU... GET... THE... HAT???"

"Won it in a poker game from Bobby," he said matter-of-factly.

"That's it? That's how you got hold of Slim's magic, good luck hat? You won it in a card game?" I asked.

"Full house! I had a full house!" he added.

"Sigh... So, if the hat is so magical, why are you selling it?" I asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not selling it. That old trunk, over there, the one marked, 'Old Trunk o' Stuff', is filled with my personal things. I'm just packing it up to send to a dear friend... Forgot the hat was in there..."

"Oh, so it's not for sale, then," I said, disappointingly.

"Well, seeing how much you like the hat -- and how it looks so good on you -- I'll let ya have it," he said.

"Cool! Thanks! How much?" I asked.

"A dime."

"Just 10 cents? Wow. What a bargain," I said, as I went in my wallet and got out a dime.

I threw the dime to him and said, "Here ya go! And thanks!"

I started walking out of the store, but turned and said, "By the way, my name's Laura. What's your name?"

"Mel. Melvin, actually. But you can call me Mel," he replied, with a glint in his eye.

I smiled and said, "Thank you, Mel," then walked out.

I walked a few feet, then realized that the old man looked very familiar... I turned to go back to the store, but it was gone. Just like that! Gone.

"Melvin? Nah... Couldn't be... He's gone to that great, old sideshow in the sky..."

It was a beautiful day, so I decided to walk around the city.

I stopped and smiled when I saw an old Good Humor man in front of the General Post Office on 33rd Street. All of a sudden, I could feel the propeller on the tiny hat on the tiny head on the straw hat turning...

"Omen. It's an omen," I said.

I went inside the Post Office, and sent the old magic hat back to its rightful owner, Slim Price. Express Mail. (Oh, I always carry Slim's address with me.)

Back outside, the old Good Humor man smiled and asked if I'd like a Chocolate Eclair.

"Yes, it's my favorite!" I answered. "How did you know?"

He smiled, and with a glint in his eye, said, "Lucky guess."

"How much," I asked.

"A dime."

"Just a dime? Wow! Lots of bargains, today!" I gave him a dime and walked away.

He shouted after me, "Enjoy your Chocolate Eclair... Laura."