Eight Hats, One String

Pella had made eight summer hats for her small hat shop: a yellow one with a wide edge, a green one with flowers, and six others in bright colors. Before displaying them in the window, she wanted a photograph of them all.

Her friends agreed to wear them in the courtyard. Unfortunately, the wind agreed to come too.

The yellow hat blew off twice, and the green one landed in a flowerpot.

"I have a plan," said Pella.

She threaded a long piece of string through the small cloth loops inside each hat, then tied both ends to the garden bench. The hats could move a little, but none could escape.

"Wonderful," she said."Now nobody move."

She set the camera to take a picture after ten seconds and hurried into the empty place beside her friends.

At nine seconds, Bram noticed a small beetle on his sleeve. He stepped forward to place it gently on a leaf.

His hat followed him, tightening the string. The next hat tipped sideways and pulled the next one with it. Three friends bent their knees to keep their hats on, while another stood on her toes.

The camera clicked.

"Perhaps we should all step forward together," Bram suggested.

They tried. Unfortunately, Pella said "Go" just as someone said "Wait." Half the line moved; the other half stayed still. The yellow hat slid over its wearer's eyes, while the green one rose slowly above its owner's head.

The camera clicked again. Pella had accidentally set it to keep taking pictures.

She stopped the camera and untied the string. Instead, they photographed the hats on the bench, with small stones hidden inside to hold them down.

That afternoon, Pella chose a clear picture for the shop window. Beside it, she placed the photograph of eight people leaning in eight different directions.

Under that one, she wrote:"Our hats are ready for summer. Our photography team needs more practice."