Cicero was buying lunch and Snail had gone off with the order. "Cicero, how do they greet you in the Forum?" asked the Wabbit. "They hop
on one foot and wink rapidly," said Cicero, and nearly smiled. "They call me Cicero usually, but behind my
back they call me Big Kick Cicero." Lapinette stifled a giggle. "What kind of adventure
was that anyway?" asked Skratch. "It’s not finished," said Lapinette, "because we
haven’t seen the Philosopher’s Stone." "What’s it like?" said Skratch leaning on Cicero’s
shoulder. "Not what you expect," said Cicero. "It’s ancient and powerful." "I
heard it was a cornerstone that the builders of Solomon's Temple rejected," offered Skratch. He paused
for attention, then continued. "It has symbolic value and, as such, it is ineffable." Cicero almost looked amused and glanced at
the Wabbit. "Sorry, apologised the Wabbit, "he’s been going to evening classes." For a moment they all looked at the red ball
and the Wabbit poked it three times. "How do you open
it?" he said. "We must all stare at the
ball and imagine what’s inside," said Cicero. The Wabbit stared intently until his eyes met in the middle. "What
are you thinking about?" asked Lapinette. "A carrot aperitivo," said the Wabbit. Lapinette laughed. She was about to say, "It can’t look like a
carrot aperitivo," when the ball began to revolve.
It spun quicker and quicker and then without warning it broke clean through the middle ...
