“Here is a new game,” said Scrooge. “One half hour, Spirit, only one!”
It was a Game called Yes and No, where Scrooge’s nephew had to think of something, and the rest must find out what; he only answering to their questions yes or no, as the case was. The brisk fire of questioning to which he was exposed, elicited from him that he was thinking of an animal, a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage animal, an animal that growled and grunted sometimes, and talked sometimes, and lived in London, and walked about the streets, and wasn’t made a show of, and wasn’t led by anybody, and didn’t live in a menagerie, and was never killed in a market, and was not a horse, or an ass, or a cow, or a bull, or a tiger, or a dog, or a pig, or a cat, or a bear. At every fresh question that was put to him, this nephew burst into a fresh roar of laughter; and was so inexpressibly tickled, that he was obliged to get up off the sofa and stamp. At last the plump sister, falling into a similar state, cried out:
“I have found it out! I know what it is, Fred! I know what it is!”
“What is it?” cried Fred.
“It’s your Uncle Scro-o-o-o-oge!”
Which it certainly was. Admiration was the universal sentiment, though some objected that the reply to “Is it a bear?” ought to have been “Yes;” inasmuch as an answer in the negative was sufficient to have diverted their thoughts from Mr. Scrooge, supposing they had ever had any tendency that way.
“He has given us plenty of merriment, I am sure,” said Fred, “and it would be ungrateful not to drink his health. Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment; and I say, ‘Uncle Scrooge!’ ”
“Well! Uncle Scrooge!” they cried.
“A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “He wouldn’t take it from me, but may he have it, nevertheless. Uncle Scrooge!”
Mulled wine and marzipan.
You know what I like about this one, folks? It's a morpher. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab makes some unpredictable scents. No, I'm not talking about the fact that sometimes they surprise you with an oddball concept like Embalming Fluid or Jailbait, though that too!
I mean they sometimes make perfumes that behave in an unpredictable manner. A Game Called Yes & No is one of those, at least when paired with my skin chemistry.
The first time I tried AGCY&N, I got tons of almond, a hint of rose, a little musky something or another that was hard to define.
The second time I wore it, it started off a bit like grape juice then turned into a spice rack.
This time, either I finally "get it" or I'm just lucky. Wine was the word at the opening, then a whiff of almond streaked through, carrying a bouquet of sugared roses (marzipan!). Pulling up the rear were the most delectable mulling spices that are lingering nicely.
I can't wait to see what happens next time (though I'm so pleased with it today I hope it always behaves the same from now on!).