The Magic Key

        One day, a poor man called Harold was searching through the rubbish of The Mighty Sorcerer when he found a key.
        "This must be a magic key," he thought. "The Mighty Sorcerer probably threw it out by mistake. I bet it opens every lock in the world!"
        Harold considered returning the key to The Mighty Sorcerer, but decided that The Mighty Sorcerer might think he'd stolen it...
        On his way to work, Harold saw an old man climbing through a window. "Help," said the old man, "I've locked myself out of my house."
        "No problem," said Harold, eager to test his new key. He went up to the old man's front door, turned the key in the lock, and opened it!
        "How did you do that?" asked the old man in surprise, as Harold helped him from the window.
        "It's my magic key," said Harold, and he went on his way.
        Next, Harold came across a woman arguing with a man at a stall. "What's the matter?" he asked.
        "This lady has bought a brass spoon from me, but she won't pay for it," said the man.
        "I can't pay," said the woman. "I can't open my money box."
        "Aha!" said Harold. Swiftly, he produced his magic key, and opened the woman's box for her.
        "How did you do that?" she asked, in amazement.
        "My magic key," said Harold, as he left.
        Finally, Harold arrived at the shop where he worked. "I'll open it up," he said to his boss, Albert, who had just appeared. Before Albert could stop him, Harold pulled out his magic key and unlocked the door.
        "That's an interesting key," said Albert, "but we're not opening today, it's my birthday. Have the day off." Albert took out his own key and turned it in the lock. It didn't fit.
        Just then, the woman and the old man whom Harold had helped earlier showed up, both looking very cross.
        "That key of yours doesn't fit every lock, it changes every lock so they fit they key!" shouted the old man.
        "You'll have to buy us new locks now," said the woman.

So

Now you know why The Mighty Sorcerer threw the key away.

Illustration by Roy Bartle
Image size: approx. 45K.