Hat Stretcher

This hat stretcher was a birthday present for Javier. I found it in the north of the Netherlands, it was sent to my parents' house by post, and after visiting them I took it back with me in the plane to Madrid.

I studied the face of the airport security man while the hat stretcher was passing the X-ray machine.

“Could you please open your suitcase?” the man said. I was nervous. Although I knew I was not smuggling drugs or any equivalent I was afraid he would take away the treasure which took me a long time to find.

“It´s a hat stretcher”, I mumbled.

“It looks like a medieval torture device”

“It´s a gift”

“I wouldn´t really like this for my birthday”, the man answered. He rolled his eyes. He looked at me, then at the hat stretcher, then back to me. After that he shrugged his shoulders and let me go.

The hat stretcher giggled in my suitcase.