Many long days of research and experiments had passed. At last Oliver was able to look at his machine with satisfaction. It worked! First, the young engineer never seemed to overcome his frustration. The machine did everything it should do. The special smoke that it produced filled the air. But nothing really happened. The smoke had all its special features, the right colour, the right smell. But it did not have any effect on the people who breathed it in. Some people even ignored it and just carried on with their daily life. Others coughed and cursed. Then the day came … Oliver’s mother heard a shout of victory from upstairs. Oliver came running down the stairs and flew into his mother’s arms. ‘I know the solution, I have the solution!’, Oliver shouted. When his father came in to see what was going on, Oliver grabbed his hands and danced with him through the room, ‘The king, the king, the king!’, he sang. ‘Calm down, Oliver!’ His dad said, ‘Why are you so excited?’ ‘I know, daddy, I know now!’ ‘Well, tell us then, Oliver,’ his mother said calmly. ‘Come, sit down and tell us what you know.’