Young Tim had always wanted to be a wizard. He went from tower to tower but none of the magicians or thaumaturgists had any openings. He was about to give up when he happened across a magic shop and went in to inquire if the owner knew of anyone looking to apprentice an eager lad such as himself.

It turns out that the owner, Reginald the Magnificent, was himself looking for an apprentice, so they worked out an agreeable arrangement and Tim moved into the loft over the store. Tim worked sweeping and keeping inventory until he learned the ways of the shop. When he had proven himself capable Reginald decided it was time to teach him how he made some of the items he sold. Tim started with simple healing salves, then moved to potions for gout and eventually love potions and more complex mixtures. After a few months Reginald decided that Tim had a good enough grasp to move on to some more complex items.

"Tim, my lad," Reginald said one day, "today you are going to learn to make a talisman for luck. It's one of our biggest sellers and fairly simple to make, though the ingredients needed are rather difficult to come by. I'll give you a list and you go find the items and bring them here and we'll get to work making them." 

Tim looked over the list. There were all sorts of things listed: four-leafed clovers, hair from a black cat, a lodestone, a tortoise shell, etc. But one thing stood out. "Reggie, you said these were hard to find. What's so hard about finding the shell of a chicken egg? Those are everywhere."

"Ah, but it can't be just any egg shell," Reginald cautioned. "This is the shell of an egg where, when the chick was born, instead of pecking his way out of the shell he pulls the pieces inward! Quite rare, you know."

Tim thought that was ridiculous. Who had ever heard of a chick hatching like that? But he set off with his pack and his list, planning to be gone for a couple of days. Once on the road he stopped in a clover field and found a number of the four-leafed variety after some searching. He went into the forest and found the tortoise shell, and by the river he found the loadstone. He gathered the items one by one until he was down to the last two. He happened by a farmhouse and saw a black cat outside, so he went to the farmer mending the winch on his well and asked if he could have a tuft of the fur. The farmer agreed and asked Tim what he needed it for.

"It's for something my master is making," he said. Then he noticed some chickens in the yard. "Say, do you happen to have any egg shells I can have?"

"Certainly," the farmer replied. "We've got as many as you can probably carry."

"These are special ones," Tim continued. He explained the hatching process to the farmer, who looked at him sideways for a moment before bursting out laughing. 

"Boy, your master is having you on! No chick ever hatched that way! He's sent you on a fool's errand, he has."

Tim was beside himself, first angry and then embarrassed. It must be some sort of trick masters played on their new apprentices to teach them wisdom or something. Tim thanked the farmer and took a handful of the eggshells he had in the henhouse before setting off back to town.

When he returned Reginald looked over the supplies with surprise. He told Tom he had done better than he had expected and they would get to work the next morning making the talismans. Tim spent the rest of the afternoon cutting thongs for the devices.

The next morning Reginald showed Tim the steps needed to make the lucky charm. He did it an assembly-line fashion, making about a dozen at once. Tim added each part, stirring so many times in this direction, or hopping on one foot as he heated something up, all according to Reginald's instruction. Then the time came to add the final ingredient, the ground-up chicken eggshells. Tom spooned the proper amount on each of the nearly finished talismans and stood back.

Suddenly a high-pitched keening filled the air. The just-made talismans began twitching and rocking back and forth, then jumping up and down on the workbench! Reginald called for Tim to take cover and they flipped a table over and hid behind it. The room was rocked with a dozen loud explosions and bits of the magical constructs bounced off of the walls and ceiling.

When all calmed down and their ears stopped ringing, Reginald looked at Tim sternly. "You didn't get the egg shells I told you to, did you?" he asked bluntly.

"N-no, sir," Tim stammered. "The farmer...he said that there was no such thing! I thought you were playing a trick on me!"

Reginald sighed. "I tell you there is such a thing, and that it is a rare one. I should have suspected you took a shortcut and got regular-hatching shells instead of the proper ones when you brought so many. You cannot take shortcuts with magic. Listen to me and listen well, Tim. You can't make an amulet with out-breaking eggs."