You Can't Outsmart Pat!

To celebrate Patricia Lam Fung's birthday (which I found out about thanks to Enjoy Yourself Tonight), here's an amusing pictorial from Screenland No. 24 (September 1961) that perfectly captures Pat's capricious charm. A scan of the original is available here.


It was their day off and Patricia went with Cheung Ying Choy to visit a friend in his bungalow. But the friend was not in, so they sat down on the front porch to wait. Cheung nursed a monstrous idea while Pat was reading a copy of Screenland to pass the time.


When Pat seemed deeply absorbed he shook the ashes from his cigarette into her cup and stirred, very much amused. He called it an "added attraction".


But Patricia was not that dumb. Her eyes were on the magazine but she caught his every movement. He thought he was perfect but she was not fooled a bit.


She knew exactly what he was trying to do but she said nothing, for she had a counter-plan. Casually, she dropped the magazine on the floor, seemingly careless.


Cheung didn't know better. And to prove that he was a real gentleman, he stooped to retrieve the magazine. That was the moment Pat had been waiting for. Swiftly, she exchanged their cups.


Her movements were lightning fast and before Cheung straightened up, their cups had exchanged places. He never dreamed that she could be so cunning and so quick to act.


He handed her the magazine and she thanked him with a sweet smile. He thought he was a hero. "Now, Pat," he said, "you must be very contented to have a friend who is so considerate like me, eh?"


"Sure," Patricia replied, "otherwise I wouldn't have picked you to escort me." Cheung leaned back comfortably and thought it was about time to pull the string. So he raised his cup. "To our friendship," he said, smiling secretly.


He raised the cup to his lips, all the time watching how Pat would react, and drank deeply. He was thinking that the taste of the cigarette ashes would provide his amusement any minute.


But then his tongue told him that there was something wrong with his tea. And it tasted like it was mixed with some kind of ash. He scowled in puzzlement. Could it be that...


Patricia was already laughing hard and she seemed not affected in the least after downing her "added attraction". The truth was beginning to dawn on him when she asked, "How does it taste, your tea? Mine is very good."


It was apparent now the joke was on himself, and he couldn't even complain! And he had to admit it when Pat said, "You better stop trying, Cheung Ying Choy, for you will never see the day when you can outsmart me!"