Gilbert and Sullivan provide a clue; A great part of the plot for Pirates of Penzance revolves around Frederick, "apprenticed to a pi-rate (not a pi-lot)" who, when reaching majority finds he is only a "...little boy of five..." "How quaint the ways of paradox..." (Am I on track, Frisco1522?)
Well played, sir. When I read the first post, I really thought that you'd lost enough water in your boiler to expose the crown sheet, figuratively speaking.
