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"Seven-Day Terror" is a 3,000-word short story by R.A. Lafferty, about a child who acquires a device which makes people and things disappear. The story was first published in the March, 1962 issue of If.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Plot

A little boy named Clarence makes a "disappearer" with an empty beer can a two pieces of red cardboard. He uses his new toy to make a cat disappear, then a fireplug, some telephone poles, houses, hats, etc. Then he makes a man disappear. The authorities come to investigate. They interrogate all the children in his family, and Clarissa, Clarence’s sister, confesses that although she does not know where all the things went, she does know how to get them back. She asks for a number of items, including a gold watch from one of the policemen. She goes through a lengthy ritual (which includes smashing the gold watch), and then the cat (the first of the items to have disappeared) reappears. She explains that her naughty brother, Clarence, got the directions for the disappearer from reading her diary—that diary contains instructions on how to build a 9-day disappearer, a 12-day disappearer, and even a 2-year disappearer. The one her brother made was a 7-day disappearer; the cat reappeared exactly 7 days after he made it disappear. The policeman asks about the ritual she performed, and Clarissa explains that that was just for dramatic effect.

Reprints

This story has been reprinted in, among other places, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 24 (1962).