Dr. Heidegger, an elderly scientist, invites his four elderly friends - Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Gascoigne, and the once beautiful Widow Wycherly - to his study. He shows them a rose that has withered over the past 50 years, and a vase containing water from the Fountain of Youth. When he dips the rose in the water, it regains its freshness and beauty.
Intrigued, the four friends drink the water themselves. As they become younger, they start behaving as recklessly as in their youth, ignoring Dr. Heidegger's advice to learn from past mistakes. The three men begin vying for the widow's affections, and in their scuffle, the vase is shattered, spilling the last of the water.
The rose withers again, and the four revert to their original decrepit states, having failed Dr. Heidegger's experiment to see if they could avoid repeating the follies of youth when given a second chance.

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