if (@args == 0)
    {   
        return @copy;
    }
    elsif (@args == 1)
    {   
        return splice @copy, $args[0];
    }
    elsif (@args == 2)
    {   
        return splice @copy, $args[0], $args[1];
    }
    else
    {   
        die("too many args");
    }
}