my $ref = pointer_to_element(\%myhash, qw(bedrock flintstone fred));
$$ref = 42; # set it to 42
$$ref++; # increment it
print $$ref; # print it!

##</code><code>##

sub pointer_to_element {
  require List::Util;
  return List::Util::reduce(sub { \($$a->{$b}) }, \shift, @_);
}