Beware of the Emu! by Merv Lambert

Author:Merv Lambert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: emu, colin, librarian, fun, invisible, merv lambert, madcap, funny, young, classroom, bedtime, excellent
ISBN: 9781782344094
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2012
Published: 2012-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Magic Show

It was the evening of the school show, which was being run by the parent/teacher association to raise money for some local charities.

Colin’s magic act had just started. He was not using the magic phoenix bookmark, however tempting that may have been. M was to be his invisible assistant though. He looked at his family sitting in the front row of the school hall. They grinned back at him. Mrs. Biggle was sitting there too next to Auntie Flo. It occurred to Colin at that moment, a sheer random thought out of nowhere, how much Mrs. Biggle reminded him of a rather fiercer version of Nora Batty in ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ on T.V. He frowned to regain his concentration. He was wearing an elaborate magician’s cloak and had a red fez perched on his head. Billy in his school uniform, but also wearing a fez, was playing the part of his apprentice.

Colin began, “Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness some astonishing things rendered by the art of magic. First of all I will call upon my apprentice here, Billy, to select a pupil from the audience.”

Immediately a forest of hands belonging to children sitting in the audience shot into the air. Gravely Billy marched down one of the set of steps at the side of the stage, and glanced all around. He closed his eyes, span round three times, pointed, and opened his eyes. He was pointing at a young Year 7 girl with red hair. In a clear voice, magnified by the clip-on microphone he was wearing he said, “What is your name please?”

“Fiona.”

“Oh, good,” Billy laughed. “That’s my great grandmother’s name. Just to make sure there’s no cheating here you’re not related to my family in any way?”

The girl blushed. “No, not at all.”

The audience, all 600 of them laughed.

“Please walk ahead of me up onto the stage, and behold the Great Collino.”

Fiona did so, and Colin shook her hand and bowed. He turned to the audience and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, by the magic powers invested in him by me my assistant Billy has selected a most delightful young lady to help us.” The audience obligingly applauded.

“Now, Fiona,” remarked Colin, “all I require you to do is to blindfold me with this magic scarf. Make sure I can’t see. O.K.?”

“O.K.” agreed Fiona, and she tied the plain red scarf firmly around Colin’s face so that he indeed could not see.

“Now, Fiona, please turn me round three times and make sure I end up with my back to the audience. O.K.?”

“O.K.” Fiona repeated, and followed the instructions.

With his back to the audience Colin asked Fiona to stand at the side of the stage. Then he asked Billy to go down to the audience again.

“Now, Billy, for my first amazing trick I will attempt to read your mind.”

“O.K., Master,” replied Billy. “I am now standing next to one of my teachers. Can you tell me hew it is?”

Colin put his hands up to his head, and pretended to concentrate.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.