Columbine and the magic trick.docx

COLUMBINE WAS WATCHING a magic show. The show was in the middle of the shopping mall. There was a big crowd gathered round. Columbine was standing next to her best friend, Margie. And Margie was holding her pet ferret, Odd Sock. 'Isn't the magician clever?' whispered Margie as she cuddled Odd Sock...

COLUMBINE WAS WATCHING a magic show. The show was in the middle of the shopping mall. There was a big crowd gathered round. Columbine was standing next to her best friend, Margie. And Margie was holding her pet ferret, Odd Sock. 'Isn't the magician clever?' whispered Margie as she cuddled Odd Sock. 'Shhh,' said Columbine. 'I'm watching.' Columbine liked magic shows. But she liked them because she was the cleverest kid in town. She liked trying to work out how the tricks were done. The magician's name was Count Cadabra. He was visiting from the big city. Right now he was doing a trick with his top hat. He held the hat up in one hand. In the other hand he held a jug of milk. Then Count Cadabra poured the milk from the jug into the top hat. Suddenly, with a flourish, he turned the top hat over. But no milk poured out! Instead, a white dove tumbled out and flew off into the air! 'Wow!' whispered Margie. 'How did he do that? He turned the milk into a bird!' The crowd cheered and clapped---all except Columbine. Columbine just grunted. She'd already worked it out. *Why don't people just think?* she thought to herself. *It's not a hard trick at all! The bird must have already been in the hat. So the magician just needed a way to get rid of the milk. And there's a very easy way to get rid of milk---people do it every day when they spill milk in their kitchens! They soak it up with a sponge! So, obviously, Count Cadabra just hid a big thick sponge in the hat next to the bird.* 'Isn't Count Cadabra amazing?' whispered Margie to Columbine. But Columbine just whispered back, 'People don't think of the obvious! That's the reason they get fooled by all these tricks!' Margie looked surprised. 'You mean, you worked that trick out?' she whispered. 'Of course I did,' whispered Columbine. 'It was obvious! See, all magic tricks work in the same sort of way. The magician uses something very ordinary---like a mirror or a piece of elastic or a sponge or a paper-fold. But he uses it at a time and in a way that the crowd doesn't expect.' 'But ... but ... how did Count Cadabra turn the milk into a white dove?' whispered Margie. 'He didn't!' said Columbine. 'He just made everyone think he did.' 'But ... how?' insisted Margie. 'Did he use a mirror?' 'No, of course not.' 'Did he use a piece of elastic?' 'No! You're just not thinking!' And then Columbine got so annoyed that Margie wasn't thinking that Columbine decided not to tell Margie at all. 'I'm not going to tell you,' she said. 'You need to learn to think.' 'But that's not fair,' said Margie, feeling hurt. 'You're the cleverest girl in town. I don't think as well as you do; but I'm your best friend. You should tell me what you're thinking.' But Columbine had made up her mind not to tell. She could be very stubborn. Count Cadabra had now finished his show. He was packing up his things. The crowd was wandering away into the shopping mall. Count Cadabra wandered off too, in the direction of the bank. Soon Columbine, Margie and Odd Sock were the only ones there. But they weren't speaking to each other. Then---suddenly---something happened up the other end of the mall, where the bank was. There was a HUGE PUFF OF SMOKE! And when the smoke cleared, everyone began shouting at once ... Margie and Columbine looked at each other. They realised there must be some emergency there. They probably should start talking again. 'Er, I think something's happened,' said Margie. 'Yes!' said Columbine. 'Come on, let's go. There might be something we can do.' They raced with Odd Sock up towards the bank. A great crowd was standing outside the glass front of the bank, looking in. They were shouting and pointing. At the back of the bank was a big empty space. There were just walls, and nothing else. 'It's gone!' they were shouting. 'The bank safe has completely vanished!' 'It disappeared after that big puff of smoke!' said one person. 'And all the town's money is gone too, I expect!' said another. 'But it was a huge metal safe!' said a third. 'It weighed THREE TONNES! How could anyone make a three-tonne safe just vanish?' 'Where's Count Cadabra?' said another. 'He's gone too! He was right here when there was that big puff of smoke!' 'It must have been HIM!' shouted the crowd. 'But HOW did he do it? It's IMPOSSIBLE!' Columbine pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Margie and Odd Sock followed. The crowd's shouts were almost deafening. Two men were trying to quieten the people (they had come out of the crowd). One was the town mayor; the other was the police chief. They were trying to hold back the people. Columbine knew both the mayor and the police chief well. She had already helped solve lots of mysteries for them. The mayor saw Columbine standing there. 'Columbine!' shouted the mayor. 'How glad I am you're here! This is one of the biggest emergencies the town has ever faced. How did Count Cadabra do it? And WHAT ON EARTH are we going to do about it?' Columbine was thinking. She was thinking very hard. How could Count Cadabra make a huge metal safe disappear? 'He's done the impossible!' said the police chief and the mayor together. 'He's made a three-tonne safe vanish into thin air!' But Columbine wasn't so sure. She peered very carefully into the bank through the glass. She looked towards the back of the bank, where the safe should have been. Then she smiled to herself. 'Actually,' she announced. 'I agree with you. It is impossible to make a three-tonne safe disappear into thin air! That's why I'm sure it *hasn't* disappeared!' 'What?' said the mayor. 'It's still there!' said Columbine. 'What?' said both the mayor and the police chief. 'But we can only see blank walls.' 'Yes, well, that's the trick!' said Columbine. 'Let me explain.' She crouched down. She began drawing a picture with a stick in the dust on the floor. It looked like this: 'This is a plan of the bank,' said Columbine. 'See how the safe normally sits in the open space at the back?' The mayor and the police chief nodded. 'But now,' said Columbine, 'imagine if a large angled mirror were suddenly pulled in front of the safe, like this.' She drew an angle in front of the safe: 'Don't you see that at that angle, the mirror would just reflect the other walls. The safe would be hidden behind the mirror. And it would look like it had disappeared! Count Cadabra only needed a quick distraction---like a big puff of smoke---to quickly set up the mirror! He must have used a clever expandable mirror from his magic set.' The mayor and the police chief were amazed. They looked into the bank again. 'But ... how on earth did you notice the mirror?' they asked. 'I was looking for it!' said Columbine with a grin. 'I knew it had to be there!' 'But that means ... ' said the mayor. 'Yes!' said Columbine. 'It means the safe is still there behind a big mirror. And I bet Count Cadabra's still hiding there too! I bet he's trying to break into the safe right now. He's trying to steal the money!' 'But ... ' said the police chief, 'that means I can arrest him! HOORAY!' He sprang into action. He dashed into the bank. In a moment he had pulled away the big mirror that no-one except Columbine had looked for. There, behind the mirror, was Count Cadabra with a power drill. The police chief tackled him. Columbine pulled suddenly at Margie's sleeve. 'Come on,' she said. 'I've got an idea! I think it's time I told you how Count Cadabra's hat-and-milk trick was done.' 'Really?' said Margie. She smiled. Columbine whispered into Margie's and Odd Sock's ears. They all darted into a nearby supermarket. In a moment the girls were back again. Odd Sock was nowhere to be seen. Margie was holding a big plastic toy hat in her hand. And Columbine was holding a large chocolate milkshake. When they got back, the police chief had put handcuffs on Count Cadabra. He was bundling him out of the bank. Everyone was cheering. The police chief put up his hand for quiet. 'It was all because of that young girl there!' he announced. 'It was all because of Columbine!' But Columbine didn't say, 'Thank you very much.' Instead she said, 'Actually, we'd like to show you a magic trick!' The crowd watched in surprise. Margie proudly held the plastic hat high in the air. Columbine grinned and held up her chocolate milkshake. Then she poured the chocolate milkshake right into the plastic hat that Margie was holding. With a smile, Margie suddenly turned the hat right over. But no chocolate milkshake poured out. Instead, Odd Sock jumped out and onto the ground! The girls had turned the milkshake into a ferret. The crowd went wild and cheered. And Count Cadabra just looked at the girls---and scowled!