I did not say a word about seeing Mr. Wizard. I did not say a word about my plan.
Fun Night
“Presto! Change-o! It is Fun Night,” I said to Goosie. I was standing in front of the mirror admiring my outfit.
“Come on, Karen. Let’s go,” said Andrew. Andrew had been ready for hours.
I hurried downstairs so we would not be late.
When we got to school, my big house family was already there. Everyone from both my families had tickets to the show. But our seats were not together. I ran to hug Daddy and everyone from the big house. Then I sat with Mommy, Seth, and Andrew.
The lights in the room dimmed. Robert, the sixth-grader from our committee, introduced the show.
“Welcome to Stoneybrook Academy’s Fun Night,” he said. “Here are our first performers, the Kindergarten Kids.”
The Kindergarten Kids sang and acted out Farmer in the Dell. At the end of the song the cheese ran away. The mouse ran after the cheese. The cat ran after the mouse. The dog ran after the cat. And that is how everyone got off the stage.
Hilarious Hilary, the Double Daredevils, and the Stoneybrook Rock ‘n’ Roll Band were the next acts. They were all great.
“Now please welcome the Tongue Twister Sisters,” said Robert.
Pamela, Jannie, and Leslie came out and took a bow. They did very well until they tried to say Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Their tongues got all twisted up.
“Peter Peeper piped a pippled pickle,” they said.
They started giggling. Then laughing. Soon they were laughing so hard, they had to be led off the stage. They were as funny as Hilarious Hilary.
The curtains closed. Ms. Williams came out front. She talked to the audience about raising money for the school.
When she finished, Robert said, “And now for our star attraction. Please welcome Mr. Wizard and his amazing magic show!”
Just like before, puffs of orange and yellow smoke swirled around the stage. Out of the smoke, Mr. Wizard appeared.
“Welcome, girls and boys, ladies and gentlemen. I am Mr. Wizard,” he said.
Mr. Wizard tipped his hat. Out jumped a rabbit.
Mr. Wizard showed us that the hat was empty. Then he put it over the rabbit. When he picked up the hat again, the rabbit was gone. Instead of the rabbit, there was a big bunch of carrots.
Mr. Wizard did lots of amazing tricks. Then he said, “I need two volunteers for the most amazing trick of all. One volunteer will be sawed in half. The other volunteer will be my special assistant.”
Mr. Wizard picked a fifth-grade boy to be his first volunteer. Then he started looking for his second volunteer.
I tapped Andrew on the shoulder.
“Raise your hand,” I whispered. “Maybe Mr. Wizard will pick you. You can be his special assistant.”
“I don’t know if I want to,” said Andrew.
“Go on,” I said. “It will be fun.”
Andrew raised his hand. Mr. Wizard picked him. Everything was going according to my plan.
Andrew got to hold the magic saw. He even got to say “Presto! Change-o!” Right before our very eyes, we watched the fifth-grade boy get sawed in half.
The audience clapped and cheered.
“That was pretty neat magic,” I said when Andrew came back to his seat.
Andrew did not say a word. He just looked at me and grinned.
Andrew’s Secret
After the show, I went backstage with Mommy, Seth, and Andrew.
Mr. Wizard’s door was open. But I knocked anyway before I walked in.
“Welcome, Karen. Welcome,” said Mr. Wizard. “I see you brought your family with you. Your little-house family, that is.”
I was very proud to have an important friend like Mr. Wizard. I introduced him to Mommy and Seth.
“And I guess you know Andrew already,” I said.
“Of course,” said Mr. Wizard. “Andrew was my best assistant ever.”
I could see that Andrew felt proud, too.
“I know how Mr. Wizard saws people in half,” Andrew said. “It is a trick. It is not real magic.”
“It is an amazing trick,” said Seth. “Do you really know how it is done, Andrew?”
“I know exactly how,” Andrew replied. “Mr. Wizard showed me everything while I was helping him.”
“That is very exciting,” said Mommy.
“How is the trick done?” I asked.
Andrew squeezed his lips together. He made believe he was zipping them up. Andrew was not talking.
“I guess the trick is going to be Andrew’s secret,” said Mr. Wizard.
Hmm. This was not part of my plan. I wished Andrew would tell me the trick. Maybe he would tell me later. But on second thought, maybe I did not really want to know. I liked to be amazed by Mr. Wizard’s show. If I knew the tricks, the show might not be so amazing.
There was just one more part of my plan left.
“Excuse me, Mr. Wizard,” I said. “Didn’t you say you wanted to pay Andrew for helping you out?”
Mr. Wizard was not really going to pay Andrew. But I thought it would be a good way of reminding him about our plan.
At first Mr. Wizard looked puzzled. Then he said, “Oh, yes, yes. You are right, Karen.”
He reached into his pocket. He pulled out Andrew’s souvenir penny.
“I am so sorry I forgot to return this to you, Andrew,” said Mr. Wizard. “I can be very forgetful sometimes.”
Andrew was happy to have his penny back. And I was happy that Andrew did not have to worry anymore. He finally knew that Mr. Wizard was not real magic. He was just very good at tricks.
“Good night, Mr. Wizard. And thank you,” I said.
“You are very welcome, Karen. Good night, everyone,” said Mr. Wizard.
Suddenly there were great big puffs of orange and yellow smoke. Presto! Change-o! Mr. Wizard was gone.
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.
Copyright © 1994 by Ann M. Martin
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First edition, 1994
e-ISBN 978-1-338-05720-1
Ann M. Martin, Karen's Magician
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