In 500 Words Or Less

No Sleight of Hand

Henry Manson was trying to calm his nerves. There were only a few minutes before he had to face his audience, and he knew that this was going to be a tough gig. Children's parties were the stuff of nightmares. Adults could be distracted by a stream of patter, and if anything went wrong then a joke could be used to smooth things over. Children, on the other hand - Henry shuddered. He remembered the last time something had gone wrong in his act during a children's party. The little brats had been on him in seconds, mercilessly harrying him.

"Mister Mancini?"

Henry looked up to see a young lady in a black velvet dress. She smiled at him. Henry stood up. "I'm sorry, but I don't like being disturbed before my act," he said politely. He tried to work out if he had seen the lady before.

The lady nodded. "I know, but I'm here to make you a once in a lifetime offer."

"Sorry," said Henry. "But ... ."

"Not that kind of an offer," said the young lady, as if she was reading his mind. "You want to be a magician - a good one. Well, I'm here to offer you that chance. Real magic. What do you think?"

Great, thought Henry. That's all I need. He smiled back at the lady. "Look, I have to be out there in," he consulted his watch, "two minutes. Can we talk later."

The lady reached out and took his hand. Henry felt a sudden thrill at her touch. "Let me know when you get back. I'll wait."

Henry left the tent that was his dressing room for the day, and stepped out in front of the crowd of children that were sat on the grass in front of it. "Hello, boys and girls! I'm Mister Mancini, the magician!"

"Hello, Mister Mancini," the crowd - their parents, anyway - chanted.

"Now, who wants to see some magic?" And, with that, Henry began his act. The first trick was to pull a bunch of flowers from his wand, but he was amazed to find that the blossoms were real, not the fakes he had concealed there before. Instead of a single dove hidden in his hat, a dozen of them flew out. Henry was amazed, but he dared not show it. Instead, he kept going, as every trick he performed surpassed his expectations.

When he returned to the tent, the young lady in the velvet dress was still there. "Well?" she asked. "What do you think?"

The party hostess came in, interrupting Henry's reply. "That was fantastic! How did you do all those tricks? They looked so real." Henry was about to reply when some instinct made him look at the young lady. She shook her head at him and put her finger to her lips.

"A good magician always keeps his secrets," Henry replied, and winked at the lady in the velvet dress.