A Magician’s Secrets

Daniel was eating lunch with his grandmother and her friends at the retirement community. " Daniel does wonderful magic tricks, ” Grandma said proudly to Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Ross. " Would you like to see one?” Daniel picked up his spoon and wiped it off.

" I will now use my magic powers to bend this spoon. ” Daniel focused on the spoon, which slowly bent in his hands. " Such a clever boy! ” Grandma said. But Mr. Hudson wasn’t impressed. “ You need to work on concealing the spoon’s handle. A magician must be aware of how his tricks look from every angle.

I could see what you were doing over here. ” Daniel sighed. “ Are you a magician?” Mr. Hudson nodded. “ What’s your favorite trick?” Daniel’s face lit up. “ I love all kinds of magic, especially big illusions! It would be fun to make someone float above a table. ”

" Levitation tricks require special equipment that amateur magicians don’t have, ” Mr. Hudson said. " Things like platforms that rise in the air. But I think card tricks and other close-up magic require more skill. ” He took out a coin. " My favorite tricks involve teleportation—like moving coins from place to place. ” Mr. Hudson made the coin vanish from one hand.

He pulled it out from behind Daniel’s ear with his other hand. Daniel shook his head. “ How did you do that?” “ Practice! ” Mr. Hudson winked. ” I’ve always admired escape artists, though their routines make me so nervous, ” Mrs. Ross said. “ Especially when someone is handcuffed or tied inside a tank of water. ”

” Don’t worry, ” Mr. Hudson said. ” An assistant slips the magician the keys to the handcuffs or uses knots that are easy to untie. The magician escapes quickly but stays underwater for suspense. ” " I still wouldn’t want Daniel trying that! ” Grandma said. " I prefer classic tricks like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. ”