4. Too Much Magic

Chapter 4 Too Much Magic "You turned our mom into a duck!" Brian yelled. Bradley couldn't open his mouth. He just stared at the duck. It stood in the middle of the stage and looked at the audience. Then it sat down and began preening its feathers. The bracelet around the duck's neck glistened under the lights. "My goodness!" said Hypo. "I guess I used too much magic!"

Hypo got down on one knee next to the duck. "Pamela, can you hear me?" he said into the duck's ear. The duck said, "Quack!" The audience was totally quiet. You could have heard a feather drop. Hypo turned to the audience. "What should we do?" he asked. "Change her back!" Bradley and Brian yelled together. "CHANGE HER BACK!" the audience chanted. "CHANGE HER BACK, CHANGE HER BACK!" "Very well," Hypo said. "But we must have silence. You're scaring the duck… I mean you're scaring Mrs. Pinto." The audience settled down again. Hypo shooed the duck back into the booth and closed the curtain. Then he closed his eyes and spoke: PAMELA DOESN'T WANT TO QUACK.

HYPO WILL NOW CHANGE HER BACK. WITH MY MAGIC AND HYPO LUCK, SHE'LL NO LONGER BE A DUCK! Hypo swept the curtain open and Mrs. Pinto stepped out. The audience broke into cheers and whistles. "Mom!" Bradley cried. He jumped up and hugged his mother. "How do you feel, Pamela?" Hypo asked. "Thirsty," she said. "Do you suppose I could have a glass of water? I'm feeling extremely thirsty!" Hypo poured Mrs. Pinto a tall glass of water. She drank it down and held out the empty glass. "Thank you," she said. "May I have another? I don't know why I'm so thirsty. I just crave water!"

Hypo gave Mrs. Pinto a second glass of water. She gulped it down and handed him the glass. "Pamela, may I ask how you feel about ducks now?" Hypo asked. "Do you still dislike them?" "What a silly question," Mrs. Pinto said. "I adore ducks. I love the way they waddle and splash in the water!" Brian poked his brother. "See, Bradley? Mom adores ducks," he whispered. "It worked!" Bradley couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Hypo beamed at the audience. "Thank you, Pamela Pinto. Thank you, boys!" he said. The audience cheered as Bradley followed Brian and their mom off the stage. Bradley noticed a white feather stuck to the hem of her dress. Back in their seats, Bradley snuck a look at his mother. Did she really love ducks now? he wondered. Would she let Brian raise them? Shaking his head, Bradley sat back to watch the rest of the show. "Boy, Mom's been in the bathroom a long time," Brian said the next morning.

"I know," Bradley said. He was sitting on his bed, waiting to brush his teeth. "Did you knock on the door?" Brian threw himself on his bed. "Yup. She's taking a bath—a long bath. I can hear her splashing around in there." "Weird," Bradley said. "When we splash in the tub, she yells at us." "Yeah, no fair," Brian said. "Plus, she always took showers before. Anyway, when she comes out, I'm going to ask her." "Ask her what?" Bradley asked. "If I can get some ducks to raise," Brian said. He grinned at his brother. He had an evil twinkle in his eye. "Now that she loves ducks so much, she's bound to let me. Thanks to Hypo!" "Do you really think she got hypnotized last night?" Bradley asked. "Hypo looks like a big phony to me." "Duh, he turned Mom into a duck!" Brian said. "Then he turned her back. What's phony about that?" Bradley sat on his bed and thought about what had happened at the high school last night. "Did

you notice anything strange about Mom when we got home?" he asked. "Like what?" Brian asked. "Well, she didn't yell when we ate ice cream before bed," Bradley said. "She NEVER lets us eat before bedtime." Brian stared at his twin brother. "You're right!" he said. "And she didn't even remind us to brush our teeth." Bradley looked at the clock. It was almost tenthirty. "And she didn't tell us to make our beds this morning. It's almost like she doesn't care what we do." "Cool!" Brian said. He picked up a comic book. Bradley tiptoed into the hallway and stood outside the bathroom door. He could hear splashing and his mom singing. He put his ear against the door. Bradley tore back into his room. "Brian, you have to hear this. Come on!" The boys huddled next to the bathroom door with their ears against the wood. They heard their mother singing: