It was a lovely Saturday afternoon; the sun was shining and the birds were singing, so I took my magic wand and went off to the village square. Every Saturday afternoon I went to do that same thing. No one knew me in the village, but that mattered nothing, for I was happy there amongst the trees and flowers. I did a little magic every now and again. I knew that no one in the village was a magician and I had a good many tricks that I could do to amuse myself while I sat there. But I never did them, for I felt frightened that the people would be jealous and mightn’t come to see me, or perhaps watch someone else do them.
So I sat there thinking, and sometimes making a bouquet of shrubs and flowers, creeping in and out amongst the branches to get to the prettiest places, and making use of my scissors, my knife, and my magic wand.
After a while I heard footsteps approaching, and turning to look, I saw that there were two children coming towards me. They were well-dressed children, and moreover were brother and sister, for I saw that they were very likeness to one another.
“Do you live here?” the little girl asked, stopping before me. I shook my head, for of course I had a magic wand which answered all questions put to it.
“Can you tell us where the nearest magician lives? We have travelled such a long way and have no rest all the week long, and we know of no one who could tell us where to find a magician?”
The magic wand seemed quite dazed by this piece of information, for it only rattled about in my pocket without giving me any intelligible answer.
“Then perhaps you could tell us if you have heard the noise that crafty magicians make with their feet every Saturday afternoon?”
The magic wand hopped out of my pocket and kept on bobbing its head after the fashion of the magicians’ heads whenever they hear that noise. The girl only smiled, and the boy got hold of its collar, saying, “I think we have found a magician after all, Sis.”
So saying they both turned and walked towards the village, followed by my magic wand which curtsied before them, just as a magician always does to people of importance.
Three weeks after, one Saturday afternoon about three o’clock, I found Milly and Grilly in my place. This was a little surprise party that they had given me to see how I did my tricks. They concealed themselves as best they could among the shrubs within 10 feet of the bench where I usually sat, while I cut flowers, told the ferns that grow upon them never to mix again—which is a favourite trick of mine—threw bouquets into the air, whilst they fell to pieces gently, and made all sorts of funny little things that appeared to nobody but a white butterfly. When Milly and Grilly clapped their hands, I turned round and said, “But why did you not ask me before? Have I never clapped my hands when you have performed tricks?”
They made all sorts of excuses. I did not believe them, for I knew very well that they had never seen a magician before mine, and therefore did not know what they should do.
Now a fool was passing by at the time, so I said to him, “Go to the village and tell the people that Milo has come. You will hear them make a noise with their feet which answers to tick-tick!”
At this signal the whole village came trooping towards us, and the place where we were was so full of children that it was impossible to squeeze in any more anywhere.
Grilly made a string of sausages appear, which he had concealed in his pocket for two Sunday afternoons before. Sis took a dog out of a hat that had neither nor end like a magician’s waistcoat, and Milly and some others recited. Then I said, “Have you not given the people enough to eat, drink, and laugh about?”
The village children thanked us, bestowed good-night kisses on us, and went off quite pleased to their homes.