“Now, Johnny, you hold one end of this ribbon,” said the old fisherman, and Johnny did so.
“And, Tommy, you take hold of the other end,” went on the nice old fisherman, and there the two Trippertrot brothers stood, each one having hold of Mary’s hair ribbon by the end.
“What kind of a trick is this going to be?” asked Mrs. Trippertrot.
“Well, I don’t rightly know myself,” said the old fisherman, “for it never happens twice alike. Sometimes it comes out one way, and sometimes another.”
“Oh, do you think you will make a rabbit come out of my hair ribbon?” asked Mary, eagerly.
“I’d rather have an elephant,” said Tommy.
“Oh, an elephant would be too big to get in this house,” said Johnny. “Besides, he might break through the floor, and fall into the cellar, and we couldn’t get him out of the coal-bin.”
“That’s so,” said the fisherman. “Then I guess I’d better not make an elephant. But now we must go on with the trick. Close your eyes, all of you children, and I’ll say the magical words that will change the hair ribbon into something wonderful.”
So Mary and Tommy and Johnny closed their eyes, and the old fisherman waved his hands in the air. Then he recited this little verse. But please don’t any of you children say it, or I can’t tell what might happen. This is what the old fisherman said:
“A magic trick will now be done,