Fanny then let him see that she held something in her hand.
“What is that?” he asked.
“That is my magic wand?” she answered laughing. “Perhaps if you take it you will find that the creatures come towards you.”
Norman snatched it from her. The swan was at this time near him. What was his astonishment on presenting the rod, to see the swan swim away from him instead of coming near, and when he tried the fish they did the same.
“You see they are not so tame to you as they are to me?” said Fanny laughing.
Norman had presented the reverse end of the magnet, which, of course, sent them away from him. Again he tried to attract the fish and swan.
“Let me try again!” said Fanny, “if I look angrily at them they will go away from me as they did from you.” She also presented the reverse end of the magnet, trying to frown, though she had some difficulty in bringing her smiling countenance to do so. “Now I will look kindly at them, and call them, and you will see that they will come to me;” and she presented the right end of the magnet, when all the creatures came up to the side of the dish near which she stood.
She now gave it back to Norman, and though he did not look as amiable as she did, he burst into a laugh when he saw the creatures coming towards him.
“I wish papa had brought me something like that,” he said. “There is some fun in it.”
“You shall play with it as much as you like, Norman,” said Fanny. “As it is papa’s present I cannot give it you, but you can amuse yourself with it as much as if it was yours.”