Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac

birthday and I’ve
never forgotten it. It was the only present I really wanted. Shan’t be long.’
He dashed away up the stairs.
    While
Vadanti was changing Catweazle pressed the button and took Percy from the box
leaving a bunch of bananas in his place. Then he tucked Percy under his robe.
‘The only present I really wanted’, he muttered, thinking Owlface might also
like a rabbit for his birthday.
    Vadanti
returned a few minutes later wearing a little beard, evening dress and a
red-lined opera cloak.
    ‘Who
art thou?’ asked Catweazle.
    ‘Presenting
Vadanti, man of magic and mystery,’ said the conjuror, bowing low before
Catweazle.
    Catweazle
helped Vadanti put his stuff into the car and watched him out of sight. Then he
went back to Duck Halt, where he put the rabbit in a battered cardboard box
which he tied up with string, then balanced him on the handlebars of his
tricycle and set off for Kings Farthing.
    Vadanti
had already arrived. Lady Collingford met him at the door. She was wearing a
paper hat at a rakish angle and looking rather desperate. The noise from the party
was deafening.
    ‘Thank
heavens!’ she said shakily. ‘Do come in, Mr Vadanti. They’re all eating at the
moment, so you’ll be able to get ready in peace.’
    She led
him into the drawing-room. ‘If there’s anything you want, don’t hesitate to
ask.’ She left him to unpack.
    It took
him quite a while to prepare the show. He put Percy’s special box underneath a
well-camouflaged hole in his trick table, and he was still getting things ready
when Catweazle backed into the drawing-room. He had just left his ‘present’ in
the main hall and had been frightened by the uproar from the dining-room.
    ‘Mr
Catweazle!’ exclaimed Vadanti.
    Catweazle
spun round.
    ‘They
haven’t made a double booking, have they?’ said Vadanti. Catweazle had no idea
what a double booking was and shook his head nervously.
    ‘Thank
goodness,’ said Vadanti. ‘It happened to me once, you know. I had to share a
children’s party with a sword-swallower. I’ve never forgotten it. The poor man
got hiccups.’
    Catweazle
tried to creep away but Vadanti stopped him. ‘Don’t go away!’ he said, ‘I’ve
got the cabinet trick in the car. I’d cut it because my assistant’s ill but you
could easily replace him. I’ll run through the programme with you. It’s all
standard stuff.’
    So
Catweazle was forced to become Vadanti’s assistant and stood trembling beside
him when the children came pouring in from the dining-room. Cedric and his
mother were the last to come in. ‘Oh good!’ said Lady Collingford sitting down
beside her son, who was gaping a bit at Catweazle, ‘his assistant’s managed to
come after all.’
    ‘Er ..
. yes,’ stammered Cedric, wondering what on earth was going to happen.
    ‘I
found this in the hall,’ said his mother, handing him Catweazle’s ‘present’. ‘I
don’t know who it’s from. There’s no card.’
    ‘I
think I know,’ said Cedric, putting it down by his feet.
    Vadanti
stepped forward and bowed. ‘Ladies and... er... boys and girls. I should like
to demonstrate the amazing properties possessed by my magic wand.’
    A wand
appeared in his hand, and Catweazle’s mouth dropped open. Vadanti went on
talking while the wand seemed to float in space. There was a burst of applause
from the children. Catweazle looked at Vadanti with envy. Next, the conjuror
filled a glass with water from a big jug and then covered the tumbler with a
cloth. ‘Ab-racadabra,’ he cried and crumpled the cloth. The glass of water had
vanished. The children clapped again and then roared with laugher when
Catweazle, beside himself with curiosity, lifted the trick water jug to
investigate, and knocked over the glass hidden underneath.
    ‘You
idiot!’ hissed Vadanti and went quickly on to his next trick.

    ‘The
Heavenly Twins,’ said Vadanti. ‘They can never be separated!’ He held up two
small plastic dolls and Catweazle’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. It was
the Sign he sought! He watched as Vadanti put two mysterious boxes on the table
and a doll in each of them.
    ‘I will
now re-unite the twins by magic,’ said Vadanti, ‘in whichever box you choose.’
But before he could get any farther, Catweazle, inquisitive as a monkey, had
opened both boxes and taken two dolls from each of them.
    The
audience rocked with mirth and Vadanti went as red as the lining of his cloak.
‘You maniac!’ he snarled at