Magic Tree House #50: Hurry Up, Houdini! (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

hand! Jack knew that when she waved her arm, she had simply allowed one of the hidden wands to slip from her sleeve.
    The cymbals crashed.
    The crowd cheered.
    Annie grinned triumphantly and bowed.
    While Annie was distracting everyone, Jack casually put his hat upside down on the velvet tabletop, over one of the hidden trapdoors. As he set the hat down, he pressed on the trapdoor and it flapped open.
    “Thank you, Amazing Annie!” Jack called.
    Annie handed Jack the wand, and he stepped back and waved it around the brim of the top hat.
    The crowd grew quiet.
    In a deep, mysterious voice, Jack intoned, “
Zoom-bally-win-doo-chee-gone-hay!
Which means,
Oh, marvelous hat, what do you have for me today?
”
    Jack tapped the hat, stepped back from the table, and turned to Annie. “My dear, may I ask youto check my hat, please?” he said. “I have a feeling it holds a surprise.”
    There was a drumroll as Annie slowly reached into the hat. Jack knew she was pushing down on the top of the hat, which also had a secret flap.
    A small white rabbit suddenly leapt from the secret compartment, through the hat, and into Annie’s arms!

    The orchestra played triumphant music, and the audience cheered.
    Two more rabbits jumped out! Each time, Annie caught the rabbits and pretended to be surprised.
    The cymbals crashed.
    The audience laughed and clapped.
    Annie handed the rabbits to Hank and Butch,who carried them offstage. Then she took off her own hat. “Ladies and gentlemen!” she shouted. “As you can see, my hat is as empty as my brother’s was.” She showed the inside of the hat to the audience. “But it also holds wonders.”
    Annie set her hat on the table beside Jack’s, carefully placing it on top of the second hidden door. “Oh, I’m going to need another wand!” she said. This time, she swept her left arm in front of her, and
presto!
The second wand appeared in her hand.
    As the crowd applauded, Annie waved the wand over her hat. In a strange voice, she said, “
Zoom-bally-hula-hula-hi-ho-hay!
Which means,
Oh, wondrous hat, send new friends our way!
”
    Jack reached into the hat, pushed down on the secret flap, then gently lifted out a dove. As the crowd cheered and clapped, he reached in again and took out the second dove. Jack handed the birds to Annie. They perched on her fingers as she lifted her hands into the air. The birds flapped their wings, bowing to the audience.
    The cymbals crashed.
    The crowd cheered and clapped.
    While Annie distracted the crowd with the birds, Jack scooped the deck of cards off the table and stepped into the shadows. Behind his back, he divided the deck equally. Then he hid the two halves in the palms of his hands.
    Annie gave the doves to Hank and Butch. Then she turned back to the crowd. “I believe my brother has something to share with you now!” Annie shouted. “Jolly Jack?”
    Jack took Annie’s place in the spotlight. “Are there any cardplayers in the house?” he called.
    Many in the audience raised their hands. Some laughed loudly and teased each other.
    “Well then, my friends,” said Jack, “my strong advice to you tonight is
never
play cards with a magician!” As he spoke, he secretly gripped the edge of the card stack in his right hand. Using his thumb, he expertly inched the top card up until it was just behind his fingers.
    All the while, Jack kept talking: “But oddly, some folks are foolish enough to challenge me to agame. Therefore, I never travel anywhere without a deck, but I prefer my cards to remain invisible until I am ready to use them!”
    Jack then raised his right hand and flipped out the card, pretending to pluck it out of the air. The audience gasped. Cymbals clashed.
    “Of course, you can’t play a card game with only one card!” Jack said. He reached into the air with his left hand. “Ah, good! Here is another … and another … and another!”
    The drummer pounded his drums each time Jack appeared to snatch a card from the air. He produced card after card. “What’s this? Another! Another!” Finally, he said, “My goodness! I seem to have gathered an entire deck. Who wants to play a game?”
    The cymbals crashed. The crowd cheered and Jack bowed.
    Annie stepped into the spotlight, holding up three large rings. “Once upon a time, in a palace in China, we learned the ancient art of magic rings,” she said.
    Jack knew that one of the rings had a tiny opening in it. Annie hid the opening between her thumb and index