Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/388

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How to Make the Dancing Fairies, Etc.
355

the chandelier, and making some passes over them, the magician leaves the figures sitting upright upon the floor. One of the company may be then asked to play upon the piano. No sooner does the first note struck upon the instrument sound through the room, than signs of life become noticeable among the handkerchief figures; they move, and, one by one, rise and stand. As the music becomes lively the handkerchiefs lose

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Fig. 217.
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Evolutions of the Handkerchief.

their diffidence and dance about in a very active manner. After the dance is over the handkerchiefs are returned to the owners and the room vacated, to give the fairies an opportunity to rest, and the children, that have, during the performance, been hiding behind the furniture, an opportunity to make their escape unobserved. The children are as necessary as the handkerchief dolls, for it is by means of silken threads in the hands of the little folks that the fairies are made to dance and move about. For each handkerchief there is a piece of thread long enough to reach over the chandelier down to the floor. Each piece of thread terminates in a hook made of a crooked pin. While the magician is making the customary passes, he deftly hooks the figures on to the pins. Old and worldly wise people have been completely mystified by this simple little trick.

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