Magical Monty
Page 4
“It’s okay,” said Monty. “Mandy is still sleeping. She wasn’t scared at all when the carriage rolled away.”
“Well I was,” said Monty’s mom.
“So was I,” admitted Monty. “And I was scared when our car rolled away too.”
“Me too,” said Mrs. Morris. She put down her knitting and hugged Monty. “All’s well that ends well,” she told him.
Monty nodded. He took the little box from his pocket and looked at it once more. He turned the box around. Then he slid his fingers from side to side. And suddenly, for the first time, he was able to slide the box open. Boy was he dumb! He’d been holding the box the wrong way. It wouldn’t work unless he held it upside down. The instructions had told him to turn it around but he thought it meant he should turn around.
“I did it!” he exclaimed with delight. He wondered if he could do it again. It would be terrible if he couldn’t. He took the coin from the box and held it up in the air. “Mom, watch me. I think I can do the coin trick.” Then he put the box and the coin behind his back and slid the box shut. “Now watch,” he said.
He opened the box and there was no coin inside. “I did it!” he exclaimed.
“Can you find the coin again?” asked his mother.
Monty closed the opening. Then he put the box behind his back and turned the box around so it would be upside down. “Abracadabra,” he said. He showed his mother the box, and as she watched, he slid the secret opening. There was the coin!
Now that he knew how to do it, it was very easy.
Mr. Morris came outside. “Dad!” shouted Monty, forgetting to keep his voice down. “I can do it!” he shouted in triumph. “I can make the coin appear and disappear. Watch!”
He repeated the trick again for both of his parents. First he opened one side and put the coin into the box. He closed it and put the box behind his back. Then he turned the box upside down and opened the box. It was empty.
“Now watch,” said Monty. He put the box behind his back again. And when he next showed it to his parents, he slid it open to show off the coin.
His parents applauded just as if they were at a real show.
“Good for you,” said Monty’s father. He took the coin from Monty. “Do you want to buy an ice-cream cone with this?” he asked.
“Dad, you know that isn’t real money,” said Monty.
“You’re right,” said his father. He jiggled some coins in his pocket. “I don’t have magic money, but I think I know how to do a magic trick. I can transform the money in my pocket into two ice-cream cones on the way home from the playground.”
“Yippee!” shouted Monty. “Oh, did I wake Mandy?” he asked his mother.
“No. She’s still asleep,” said Mrs. Morris, smiling at him.
“Dad, can we bring an ice-cream cone home for Mom?” Monty asked his father.
“Sure.”
“That will be a great trick,” said Monty. He could already imagine the taste of the ice cream in his mouth. Imagination was a kind of magic too. Everyday life was full of all kinds of magic, he thought.
www.candlewick.com
Johanna Hurwitz is a former children’s librarian and the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children, including the first three books about Monty. She divides her time between Great Neck, New York, and Wilmington, Vermont.
Anik McGrory has illustrated several books for children, including all the Monty books, as well as Kidogo and Quick, Slow, Mango! which she both wrote and illustrated. Anik McGrory lives in Rye, New York.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2012 by Johanna Hurwitz
Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Anik McGrory
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2012
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Hurwitz, Johanna.
Magical Monty / Johanna Hurwitz ; illustrated by Anik McGrory. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: First-grader Monty Morris gets a little more than he can handle with his friend Joey’s dogs, includes his new baby sister in a school project, gives his mother a surprising gift, and learns that sometimes a day filled with excitement is not the best thing.
ISBN 978-0-7636-5008-7 (hardcover)
[1. Family life — Fiction. 2. Schools — Fiction.] I. McGrory, Anik, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.H9574Mag 2012
[Fic] — dc22 2010047653
ISBN 978-0-7636-5970-7 (electronic)
The illustrations were done in watercolor.
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