Pencil of Doom! (16 page)

‘It's not ordinary,' said Jenny. ‘It's
adorable
. Can I hold it, Mr Brainfright, please?'

‘Of course,' he said, taking it over to her desk and putting it into her arms.

‘See?' Jenny said to Newton as she cuddled the rabbit. ‘It's completely cute and harmless.'

Newton leaned over and patted the rabbit tentatively.

‘It's soft,' he said.

‘Yes, and think of it this way, Newton,' said Mr Brainfright. ‘It has four rabbit's feet, so it's four times as lucky as your one.'

Newton smiled at this happy thought and patted the rabbit more boldly.

‘And speaking of rabbit's feet, may I use this to demonstrate my next illusion?' said Mr Brainfright as he picked up Newton's lucky rabbit's foot off his desk.

Newton made a grab for it but was too slow. ‘I'm not sure about this, sir,' he said. ‘Can't you use something else?'

‘No, this will be perfect,' said Mr Brainfright. ‘And don't worry—I'm only going to borrow it for a moment. You'll get it back.'

He picked his top hat up off the desk and dropped the rabbit's foot into it. He said ‘Abracadabra,' tapped the brim of the hat twice with his shiny black cane and then tipped the hat right side up.

The rabbit's foot did not drop out.

It was gone!

Everyone in the class clapped—except Newton.

Then Mr Brainfright tapped his cane twice on the brim of the hat and said ‘Abracadabra'.

But the foot didn't come back.

Mr Brainfright looked very surprised and then confused. He looked into the hat.

Newton gasped in alarm. ‘My rabbit's foot,' he squeaked.

Mr Brainfright frowned into the hat. ‘Don't worry, Newton,' he said. ‘It's in there. It's just stuck . . . I think.'

‘But what if you can't find it?' said Newton. ‘I'll never have good luck again!'

‘Pat the rabbit some more,' Jenny said to Newton, putting it into his arms. ‘It's very soothing.'

Newton stared at Mr Brainfright's top hat and patted the rabbit automatically.

He didn't look soothed.

Meanwhile, Mr Brainfright just kept tapping his hat with his cane and trying different spells. ‘Abracadabra . . . sim sala bim . . . bibbity bobbity boo . . .' But still the rabbit's foot did not appear.

‘Perhaps if I put the rabbit back in it might help unstick the foot,' said Mr Brainfright, reaching for the rabbit.

Newton hugged it to his chest. ‘No,' he said. ‘You can't have it. What if you can't get it out again?'

‘No, don't make it disappear,' said Jenny. ‘Let us keep it. Can we have it for a class pet? Please, Mr Brainfright, please?'

‘I'm sure it would bring us good luck, sir,' said Newton. ‘Like you said—it's got four rabbit's feet, and that's four times luckier than one.'

Mr Brainfright looked down at their pleading faces.

‘Well, all right,' he said finally. ‘We'll get a hutch for it and it can be the class pet.'

‘Thank you, Mr Brainfright,' said Jenny.

‘Can we get a pony as well?' asked Gina.

‘Yes,' said Penny. ‘Can you make one come out of your hat?'

‘No, I think my hat's finished for the day,' said Mr Brainfright, peering into it with a puzzled expression on his face.

‘Aawwwwww,' said the twins.

‘Sorry,' said Mr Brainfright, ‘but sometimes these magic hats have a mind of their own.'

Fiona duly noted this fact down. ‘Will we be tested on this?' she asked.

Sometimes magic hats have a mind of their own.

Well, that's my story.

And just in case you're wondering, it's all true.

Every last bit.

If you're ever passing through Northwest, and you happen to be passing Northwest Southeast Central School, feel free to drop in.

We're pretty easy to find. Our classroom is the first on the left as you go up the steps.

And our teacher wears a purple jacket.

But don't forget to call in at the office first and sign the visitors' book.

And don't waste time while you're doing it. As I think I have mentioned, Mrs Rosethorn doesn't like time wasters.

Anyway, it would be great to see you, and if you
enjoyed that story then don't worry, I've got plenty more!

And they're all true.

Every last one.