He just isn't magical

Today was Magic Day. A rare combination of cosmic forces (Harry Potter, Secrets of Droon, Charlie and Lola) beamed in and found a home in Nell's brain, giving her magical powers beyond all of Ben's and Simon's imagining.

She made the guinea pig disappear!

She told the boys to go upstairs and wait while she prepared her spells. She whisked Chizzle (the pig) out of his cage and into a Secret Hiding Place (see below), covered the cage with a blanket and called the boys back down.



Abracadabra ala-cazeer.
Chizzle is........disappeared!

And he was. He was absolutely gone. The boys were thunderstruck.

"My turn! My turn!" yelled Ben.

Nell and Simon retreated upstairs so Ben could have a moment to prepare his spells. From the kitchen I could hear his dress rehearsal. He covered the cage with the very same blanket Nell used and uttered the very same incantations over the cage.

Very quietly, he practiced:

Abracadabra ala-cazeer
Chizzle is......(whisking blanket away).......still here.

It didn't work!

He tried again. Still no luck.

He went upstairs to consult Nell, the Master Magician. She gave him a magic cloak (her old bathrobe) to try.


"It's still not working, Nell!"

He found his magic hat and gave it another whirl.


Poor Ben. Nothing seemed to work.

But here's the thing. He did not get frustrated. Did not throw a tantrum. Did not come whining to me. Our Ben is starting to get a hold of himself. Little by little, day by day, he is calming down. He took the whole thing in stride. Even took a turn toward the philosophical.

"I just not magical," he said in a resigned little voice. "Nell is magical, and I not."

Which, in itself, was a magical moment for me.