Kids Can Fly: Goose

twelve tricks. Daniel, have you got any we could use?"

Daniel was always doing magic tricks. He was already quite a fine magician, for all his ten years. He could make things disappear, and see through envelopes, and remove coins from pockets, and predict things. All he needed was an audience and he was away.

"I've got plenty of good tricks at home!" he said, "'And I can work out some really good ones. Man! This is the opportunity I've been waiting for! We can do the broken leg, and the dead rabbit, and..."

"Wait on!" said Nicholas, "We'll have to work this out properly. This is going to take planning, and timing. We've got to have credibility."

"You like that word, don't you," laughed Nikanda.

"Its intellectual," Kieran smiled.

Rhiannon stood up.

"Come on," she said, "Get something worked out. The bell will be going in a few minutes!"

"We haven't got time," said Kasia, "We'll have to meet again tomorrow. Same time, same place?"

Everyone agreed and started to stand up. Then the bell rang.

Four days later, and four meetings later, the plans were made. Despite the secrecy, Goose knew something was in the air. He hung around, pretending to be disinterested, looking at things far away, pretending to be studying his books. He sat under the trees, eating his lunch no far from where the other kids were, and swinging his legs as if there was nothing on his mind except lunch. But his ears were burning.

Then, on Friday, the plans began to kick in. The first trick was Kasia's. She came to school with her hand all bandaged up. "What's with the sling?" asked Goose, sidling over to her.

"I did a stupid thing!" said Kasia, walking on. This was guaranteed get Goose's curiosity up.

"Did you fall over?"

"No."

"Have a fight with a lawn-mower?"

"No."

"What then?"