[ WP ] `` How did the magic die ? '' asked your grandson . `` Well , it started off with a magician 's trick ... ''

“ How did magic die? ” asked my grandson. 
 
 “ Well it started off with a magician ’ s trick… ” I started my tale. 
 
 “ He made a pencil disappear. I know that sounds simple with all the sleight of hand you see these days, but back then making something disappear with magic was thought to be impossible. “ 
 
 “ So of course magicians didn ’ t believe him, they thought he merely transported it or destroyed it. But he was determined to make everyone believe him. So he started making tables disappear, buildings, even a mountain, or so the story goes. “ 
 
 “ He had the magic community split at this point, half believed he was actually making things disappear, half were skeptical. So he made his final trick, THE final trick some may argue. He wanted to make magic disappear, that way it was impossible to deny what he was doing. So with all his might and power he made the last trick and magic disappeared forever. ” 
 
 “ So that ’ s it? ” my grandson asked unenthusiastic. 
 
 “ Well that ’ s the story most people tell. ” 
 
 “ But you are not most people. ” My grandson asked with a smile on his face. “ Are you? ” 
 
 I laughed. 
 
 “ Well if you must know there is more to the story, but it ’ s not quite poetic or grand. It ’ s actually very embarrassing. But if you must know… The magician was actually performing a trick, as most people assumed. He was n't really disappearing objects; he was hiding them, or sending them far away. But when he sent magic away, his powers went with it, so he could n't bring it back. ” 
 
 “ That was n't very smart. ” Said my grandson in a disapproving tone. 
 
 “ No it wasn't. ” I said smiling. “ But the past is the past; there is nothing we can do now to change it. Well there is… but that's a story for another time. ” 
 
 
 
 

