Sunday, October 10, 2010

Lovesick Rabbits  
My Goddaughter went to China last month.  Her father is a slightly off kilter magician so she was intrigued by the wealth of magic in China.  They perform it, watch it and sell small tricks almost everywhere.  She bought this trick in Shanghai and gave it to me as a belated birthday gift.
It is a standard trick that even I perform occasionally.  The stock name here is "The Love Sick Rabbits".
Basically it is a story trick about two rabbits that are so in love you can't keep them apart.  To prove it a spectator takes one rabbit in their hand and the magician places the other one in his own hand.  After a magic word the the rabbit the magician is holding is gone and the spectator is suddenly holding both.
It is a good trick and kids love it because it happens right in their own hand.
This is a picture of the box the trick came in. You can make out the image of a hand holding two red rabbits. It is a good thing I knew how to do the trick because the instructions are in Chinese. The only concession to English they made was the word Magic on the front of the box and an attempt to translate the stock name of the trick.
If you look closely you will see they call the trick  "RADDIT OF LOVESICKNESS". If the instructions were translated with equal care I doubt  any English speaker could perform the trick.
Thank you Eva... you are the best.
As you were,
Jay

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