THE MAGIC TICKET

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 257, 26 July 1930, Page 28

THE MAGIC TICKET

A magic ticket can take you anywhere. The ticket this story is about had “Fair Games, Presents, Coconut Shies, Bubbles, Revolving Horses, Swings, Punch and Judy, and Clowns” written on it. No new baby is allowed to leave Star Street without its return ticket. The Star Fairies call it the Magic Ticket of Happiness, and warn the babies against losing it But you know what babies are. most of the darling little sillies either lose their tickets or let the wrong kind of people take care of them. Magic tickets, once they tumble to earth, or get lost, turn Into strange shapes. The magic ticket in this story, turned into a piece of dirty torn newspaper, wrapped round a codfish. Luckily little Puff o’ Wind, who knew what it really was, tore it off the fish, and stuck it, all damp and fishy, on to Peter's nose.

Peter is the little boy on crutches, who lives with other poor boys, who are crippled, and can’t run about. All the other boys in the playground of the dull, ugly cripple’s home, laughed at the magic ticket on Peter’s nose. They didn’t know it was anything but a bit of fishy paper, till Peter slowly started reading it out. “Show, presents, coconut shies, bubbles, revolving horses.” “Revolving horses means merry-go-rounds. They’re grand fun. There’s a band playing music that makes yer so happy,” interrupted Danny Jones. “I been onc’t, afore my leg went bad.” “Swings!” went on Peter.

“That’s boat swings. You swings so high that you thinks you’ll maybe get to the stars,” broke in Sammy Smith. “Punch and Judy, and Clowns,” finished Peter a little breathlessly. He wanted to see a Clown terribly badly. “I’d give anything to see a Clown,” he said.

“So you shall! So you shall! And Punch and Judy, and Swings and Revolving Horses, Merry-go-Rounds, and Coconut Shies, all the fun of the show; it’s the very ticket!” The boys looked up from the Magic Ticket, and saw a tall, oldish man, dressed in ordinary ■ clothes, but with eyes like Father Christmas. “But It came along o‘ matron’s fish,” objected Peter.

“No matter,” laughed the man. “It’S a Magic Ticket, for all that. One that I lost so long ago. that I had even forgotten I ever had it till an Ether Elf the other side of the wall, told me to listen to what you were saying, if I wanted to find my return ticket to Star Street. Give me the paper. We will all go on the boat swing, and the Dodgems and see the Punch and Judy and the Clowns next Saturday. I will arrange with matron to put the whole show in the laundry field. Goodbye!” The tall man, taking the magic ticket in his hand, vanished. He returned the following Saturday. Indeed he did, and the boys had all the fun of the show, and swung on the boatswings, joking with the Clowns, till the Star People peeped down to see what was going on.