Magic Trick

narrated by Ulf Blanck

with illustrations by Stefanie Wegner
and Kim Schmidt

translated by Georgina Hodge

KOSMOS

Giant Water Slide

The rising heat shimmered across the asphalt, and Justus Jonas struggled to keep up with his two friends. “Hey, not so fast! It’s not a bike race! The Pacific isn’t exactly gonna run away from us, is it?”

Bob looked around for a moment, but then he pedaled even faster. “It’s not the Pacific I’m worried about. If we don’t speed up, we’ll miss the opening of the Big Surfer. Come on, hurry!”

Justus took another deep breath, grabbed his handlebars firmly with both hands, and used his last ounce of strength to pedal his bike even faster along the coastal road. Dripping with sweat, he caught up to Peter and clung to his luggage carrier. “Hey, forget it, Justus! I’m not a tow truck,. You can pedal the last few meters on your own!” Meanwhile, Bob was looking at his watch. “Speed up, you two! The opening ceremony starts in three minutes and my dad said we’ve gotta arrive on time.”

Rocky Beach had been eagerly awaiting the grand opening event for days. The Big Surfer was a giant slide, which was over 250 meters long and meandered down in countless curves from the parking lot on top of the cliffs directly into the Pacific Ocean below. A team of specialists had been working on the construction for weeks. Now, the day had finally arrived for the slide to be inaugurated. Bob’s father, who worked as a reporter for a big daily newspaper in Los Angeles, was there to write a report on the spectacular event.

The three friends could already hear the music droning from the parking lot. A narrow sandy bay lay at the bottom of the steep cliff. Half of Rocky Beach had come to watch the premiere of the Big Surfer. A large stage had been set up next to the entrance of the slide, and large balloons and colorful garlands were hanging everywhere.

Bob spotted his father in the crowd. “Hi there, Dad!” he called over to him. “Have they started yet?”

“No, but you‘re just in time. The owner of the slide, Mr. Doodles, is just about to give a speech.” Justus leaned his bike up against a garbage can, exhausted. “Oh no, don‘t tell me we raced here just to hear someone babble on.”

At that moment, a small, fat man stepped up onto the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I’m delighted that so many of you have come here today. That’s because today is a very special day for me and for Rocky Beach. Today, right here, right now, the longest water slide in all of California will be inaugurated. I’m not a man of many words, so - who here dares to be the first to descend through our Big Surfer?”

Bob immediately threw his arms up in the air. “Here! Hello! We wanna do that!” Confused, the fat man turned towards him. “What do you mean, ‘we’?” he asked in surprise. Mr Andrews looked at Bob in amazement and dropped his notebook in surprise. Then, Justus stepped forward too. “Yeah! We means we, and we are three!” Peter tentatively followed his two friends to the stage. Several photographers pushed their way through the crowd and pointed cameras at them. The fat man wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Err, okay then,” he muttered, briefly turning the microphone to the side and pulling the three boys towards him. “Listen here, you little brats. I know your kind. You better not cause me any trouble here! When you whizz down the slide in a minute, I wanna see happy faces afterwards. Do you understand me? I can already tell: You’re troublemakers and I don’t need any bad press. So, hurry up and get into the Big Surfer!”

Then, the man turned to the audience again. “Well, we just found the first three volunteers, who wanna see for themselves how unique the Big Surfer is. They just told me that they can’t wait.” In the meantime, Justus, Peter and Bob took off their shoes and T-Shirts. The round entrance of the Big Surfer was built to look like the wide-open jaws of a giant shark. The photographers took their pictures enthusiastically.

Suddenly, Bob’s father pushed his way forward. “Mr. Doodles, I assume the slide has been safety tested?” The owner seemed happy with the question. “I’m glad you asked me that. Of course, the Big Surfer has been thoroughly tested in every conceivable situation. Absolutely nothing can happen”. Grinning from ear to ear, he continued. “I can assure you of one thing: So far, everyone has come out after three minutes at the most.”

“What happens, if we don’t come out?” Justus suddenly interrupted him in a loud voice. Mr. Doodles’ eyes flashed angrily for a moment, but then he gave them a friendly smile. “Well, that really would border on magic. The Big Surfer has always spit everyone out again at the bottom.” Justus didn’t let up. “But what if it didn’t?”

Now, the fat man could not conceal his anger. “Then… then, I’d slide down myself… and everyone here could ride down for free all day!”

“That would be more than awesome,” Justus laughed and climbed up the steps into the shark’s gaping jaws.

Abracadabra

“What are you up to, Justus?” Peter whispered, as they peered into the circular tube. Water streamed down the tunnel continuously. Bob put his glasses inside one of his sneakers, just to be on the safe side. “Are you gonna conjure us away with a magic trick, or what?”

“Course not! I just had an idea. Maybe it’ll work. Let’s go!”

The three ??? disappeared into the Big Surfer to loud applause and the crowd surged towards the fence along the clifftop. Everyone wanted to watch the boys being whooshed into the sea at the bottom.

“Hold on tight to each other!” Justus shouted when they had passed the first bend. From here on, there was a flat stretch going straight ahead. “Okay! Now try to lie horizontally! Press your feet and shoulders against the sides! Maybe, we can stop like this.” Peter, the tallest of the three, managed right away. Then, Justus successfully pressed himself across the tube too. Only Bob slipped down a few times and had to be secured by his two friends. Just before the tunnel dropped down steeply, the boys came to a stop. Below them, the water gushed into the sea.

“Abracadabra!” Justus laughed. “The Big Surfer has suffered its first victims.” Peter beamed too. “I’d love to see the look on Doodle’s face now.”

The fat man was bending right over the barrier and looking down. “Ladies and gentlemen, very soon you’ll see just how much fun it is to slide down the Big Surfer.”

The seconds ticked by, but apart from a big surge of water, nothing came out of the round opening.

“Maybe the three of them got lost?” one of the photographers grinned. Mr. Doodles fiddled around with his microphone nervously. After a couple of minutes, he eventually climbed up the steps to the shark’s open jaws and leaned inside. “Hello? Can you hear me?” he shouted as loud as he could. “What’s going on in there?”

Justus, Peter and Bob were finding it hard to stifle their giggles.

“Oh well, Mr. Doodles,” Bob’s father grinned mischievously. “I really don’t think you have any other choice, but to slide down there after them.” One of the photographers raised his camera. “Absolutely. A promise is a promise. That’s gonna be one helluva photo. Apart from that, everyone here gets to ride the Big Surfer for free all day long!” The fat man pulled off his shirt and shoes. Then, he disappeared into the shark’s jaws unwillingly.

“Look out! He’s whizzing towards us at high speed,” Peter hissed and tucked his legs in. Bob was as blind as a bat without his glasses and flew down the slide backwards. They went faster and faster down the narrow tube. The water gushed and splashed around them. Justus glanced back. “Hurry up! Doodles is right behind me.” Then, the owner of the Big Surfer spotted the three boys. “There you are. I’m catching up to you,” he roared