Half Magic

The next day, Mr. Smith arrives, inviting the family on a drive and to a picnic. Despite initial hesitation from their mother, they all go and have a marvelous time. When they return, the children retire while the adults stay up late talking. However, during the night, Martha awakes to her mother crying.

The following morning, the children realize they have had the charm for a week. Since the number seven is magical, they expect something grand to happen on the seventh day. Katharine observes that they are better people and happier since getting the charm, but Martha suggests that their mother is not.

Just then, the phone rings. It is Mr. Smith requesting that they meet in the bookshop. The children take the charm with them. When they arrive, he asks them to call him by his first name, Hugo. Martha declares that he will soon be their stepfather, and Mr. Smith admits that he has indeed asked their mother to marry him and that he would be proud to be their stepfather.

However, even though their mother expressed that she cares for Mr. Smith, she declined his proposal. Alison believes she is ill because of all the strange events she has witnessed recently and doesn’t feel that a marriage would be appropriate.

Jane suggests that they tell her everything. When Mr. Smith reminds them of their mother’s practicality, Mark proposes that they allow her to experience the magic firsthand. Without thinking, the children transport everyone to their mother’s office.

They materialize during a meeting. The narrator interjects that their mother’s job is not important because she only writes about women’s social gatherings. When the group appears, Alison is frightened that her illness is kicking in.

Speaking hurriedly, the children explain that she is not ill; it is magic. They insist she marry Mr. Smith. Instead of relief, their mother feels anxious that the children have fabricated this tale to convince her to say yes. Jane interrupts to show her the charm, which her mother claims is a nickel.

To prove the magic, Jane grabs her mother’s hand, impulsively using the charm. A bird flies into the office, chirping hello and flying away immediately. Instead of calming their mother, the magic incites panic.

Mark interrupts Mr. Smith’s attempts at reassurance, scolding Jane and reminding them that their mother’s greatest desire is to be city editor of the paper. So, despite Mr. Smith’s warning, he makes a different wish.

Abruptly, the newspaper owner arrives, offering Alison a promotion and a salary increase. When she insists that he is just a figment of her imagination, the man is offended. Mark jumps in, reminding her that she could run the newspaper better than anyone else. Further angered, the owner rescinds his offer and fires her. Alison laments that she is losing her senses and is now jobless too.

Katharine comforts her mother, sharing that Alison’s real dream is to be a stunt rider in the circus. Before Mr. Smith can stop her, Katharine takes hold of the charm and makes a third wish.

Transported to a circus tent, they watch their mother, La Gloria, performing dangerous feats on a horse’s back. Panicky, Martha charges into the circus ring. La Gloria buzzes with fury at the interruption. When the crowd demands the children be thrown out, Katharine reverses their wish, and they materialize in the newspaper office.

There, Mr. Smith urges everyone to stop, but this time, Martha asserts that they should have wished for their mother to believe first. Her older siblings agree. Mr. Smith again tries to interject, but Martha is too quick.

Instantly, their mother does not just believe in magic but also concurs with every word spoken. Distraught that she no longer sounds like their mother, the children cannot speak. In this silence, Mr. Smith takes the charm, suggesting they begin again and think before they act.

Restoring Alison’s personality, he wishes that she be open-minded about magic and the charm, which works to remove her memories of the day. When Mr. Smith inquires about her heart’s desire, she proclaims that it is for them to be a family, for her to stay home with the children, to go to the country during the summer, and to have Mr. Smith get rid of his beard.

Mr. Smith is delighted by all of this, except the removal of his beard. Katharine readies herself to make a wish, but it is unnecessary, for they already have found happiness. Initially disappointed, the children remember that the charm brought the couple together on the side of the road.

Jane wonders if the magic is gone. So, she picks up the charm and doubly wishes for all her mother’s desires. The room suddenly transforms into a wedding scene in the country, and Mr. Smith’s beard is gone. When Mark suggests that perhaps this was the final wish, Mr. Smith is confused. Because the adults have gotten their “heart’s desire” (180), they no longer need the magic and, therefore, have forgotten about it.

Departing the office, the siblings sense that no more wishes will be granted. Jane tests it by wishing for four noses, but nothing happens. Mark cheerfully says good-bye to the charm. The children celebrate no more Miss Bick, summer excursions to the country, and a “practically perfect stepfather” (181). Despite this joy, Jane carefully places the charm in her handbag just in case it is needed in the future.