Article August 8, 1970 Issue

The Whale in the Pail

[For children]

R. LOUISE EMERY

A long time ago there was a funny vaudeville act that made people roar with laughter. Vaudeville was a kind of show people had before television. You had to go to a theater to see it.

The star of this particular act was a hypnotist—a man who could put people who consented under a kind of spell. While it lasted, he could make them believe anything he told them.

First, he called for a volunteer from the audience, and when someone came up on the stage, he put him under his spell. Then he seated the person, handed him a fishing pole, and put a pail in front of him, telling him to cast his hook into the pail. Next, he cried out that a whale had swallowed the hook! And he ordered the man to land the whale.

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