Verity auctioned the next item that had been donated to the charity standing in front of a large cage held a few feet above the floor by wheeled legs on each corner.

“Now, I need to find a couple of volunteers. You two will do.” The magician pointed to two women standing next to each other. The taller one wore a bunny-girl outfit, complete with bunny ears and a white pom-pom at the base of her spine, while her companion was wearing a short skirt and blouse in a pale tan colour, which when paired with the pith helmet identified the costume as a safari adventuress. The most unusual thing about these members of the crowd was that they were wearing matching crystal-encrusted chokers

After the initial surprise, they ducked under the perimeter rope to join the magician in the performance area. Of the two, the bunny girl looked more nervous about the prospect of participating than her friend. Soon introductions were made and the onlookers learned that the bunny was Cheryl and the adventuress was her mother, Francis.

“Now, we get to the magical part of your participation. Cheryl, I need you to take off your shoes and get into the cage, please. While she does that, Francis, would you please check the cage and this cloth for suspicious trapdoors, mirrors, smoke grenades and extra assistants; you know the drill.”

The cage appeared to be a sturdy, five foot square, plywood floor and a similarly featureless ceiling, held apart by four foot tall steel posts spaced a six inch intervals. The exception being a three foot wide barred door in the front that was held closed by a latch, which Verity opened for Cheryl to get into the cage. Cheryl sat in the entrance, scooted back and sat cross-legged on the floor in a hunched position to avoid bumping her head on the roof of the cage.

Francis moved on to checking the cloth that was little more than a huge square of fabric with a satin sheen in a medium blue. While the older volunteer did that Verity latched the cage door.

“Ok, time for some magic. Let's get this cloth spread out a bit, so we can cover Cheryl and the cage with it. What do you think will happen?”

“I think I remember seeing a magic show on TV, where the assistant was put in a cage and covered and when the cover was removed there was a tiger there instead,” offered Francis.

“Nice thought, but I find the idea of having to deal with a big cat a little daunting. Let's see what happens.”

Between them the magician and her helper spread the sheet, wafted it into the air and brought it down over the cage. The cage was completely covered without the cloth reaching the floor. It did not stay covered for long, because after a few seconds, Verity dragged the fabric back off.

Initially the cage appeared to be empty, but then there was a small movement, which drew the audience's attention to a white rabbit twitching its nose as it looked between the bars of the door. The audience applauded and then redoubled their clapping, when they noticed that bunny was wearing a crystal-encrusted choker. Verity lifted the Bunny Cheryl from the cage between the bars and handed her to the shocked Francis. “Go show the front row how cute your daughter has become; not that she wasn't cute before.”

While the mother showed her transformed daughter to the crowd, the magician straightened out the cloth and then called mother and bunny daughter back for another round. Francis replaced the rabbit in the cage and helped the magician drape the cloth over the cage. When the cloth was removed the rabbit was gone and in its place was a big fluffy white dog, still identifiable as Cheryl by her sparkling collar.

Cheryl the samoyed was released from the cage and enjoyed the fuss the women on the front row of the audience lavished on her, if the wagging of her tail was anything to go by.

When the magician suggested that a further transformation might be possible, Cheryl leapt back into the cage and sat with an expression of canine curiosity. Mother and magician once more covered and uncovered the cage.

The audience did not get any time to notice what the cage now contained, because Francis gave a scream and almost tripped stepping hastily backwards from the cage. This returned attention to the cage, where a large snake coiled slipping out of the sparkling collar which soon fell to the floor of the cage.

“I'm guessing you don't want to show the audience Cheryl's latest incarnation.”

“No way! And you can't make me. I just hope it can't slither out between the bars.”

“In that case are you willing to take part in another small illusion to fill in the time that would have been taken up by having the audience pet your snake?”

“Anything; as long as I don't have to touch that slimy thing or get too close to it.”

“You do realise that you're talking about your daughter? But, Ok, another illusion coming up. And while I'm getting it, here's a stick with a hook on the end so that if Cheryl tries to escape you can guide her back to the cage.”

Verity rushed to fetch something from backstage, leaving the terrified Francis to keep a nervous eye on the large snake coiling within the cage; she seemed only mildly less frightened by the ophidian that had slipped out of her daughter's choker, now that she had the means to divert it from coming near her.

Verity soon returned with a small cabinet on legs; there were a few items stacked on top, but the audience did not get a good look and Francis was not paying particular attention to anything other than being as far as she could from the snake in the cage.

The magician opened the three section door in the front of the metal box that started at about knee-level and topped out at chest level. “Why don't you have a seat in my snake-proof box?” suggested Verity.

Francis eyed the box suspiciously, but sat into the opened door.

“Good! Now if you scoot back and cross your legs, I can close the door and that'll keep the snake out.”

Francis helped shut the door on herself by putting her hand through a semicircular hole in the opening end of the top door-section and pulling. “What about that square hole with the flap in the middle, there?”

“Oh that? That's so we can pass in some food and drink if it takes longer to get rid of the snake, than I think it will; that flap's too heavy for a snake to push through.” As an aside to the audience that Francis seemed to miss, she added, “I hope she doesn't ask about the matching hole in the back.” The magician completed shutting and latching the door until the only part of Francis outside the box and visible was her hand through the hole, which the volunteer appeared to have forgotten.

Verity rotated the box on its wheeled legs to show the back, where a hole against which a light tan fabric, that matched Francis' jacket, was pressed.

“Are you comfortable in there?” the magicienne asked.

“I don't know about comfortable, really. I'm having to sit with my head tilted to the side; couldn't you have got a bigger box?”

“No, not really. This illusion wouldn't be as amazing if the box were any bigger, and this one is a bit bigger than the standard one, because I never know who I am going to be able to persuade to get in.” While she spoke the magician, pulled a blade from the top of the box and showed it to the audience, a tap made it ring with solidity and a few deft movements to compare its size to that of the box had the audience convinced that the blade was as wide and a bit longer than the box was wide and deep. In a move that shocked most of the onlookers and the woman in the box, she lined the blade up with a slot in the box and pushed it through.

The initial response was a sudden intake of breath from the audience followed by applause. Francis' reaction was to wave her exposed hand and call out, “What was that? I felt a tingling in my shoulders”

“Just making sure that even if a snake gets into the box, you won't be face-to-face with it. And there will be a little more tingling as I make sure that it can't get up your skirt.” A second matching blade was inserted into a lower slot, effectively dividing the already small box into three much smaller sections.

“This next bit may feel a bit odd, but it's so that even if the snake proves strong enough to open the flap, there is no way for it to get inside.” Verity stood on the side nearest Francis' exposed hand and pushed the middle section of the cabinet sideways until the overlap between the original outline of the box and its shifted middle section was about two inches. She then picked up the last item from the top of the cabinet, which, when folded up from flat, proved to be a square tube only marginally smaller than the height of the middle section; and just the dimensions to fit snugly through the flap-covered hole. Expectations were fulfilled, when the magician pushed the tube through the displaced midsection, making a square metal-lined hole through that the spectators could see through as she displayed Francis' predicament.

“Francis?”

“Yes?”

“Why do you think that snakes are slimy?”

“I don't know; I just assumed; slugs and snails are slimy and snakes slide along the ground like them, they must be slimy too, right?”

“Snakes are not slimy; and I'm going to prove it to you.” Verity went to the cage, where the snake, Cheryl, could have easily slipped between the bars, but had not. She opened the door, dragged the long body out and draped it over her shoulders, while keeping a firm grip on the snake's tail and just behind its head.

While the magician collected the snake, Francis was trying to pull her hand inside the box, but failing, either because the opening had shrunk around her wrist or for lack of room inside the cabinet to accommodate the extra body part.

Verity carried the daughter in snake-form to her boxed and zigged mother. She presented the tail to the exposed hand, while the head end watched. When contact was made the hand withdrew as best it could, which was flattening itself against the outside of the cabinet. The magician pressed Cheryl's tail against Francis' hand. “Is that slimy?” she asked.

“Well, no. It's cool and dry, but a little rough; I, kind of, expected it to be smoother.”

The magicienne moved the snake's tail against the woman's hand in several directions. “I think you'll find that they are rough in one direction and smooth in the other, which is how they move. If you don't mind I've got to show the front row the snake, and then I'll be back to finish off this illusion.”

As Verity toured the edge of the performance area she was greeted with a wide variety of reactions to her shoulder drape. Many took a step back as the snake approached, while many more reached out to pet the 'giant danger noodle'; whether out of curiosity, to show bravery or to not miss the chance to say that they had touched a snake, the snake got petted and appeared to enjoy the experience.

When the magician returned to the centre of the performance area, she opened a hatch in the top of the metal cabinet and fed the snake in; initially the snake resisted being pushed into the confined space, but soon was actively slithering in the tightly packed box. As the tip of the snake's tail disappeared into the box, Verity shut and latched the hatch.

“What's going on?” Francis was heard to ask.

“You'll find out in about a minute, which is about the time it'll take for me to get you out of there.”

“I hope the snake is gone by then, because while I now know it isn't slimy, I don't like the way they move either.”

“It'll be gone by then; I assure you.”

Verity pulled the square tube that transfixed the mid section of the box and then shoved that section back between the top and bottom sections. The blades were swiftly withdrawn from separating the three layers of the box; throughout the entire process, Francis' hand waved and fidgeted with impatience. The last thing for the magicienne to do was unlatch and open the doors, but she was finding it difficult. “I think you're pack so tightly in there that the pressure of your body against the door in making it impossible to open it; could you move back a bit, please?”

“You think I have enough space to move in here? If anything it feels like there's less space in here than there was in the first place.”

“Good point. I'll have to release the emergency exit. Give me a moment!”

“It's not like I can do anything else, right this moment.”

Verity went behind the box and pulled out a couple of long pins which she immediately dropped on the floor. “One last piece of instruction before I pop the lid; when the pressure is relieved, stand up straight away, or you'll fall off and that might hurt.”

The magicienne lifted the lid from the compact metal box and dropped it behind her. There was movement as the walls of the box tilted outward. What happened next was lost to the audience behind a puff of white smoke. When the smoke cleared, the cabinet walls were hanging down from the floor of the box and where the box had been stood Francis and Cheryl. Cheryl was back in human form and wearing her bunny outfit. Francis was wearing something different; instead of the tan adventuress' outfit, she was clad in a catsuit in a snakeskin fabric.

It took a few seconds for all the changes to be assimilated by the audience, but their applause double each time they noticed something new from what they had been expecting. While the crowd clapped, cheered and whistled, Verity helped her volunteers to dismount from the collapsed cabinet.

“I can get your original costume back if you like,” Verity whispered to Francis.

Francis took a moment to notice her own change of costume and then replied, “Maybe later.”

As the crowd around the dance floor area quietened, the magician announced that it was getting late and the next auction and feat of magic would be in an hour; encouraging the audience to donate as much as they were able before the night club shut.