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MAGIC BUTTERFLY T-262

The magician covers an empty specimen box, casts a magic spell, and causes a butterfly to magically appear pinned inside! Additionally, the color of the butterfly matches the color chosen by a spectator!This effect is much like a double locked-room mystery, since the empty specimen box is isolated under an opaque cover. A surprisingly bold gimmick is incorporated inside the ordinary-looking specimen box, allowing you to perform the several magic effects. In addition to the basic “Magic Butterfly” presentation, in which a butterfly appears inside the specimen box, you will learn several more applications that enable you to perform a variety of effects. First read the instructions to “Magic Butterfly” so that you thoroughly understand the prop’s secret.

PROPS INCLUDED

Specimen Box 2 Butterfly Sheets

Cover

6 Butterfly Cards

(Blue/ Yellow / Red / Blue (+ Green) *1 / Yellow (+ Green) *1 / Green *2)

*1: Only one portion of this card contains a green butterfly.*2: The green butterfly card is not used.

SECRET OF SPECIMEN BOX

The top and bottom surfaces of the specimen box contain clear windows. Whichever side of the box is facing up appears to be the upper lid of the specimen box.

A double-ended pin passes through a sliding panel located inside the specimen box. Turn the box upside down, and you will see the sliding panel lower to the bottom of the box.

* Caution: A narrow pin passes through the sliding panel. Do not remove this panel and leave it laying someplace where it could be damaged or bent.

Magic #1: MAGIC BUTTERFLY

PREPARATION

Several secrets are incorporated in the specimen box, the butterfly cards, and the box cover.

Prepare each prop as explained in the following sections.

J PREPARE BUTTERFLY SHEET INSIDE SPECIMEN BOX• Open the specimen box as shown in the illustration.

Slide one of the two butterfly sheets under the pinhead.

You are provided with two butterfly sheets – one blue and one yellow. The following instructions are written for use with the blue butterfly sheet.

Insert the pin through the slit in the butterfly sheet.

• Close the lid, and turn the specimen box upside down in the

direction indicated by the arrow. The sliding panel will lower to the bottom of the box, and the specimen box will appear empty.

J PREPARE THE BUTTERFLY CARDSYou will only use four of the butterfly cards provided during the performance.The identity of those cards depends upon your choice to set either the blue butterfly sheet or the yellow butterfly sheet inside the specimen box.Depending on the color of the butterfly that you have prepared, lay out the four cards as follows.

(Please note that the remaining instructions are based on the section titled “IF YOU PREPARED THE BLUE BUTTERFLY”)

IF YOU PREPARED THE BLUE BUTTERFLY:Arrange the cards in the following order from the face: Red – Blue – Yel-low – Blue (+ Green).* Be sure that all butterfly cards are facing the same direction.

Red Blue Yellow Blue (+ Green)

Green

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IF YOU PREPARED THE YELLOW BUTTERFLY:Arrange the cards in the following order from the face: Red – Yellow – Blue – Yellow (+ Green).* Be sure that all butterfly cards are facing the same direction.

Red Yellow Blue Yellow (+ Green)

Green

J BACK DESIGN SECRETThe back design of the butterfly cards appears to be the same on each card. However, the blue and the yellow cards contain secret marks that allow you to distinguish them from the other cards.

Hold the cards face down, with the light colored triangles at the top edge. Look at the lower left corner of the back design.

The lower left triangles indicate if the card is blue or yellow, depending on whether the dark triangles meet at the lowest point, or if they are separated at their bases.

Blue / Blue (+ Green) Yellow / Yellow (+ Green)

All others

J PREPARE THE BOX COVERBefore constructing the box cover, curl the thin tab with your fingers until it naturally warps inward. Now construct the box cover by opening it into a box shape and inserting the curved tab into the front slit. The illustration below shows a cutaway view of how the tab curves inward.

Tab must curl inward

J PREPARE HANDKERCHIEF & PROP LAYOUT• Provide your own handkerchief and fold it into quarters. Place the

folded handkerchief onto the table as your working surface.

• Place the specimen box onto the center of the tabled handkerchief.

(The hinge should be to your right.) Set the box cover on top of the specimen box. The tab of the box cover must be located on the audience side.

• Turn the butterfly cards face down and set them off to the side. You

are now ready to begin.

PERFORMANCE

J DISPLAYING THE SPECIMEN BOX AND COVER

1 Push the cover toward the audience, sliding it forward to the far edge of the handkerchief. Lift the cover up to reveal the specimen box.

2 Place the cover off to the side, and pick up the specimen box with both hands. Open the lid and show the inside of the box.

Point out the vertical pin in the box, and explain that the box is called a specimen box, used to display insects.Hold the specimen box as still as possible, since the pin can wobble if you shake the box.

3 Close the lid and return the specimen box to the same location on the table (on the far end of the handkerchief).

4 Pick up the cover and slide open the tab. Unlatch the lid and show that there is nothing inside of the cover.Once your audience has seen that the cover is empty, reinsert the tab into the slit. The cover is now back in its original condition. Place it on the table, off to one side.

J SELECTING A COLOR WITH BUTTERFLY CARDSNow you are ready to have your spectator select a color from among the butterfly cards. It will appear that he has made a free choice, however you actually force him to select a specific color (blue, in our example). Follow the next steps to learn the selection procedure.

5 Pick up the packet of butterfly cards and hold them face down in your left hand. The light triangular marks on the cards’ back design must be located on the end closest to your audience.

6 Grasp the far end of the packet with your right fingers, and flip the cards face up by turning the packet inward toward yourself. (In the following steps, always be sure to flip the packet vertically like this.)

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7 Spread the cards as shown in the diagram. The bottom card (with all blue butterflies except one) is exposed just enough to allow your audience to see the single green butterfly at its top left corner. To the audience, the cards all appear to be printed with different colored butterflies.

Say, “Each card is printed with different colored butterflies.”

8 Square the packet of cards together, returning them to their original order. Flip the packet face down, end over end like before. Hold the packet face down in your left hand. Look at the lower left corner of the top face down card. Memorize the secret mark located there. (In this case, it will be the “Blue” pattern.)

Back design when the card is Blue / Blue (+

Green)

9 Say, “I will mix the cards up. Whenever you feel is the right time, please say ‘Stop.’” Transfer cards from the top to the bottom of the packet, one card at a time.When your spectator says ‘Stop,’ stop transferring cards at that point.

10 Glance at the lower left corner of the top card’s back design. Check to see if this card contains the same secret mark that you memorized earlier (in this case, the “Blue” pattern).Depending on the mark that you see, follow one of the two following steps.

YOU SEE YOUR MEMORIZED MARK (BLUE / BLUE (+ GREEN) IS THE TOP CARD OF THE PACKET):Slide the top card diagonally forward and clamp it against the packet with your left thumbtip. Raise the packet so your audience can see the face of the card you just isolated.

Audience view

Hide the lower left corner of the card behind the corner of the packet

YOU DO NOT SEE YOUR MEMORIZED MARK (BLUE / BLUE (+ GREEN) IS THE BOTTOM CARD OF THE PACKET):Square the four cards together and grip the lower left corner of the packet with your left fingertips. Raise the packet so your audience can see the face of the bottom card.

Audience view

Hide the lower left corner with your left fingertips

11 Say, “Please remember the color of these butterflies.”In both of the above scenarios, your spectator should feel that he freely determined the color of the butterflies because you stopped exactly when he told you to.

Once the spectator has remembered the butterfly’s color, lower your hands and square up the cards. Give the face down cards a quick shuffle, and then place them off to the side.

J BUTTERFLY APPEARANCE

12 Pick up the cover with your right hand. Hold the cover so that the tab side is facing toward the audience.

Briefly show the inside of the cover, and then cover the specimen box in the following manner.

13 As you place the cover onto the specimen box, contact the inner edge of the specimen box with your right thumb. As you lower the rear edge of the case to the table, the front end of the specimen box will rise up. This action secretly causes the speci-men box to stand up vertically under the cover.

• As you perform this action, your left hand acts as a shield on the left

side. While it appears that your left hand is simply supporting the cover, it actually prevents your audience from seeing the specimen box rotate from the side angle.

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PREPARATION

J PAPER DOLL & SPECIMEN BOXUsing a pair of scissors, cut a sheet of paper into two identical paper dolls (30mm tall x 20mm wide). You may wish to make a copy of the following diagram, and cut out the paper to this exact size and shape. Use a blade to cut a small X in the “hand” of one paper doll. Open the specimen box and guide the pinhead through this X opening on the paper doll’s hand. Close the box and rotate it upside down. The box will now appear empty.

J 4 PAPER SLIPSYou will need another sheet of paper, thick enough that you cannot see through it from the reverse side.Draw four identical human bodies on the paper as shown in the diagram. Next, mark an X on each body as indicated.Tear the sheet of paper into four pieces, and arrange the paper slips in the order shown in the diagram.

Position of X marks

Hand & Foot Hand

Head Chest

Order of slips

The bottom edge of the two slips indicating “Hand” and “Hand & Foot” is a torn paper edge.

J PROP LAYOUT• Place the prepared specimen box onto the center of the tabled

handkerchief, and place the cover on top of the box. (This is the same starting position as indicated on page 2, in the section titled “PREPARE HANDKERCHIEF & PROP LAYOUT.”)

• Place the extra paper doll and the four paper slips on the table. You

are now ready to begin.

PERFORMANCE

J PLACING PAPER DOLL INTO SPECIMEN BOX

1 Push the cover toward the audience, sliding it forward to the far edge of the handkerchief. Lift the cover up to reveal the specimen box. Place the cover off to the side.

2 Pick up the specimen box and open the lid to show the inside of the box. Keeping the lid open, table the open box on top of the handkerchief.

3 Pick up the paper doll and hand it to your spectator. Ask him to have a look at it, and then instruct him to place it onto the floor of the specimen box (to the side of the pin). Close the lid.

14 Once you have covered the specimen box, remove your hands from the cover.Say, “Do you remember the color of the butterflies that you chose a few moments ago? Good. Please concentrate strongly on those butterflies.” As you emphasize the color of the chosen butterflies, grip the cover and slide it closer to your body, stopping at the center of the handkerchief. The curved tab inside the cover comes into contact with the specimen box, causing the box to fall inward and land on the table.

15 Say, “Please imagine that you have actually caught the butterfly you are thinking of, and envision that color butterfly on display in this box.”Make a magical gesture (e.g. snap your fingers) over the case.Lift the cover from the specimen box and place it off to the side. Next, pick up the specimen box and open its lid to show your audience the correctly-colored butterfly that has magically appeared on the pin.

ɶadviCeIf you perform this magic trick in a quiet location, your audience may be able to hear the specimen box drop to the table in step 14. In such quiet locations, please use the following script.Say, “Right now, the butterfly you are thinking of will fly through the air and land in this specimen box. The instant it flies inside, you will hear it open and close the lid on the box. So listen closely and try to hear it arrive.”Grip the cover and slowly slide it inward to the center of the handkerchief. When you hear the sound of the box tipping over, say, “Did you hear that? Let’s take a look together to see if the butterfly has arrived!” Pick up the cover and show the butterfly attached to the pin.This presentation turns a disadvantage into an advantage since your presenta-tion uses the inevitable sound to emphasize the magical moment.

Magic #2: BLACK MAGICThe magician shows a small paper doll cutout, and asks a spectator to place it inside the empty specimen box. He closes the specimen box lid and places the cover on top to obscure it from view.

Next the magician shows four slips of paper, each containing a human body illustration. Each drawing contains a single X-mark located on different body parts: Head, Chest, Arm, or Leg. He instructs a spectator to select one paper slip, and to remember the body part that is marked with an X.

The magician makes a magical gesture over the covered box, and then removes the cover. Amazingly, the paper doll cutout is now attached to the pin inside the specimen box, and the pin is pierced directly through the body part selected by the spectator!

This professional level routine is truly baffling, and somewhat unsettling. Be sure to present this with a mysterious attitude.

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INSTANT BUTTERFLY APPEARANCEIn this section, you will learn how to rotate the specimen box without the use of the cover.

To your audience, it appears as if you simply drop the specimen box from your right hand to your left hand. The butterfly appears instantly in the box, the moment you catch it.

This is an advanced method and will require significant practice. Once you master this handling, you will be able to surprise audiences with an extremely visual and baffling revelation.

Audience view

HANDLING

1 Attach the butterfly to one end of the pin, and turn the specimen box upside down. The butterfly will be hidden at the bottom of the box, below the sliding panel. Hold the box in your right hand.

• Position the specimen box so that your right thumb comes in contact

with the hinge, and hold the box horizontal to the floor.

• Curl your third finger in toward your palm, and lightly contact the

lower surface of the box with the side of that finger.

2 Briefly tilt the top of the box toward your audience so they can see that the box is empty. Return the box to its horizontal position.

3 Position your left hand approximately 8 inches below the box. Release the specimen box with your right fingers, dropping it into your left hand.The box naturally tips over when it hits against your right third finger, rotating the bottom side of the box to the top. When the box lands in your left hand, it has rotated upside down.

• Do your best to catch the specimen box when it is horizontal to the

floor.

ɶPointers• Practice dropping the box in a straight downward direction. If the box wobbles

during its rotation, the sliding panel inside may get caught halfway.• When your left hand catches the box, there is a chance that you will be able

to see the sliding panel as it slides midway down the pin. Do not worry about this, since the sliding panel is difficult to see from the audience’s angle. Also, they will not be thinking about a sliding panel because the butterfly’s sudden appearance has captured their attention.

4 Pick up the cover and show the audience that it is empty. Place the cover on top of the specimen box.During this covering action, secretly tip the specimen box up with your thumb so it is standing vertically under the cover. (Details of this action are explained on page 3, step 13)

J SELECTION OF “X” MARK LOCATION

5 Spread the four paper slips, drawing side up, as shown in the diagram.Because the slips overlap, the X mark located on the bottom drawing’s “hand” is hidden from view.Explain to your audience that each slip of paper contains a drawing of a human body. Point out that the location of the X mark differs on each body: Head, Chest, Hand and Foot.

Audience viewOverlap hides this X mark

6 Square up the paper slips, and turn them face down, end for end. The following selection procedure is identical to the one you learned in the handling for “Magic Butterfly,” steps 5 through 11. Transfer the slips one by one from top to bottom, and ask your spectator to call out the word “stop” at any time.

7 Stop transferring the slips, and glimpse at the inner edge of the top paper slip. If the inner edge of this slip is a torn edge, this indicates that the top slip contains an X mark on the “Hand.”If the inner edge of the top slip is a smooth, untorn edge, this indicates that the bottom slip contains an X mark on the “Hand.”Raise the paper slips as indicated in the illustration, to display the X mark on the “Hand.” Instruct your audience to remember the body part that contains the X mark.

Display chosen slip like this, if hand with X mark

is on top

Display chosen slip like this, if hand with X

mark is on bottom

In both cases, hide the corner containing the “Foot” with your

left fingertips

8 Lower your hands, and casually mix the paper slips. Place them on the table, off to the side.

J REVELATION OF PAPER DOLL IN SPECIMEN BOX!

9 Say, “I want you to concentrate on the body part that you chose. If you focus hard enough, it might just influence the doll locked inside this box.”Slide the cover closer to your body, stopping at the center of the handkerchief. The box will fall inward and land on the table.

10 Make a magical gesture over the cover, and dramatically remove the cover from the specimen box. Pick up the specimen box and open its lid.Show your audience that the paper doll has magically become affixed to the pin, pierced in the exact body part that was freely chosen (the “Hand”).

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ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONSThe specimen box provided is a versatile tool that can be used to magically produce or transform items, thanks to the sliding panel. The box construction is simple yet bold, since the center pin is both part of the presentation and part of the method. It will never occur to your audience that the specimen box has an opposite side.

In addition to the presentations included in this instruction sheet, you can substitute various objects to create brand-new presentations.

For example:• Attach the blue butterfly sheet to one end of the pin, and the yellow

butterfly sheet to the opposite end. Secretly rotate the specimen box to change the butterfly from blue to yellow.

• Attach a Japanese 50 yen coin to one end of the pin, and a 5 yen

coin to the opposite end. These coins both contain holes at their center. Secretly rotate the specimen box to transform the coin from one denomination to another.

• On two separate slips of paper, draw two identical butterflies that

perfectly match in size and color. Attach one of these drawings to the pin, and rotate the specimen box upside down. It will now look empty. In performance, show the visible butterfly drawing, tear it into small pieces, and place those pieces into the apparently empty specimen box. Secretly rotate the box and show that the torn pieces have restored.

As you can see, the type of presentation you decide on is limited only by your imagination. Enjoy experimenting with the specimen box and baffle your audience with a presentation that is uniquely your own.

©2014 Tokyo, Japan

CAUTION

Be certain to read the following warnings.

• Small parts are contained in this product. Be careful not to accidentally swallow these parts as they may create a risk of choking.

• Keep all parts away from small children to avoid accidental choking risk.

Created by: So Sato

Japanese instructions by: So Sato

English instructions by: Steve Cohen

Illustrated by: Nariyuki Yoshihara