Stolen Sheep/Five Little Piggies

[P.T.Widdle]

One of the tricks in David Copperfield's "Project Magic" (written by Richard Kaufman, 2002), was the beginner coin trick, "Stolen Sheep." The routine ended with one of the two "thieves" being robbed by the other, leaving two coins in one hand and five in the other.

The same trick is called "Five Little Piggies" (attributed to T Nelson Downs) in Knack Magic Tricks (also written by Kaufman, 2010). But this routine's story has the two wolves sleeping together in one hand, while the five piggies escaped to the other hand.

I have to say I prefer the Piggies routine, as the story makes the ending seem much more clear and mystifying. Richard, any thoughts on this trick and why you changed the routine for the second book?

Either way, it's a great beginner trick.

[Richard Kaufman]

Since the books were a decade apart, I have absolutely no idea why I changed it.

It might have already appeared in the original Project Magic Handbook (not the version I wrote), which is what I was told to start with, and certain tricks had to be kept. That might have been one of them.

Who remembers?