front of the box.

 

Melissa opened the box lid and Kit peered inside to see a flat white covered cushion he laid on last night.

 

“Take a closer look,” Melissa said in a voice of mystery. “Do you notice any thing out of the ordinary?”

 

Kit looked closer but could see nothing out of the ordinary, not knowing what to look for.

 

 “No, not really…” Kit said, scratching his head in confusion. “I guess you really did saw me in half.”

 

Melissa snorted with laugher. “No, Kit dear,” she said, her eyes twinkling.  “Watch this...”

 

She moved one of the covers, revealing a compartment where Kit’s legs and midsection would go.

 

“So that’s how it works!” Kit said, sounding mildly surprised, and then he felt embarrassed for the way he had reacted to the trick the night before. “But if I wasn’t really sawed in half, how come I saw my feet sticking out of the end of the other half of the box?”

“Oh, that’s easy, cuz.”  Jeffery said, and for some reason, he was blushing embarrassingly.  “I was in the other half of the box, wearing my Mom’s pantyhose…” he grinned sheepishly and then he buried his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment. “The pantyhose on my darker fur made them the same color as yours.” He then took out a pair of pantyhose from a nearby drawer and put it on one foot to show how it made his fur the same color as Kit’s “See?”

“Wow, that’s really all there is to it?” Kit asked, amazed, but then he frowned. “But how come I was tickled when it was Jeffery’s feet you were tickling?” he asked, looking up at Melissa.

 

“Oh, that…” Melissa said, again in that voice of mystery. “Look into the legs’ compartment of the box.”

Kit reached into the box, opened the legs’ compartment and peered inside, where there was a foot massager at the bottom. So this is what really tickled him…

“But whose idea was it to saw me in half?” Kit asked, looking at his aunt with a slightly hurt expression, as though he couldn’t believe she’d do that to her favorite nephew.

“Well, heh-heh…” Melissa said, laughing a little nervously, as though she were a little girl, who was caught raiding the cookie jar. “Oh fiddlesticks! How do I explain this to you?”

 

“You could start from the beginning...” Kit suggested.

“Oh dear… I thought you would say that.” Melissa said, more nervously still. “Well—now don’t think too badly of Rebecca—”

“It was Mom?!” Kit interrupted, looking half-incredulous, half-outraged. Then he muttered: “Thanks a lot, Mom…trying to give me a heart attack at twelve…”

 

 “Heh-heh, well, I’m afraid Jeffery and I would have to take some of the blame.” Melissa said, grinning sheepishly. “We sort of….encouraged her idea until she insisted on us putting you through it.”       

“Oh no, not you and Jeffery too!” Kit sighed. “Are you all trying to give me a heart attack here?! Gee thanks a lot… You could have told me it was a trick beforehand, you know.”

 

“Kit dear, it wasn't all my doing.” Melissa said pleasingly. “It was only partly my doing. You should blame Jeffery and your Mom the most.” She laughed with a wink.

 

“Moooom! So not fair of you to rat me out!” Jeffery groaned. “Me and Aunt Becky were just joking, we meant Kit no harm.  Kit’s always so brave, we thought he would—Kit, don’t look at me like that, cuz… please,” he said, cowering to the look Kit was now giving him, a look that has not cross his face since his Air Pirates days.  

 

Chris nervously backed away from his brother. He had no idea that Kit could make such a face, He then ducked behind his Aunt Melissa for shelter from Kit’s wrath.

 

 It was then that Jeffery fully understood why bullies feared Kit. That look upon his face was once part of Kit’s tough guy routine and it was hard NOT to be a little afraid when Kit was looking at you like that.

 

“So you did set me up, didn’t you?” Kit asked, still with that dreaded look, which was a cross between a scowl and glare.

 

“Uh… Uh, Mom, a little help, please?" Jeffery said, wanting nothing more than to run in the opposite direction, away from his cousin’s glare.

 

“Jeff, you just sealed your fate,” Kit said. “When we perform in the talent show, I’m sawing you in half… and I won’t tell you how I did it!” Jeffery gulped, for the first time in his life, he was afraid of Kit. “How could you do that to me, Jeffery?” Kit continued; the dreaded look replaced by a look of disappointment. “I can forgive Aunt Melissa, and even Mom to an extent. But you? I’m so disappointed in you.” he said, hanging his head.

 

“K-Kit... Kit, I’m so s-s-sorry!” Jeffery said, stuttering and cowering in fear. He gulped and then said: “I m-m-meant you no h-h-harm, Cuz… Please don’t h-h-hurt me, I won’t do it again, honest!”

 

“Oh don't worry, I’m not going to hurt you, Jeff,” Kit said playfully but sternly. “I love you too much to ever hurt you, you nutty bear. But when we perform at the talent show, you’re not getting off the hook. So you wanted to saw me in half, huh? Okay, I’ll just saw you in half just to see how you like it.”  He added with a sly grin. “But you are defiantly not getting out of a big nuggie.”

 

Kit pulled Jeffery under a headlock and gave him a slight nuggie so not to hurt him. No matter what he might say, he would never hurt his adopted cousin.

 

“Jeff, you really need to learn not to pull pranks on me like that.” Kit said sternly but playfully as he continues to rub his knuckles on his cousin’s head.  “You could have given me a heart attack.”

 

“Okay! Okay! Kit, I promise I won’t do it again, honest!” Jeffery said, laughing despite his slight discomfort. “I’m so sorry I scared you, cuz.” He added, trying to wiggle out of the headlock Kit had him under.

 

“You’d better not!” Kit said sternly “But you’re not getting off that hook that easily. You’re still getting sliced at the talent show. And I’m not telling you how I’m going to do it.”  Kit added with wink in his Aunt Melissa’s direction. .

 

“Oh, come now, do tell what’s all this talk about a talent show, dears?” Melissa asked, suspiciously.

 

“Oh yeah, we haven’t told you yet.” Kit said sounding forgetful. Upon releasing his cousin from his headlock, he continued: “There’s a talent show at school this coming weekend.” 

Kit looked suddenly nervous.

 

“Kit dear, what’s the matter sweetie? You look so nervous. Come now, you can tell your Aunt Melissa.” Melissa said comfortingly. .

 

 

“Well,” Kit said “Jeffery wants me to be the magician, with him and Chris as my assist—” he was interrupted by Chris.

 

“Yeah, but no sawing me in half!” Chris said loudly.

 

“Chris dear, I’m sure Kit would never do that to you.” Melissa said massaging Chris’ furry cheek.

 

“Don’t worry, Chris, I wouldn’t do that to my little brother.” Kit said, hugging Chris. “It’ll be Jeffery who gets sawed in half,” he added, grinning slyly towards Jeffery, who was still trying to figure out what was going on in his cousin’s mind. “Anyway,” Kit continued “I’m really not sure about me being the magician, Aunt Melissa, you and Jeffery know more than I will ever know in a week.” Kit was now feeling slightly upset that he doesn’t know magic well.

 

 “Oh nonsense, Kit, you can learn magic just as fast as anyone. You proved that to me last night while watching the show.” Melissa said cheerfully. “We’d just have to speed up your training a little bit—Oh, c’mon now, don’t hang your head like that around me.” Melissa added placing her hand under Kit’s chin, raising his head up comfortingly

 

“I—I know Aunt Melissa, but am I really cut out for this?” Kit asked, trying to sound confident but the nervousness in his voice was apparent by his slight stutter.

“Kit dear, you can be just as great a magician as me and Jeffery are,” Melissa said comfortingly “Please don’t feel like you can’t. I’ll teach you, not just as the assistance, but as a magician’s apprentice too. Okay? Now cheer up, you’re going to do fine.”

 

“Thanks, Aunt Melissa; that means a lot.” Kit said with newfound confidence.

Later, after their first magic lesson—or in Jeffery’s case, the one hundredth and fifth lesson—the three bear cubs returned to Jeffery’s attic bedroom. It was agreed that Kit and Chris would stay at the boarding house until Baloo or Rebecca comes to pick them up. Kit reluctantly agreed to this, for Chris’ sake. Chris’ safety was more important to him than his boyish pride that wants to walk home

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