Animated Match Box

Effect:

The Magician causes a perfectly ordinary matchbox to rise, and then fall down again!

Secret:

Take a matchbox and open it about an eighth of an inch to find out which way the drawer is facing. Now lay the box on the back of the left hand, the bottom of the drawer the highest, so that the end of the open drawer comes over the knuckle of the middle finger. Keep the hand perfectly flat while doing this. Make a few gestures over the box, for effect, then, very slightly bend the middle fingers downward. The skin over the kunckles should be straightened, and the box will magically rise. Then a few more magic gestures and the box will lie down (assuming you straighten your fingers). Practice this one a lot before you use it.