A balloon, a thing of delight available in any one of a range of dazzling colours, is really a simple thing. Go to almost any fair and you will see them at stalls, tethered like wild creatures. For a modest sum you can buy one and, if the fancy takes you, you may set it free.
So, look at them floating there, filled with helium, eager to be up and away. You have to admit they are fun, they are pure delight, they are a source of innocent joy. But for Richard Thompson, at his school fair, he should never have chosen the third balloon. For the third balloon was something very different indeed.
Very soon the Thompson boy was in trouble, as was his sister, Andrea, their teacher Miss Pirong, and a whole lot of other people.
This tale of magic is not about spells. It is about the unpredictable. And if you are hoping to control it, then perhaps you will need all the luck in the world, and then some.