The Elusive Rabbits or Hippity-Hop Rabbits was invented by The Great Norman (Norman Hazeldene) c. 1947.
Effect: Laughter, Surprise and Fun are words commonly used to describe Hippity Hop Rabbits. Children scream “Turn them around” – Adults laugh ’til their sides hurt – And at the end there is absolute silence when the surprise ending occurs. This is followed by a huge round of applause – of course. This effect is perfect for magicians, clowns, mimes, storytellers and other children’s variety entertainers as well. This stage size Hippity Hop Rabbits is easy to do, self working and requires no sleight of hand.
The magician displays two rabbits, one white and the other black. He places a white cover over the white rabbit and a black cover over the black rabbit. The magician turns both covers around to show the white cover is white on both sides and the black cover is black on both sides. The magic word is chanted, and when the covers are removed, the white rabbit is in the black cover and the black rabbit is in the white cover. The kids are impressed. So the magician continues – believing that if once is good, two times are better.
Again the magician covers the rabbits. As before the white cover goes on the white rabbit and the black cover goes on the black rabbit. Again the covers are turned around to prove they are the same on both sides and it would be impossible for the magician to switch them. But as before, the white rabbit is found in the black cover and the black rabbit is found in the white cover. At this point the kids believe they have figured it out. They think both rabbits are white on one side and black on the other, and the magician is just turning them around.
The magician pretends to not hear the kids yelling and one last time runs through the whole routine again. By now the kids are screaming at a fever pitch. The magician finally acknowledges the kid’s screams about turning the rabbits and covers around top to bottom, the kids yell – “No, The other way!”. Now the magician turns them left to right. Again, the kids yell – “No, The other way!”. Again and again, the magician turns the rabbits every way but the right way. The kids are so frustrated by this point, they are in a frenzy.
Finally the magician realizes that the kids want him to turn the rabbits so they can see their back side. When the rabbits are turned around, one is found to be red and the other yellow. The kids are so startled, they become immediately silent. Honestly, many times when I perform this, you could hear a pin drop on the floor. This is where the applause kicks in and you instantly become the hit of the show!
Hippity Hop Rabbits are bright and colorful. The rabbits are a 6 1/4 inches tall, complete with attached wooden base for ease of setup at your show. The tastefully decorated covers are sturdy metal.