Wonders
In this picture book, Professor Sardie will reveal the behind-the-scenes creative processes of the six most notable miraculous performers in his extraordinary museum, at the same time, showing the professor's talent and evil personality.
Danainae Girl
Maria is a lovely damsel who speaks Portuguese. Her arms are like a pair of butterfly wings. Every morning, I let an artist apply rouge and black eyeliner on her beautiful face to make her look just like a monarch butterfly. Her arms are painted with butterfly wing patterns, and I change the butterfly patterns regularly to attract audiences to watch Maria’s performance.
But all delicate things need care. Maria uses a magical lotion to maintain her fair smooth skin. I believe people can become what they eat, little by little. So Maria’s diet is petal juice and petal salad, and her meat intake is bug meatballs.
She has gradually become a gorgeous butterfly girl in my museum and she can perform for any occasion.
Wolfman
The Wolfman’s name is Raymond Morris. He is covered with hair and looks like a beast when he squats down, but his bright brown eyes and deep-set eye sockets are very human.
He usually walks on two legs in normal clothes, but during the performance, he will put on the wolf skin jacket I created for him, made of the fur of two wild wolves. Raymond looks like a vicious, horrific three-headed god from hell when he wears it. He only needs to stand on the stage, and expose his sharp teeth to shock audiences into screaming.
Magic Paper Doll
Magic Paper Doll has been my assistant for many years. She’s been with me since I was doing magic in France. I found her and she doesn’t have a name. She was born with no limbs. With my special training, she can perfectly participate in my various magic tricks by using the prostheses I asked a sculptor to make which can fool all the audience. She can cooperate with me to perform corpse magic, flying knife magic, and any magic related to her limbs.
She doesn’t need a name, she is The Magic Paper Doll.
Hudson River-Maid
Oh, my dear Coralie, the most famous mermaid in our museum. She is a gifted maiden whose fingers have been webbed like the palm of an amphibian ever since she was born. I used manta and shark’s skin to fashion a most suitable fishtail for Coralie. With special internal machinery, she is able to swim freely, wearing my special fins that allow her to breathe under the water. Coralie only eats fresh fish and she does cardio exercises every day to improve her lung capacity. This specially designed equipment and training allow her to perform in the water tank for several hours.
The custom water tank is carved from exquisite metals and is inlaid with gems, reflecting Coralie’s beauty. The audiences keep coming back, and they buy Coralie-style false finger nails and scales as souvenirs.
Queen Bee
Queen Bee has a pair of special spinal bones. Her bones slightly pierce her back. I made a delicate skeleton to install on her back, making it look like two pairs of bee wings. Her dirty dreadlocks are thick and hard. I placed bee hives above her head so that the bees can survive. When she performs, she rubs honey on her skin and dances with the bee colony under a special glass covering.
Siren
I discovered him when he was 6 years old. This peculiar boy has feet that resemble bird claws, with peculiar bones and slightly raised skin on his legs, in the form of scales. I found out that he also has a nice singing voice and I knew that he was born for the stage. I cut his dirty hair and got him to practice singing every day, imitating the sounds of different birds. Gradually, he could simulate the singing of a variety of birds. In performance, he wears bright colored feathers, stands on branches above the stage, and brings a moving musical performance to the audience.
