John says . . .

On one level, 'The Magic Potion' is a very well written story about bullying, describing the way a boy misuses the magical power he was given to protect himself from bullies.

But stories about one individual and one set of events can sometimes also contain a message that applies to whole groups of people and even nations.

Looked at in a deeper way, you could say Wing-ting's story makes a very important point about the dangers of power. In other words, if any of us is given the ability and the opportunity to do bad things, there is a danger we will.

The consequences of that is the ending to 'The Magic Potion'.

But I do think this ending and the events that lead up to it happen a little too quickly. We never see Ray getting used to the privileges that come with his magical power. Instead he is corrupted as soon as he uses the liquid, and immediately demands money from all his schoolmates.

And the story might be even more powerful if we knew Ray had been bullied before and this was something he feared.

Then we'd be even more sympathetic when he drinks the liquid and tries to protect himself. And we might also be even more disappointed when the boy who has been bullied becomes a bully himself.

Let's see how these changes might affect the story.