Dear Vasilisa the Wise —
All my life I have plied my trade as a magician, pulling rabbits out of hats, finding coins inside the ears of amazed children, yanking bouquets out of my sleeve… That sort of thing. Now, late in life, I find my career taking an unexpected turn. Instead of pulling magic from thin air, as it were, it is now my task not to amaze and amuse but to assist and equip young fairy tale heroes by inserting magic into objects that appear ordinary but, in fact, lend themselves to enchantment. So far I’ve had good luck with walnuts, rag dolls, wooden whistles, mirrors and combs. But I’m running out of ideas. Some of the ordinary objects that I’ve tried to imbue with magic — wing-nuts, bottle-caps, clothespins, buttons — don’t respond at all. Can you tell me what items make effective talismans, and maybe provide me with the names of heroes who found them helpful?
Thanking you in advance, I remain your devoted and faithful servant —
Groping in Gretna
Simplia read the letter out loud and then put it back into its envelope and passed it across the table to her fellow Simpleton.
“Where’d this come from?” Sagacia asked.
“It floated in through the window,” Simplia told her. “I caught it before it hit the ground, so I guess you could say I pulled it from thin air.”
“Well,” said Sagacia, “I guess we better show it to our friends at the Fairy Tale Lobby.”
“Yep,” her friend agreed. “And to make sure it doesn’t go flying through the air again, I’ll nail it to the bulletin board. I can’t wait to read what our magical friends have to say about this question.”
“How come?” asked Sagacia.
Simplia said, “Their answers will help me be more selective about the stuff I pick up on our walks. I mean, already I know the wing-nuts and bottle-caps aren’t worth bringing home.”
Fairy Tale Lobby 
Wow, this one is harder than I thought! :)
My first idea was to mention enchanted weapons, but I am not sure if they would qualify as talismans. I definitely can think of enchanted pieces of clothing, as well as chalices and goblets. Also, rings are fairly common.
Here is a weird one: there is a folktale character that shows up in the story type called the Wonderful Helpers (AaTh 513) quite often; he carries pieces of wood with him that he can turn into soldiers. That would put Pinocchio into a whole different perspective… :)
Dang, I responded and the computer hiccuped. Trying again.
Porridge pots, kettles, salt grinders, red caps, red shoes, capes, wands, looking glasses, pebbles, rings, eggs, various animals…are you certain bottlecaps and wingnuts aren’t also talismans (or is that talismen?) as well? Maybe you need the proper incantation to make it work.
Dear G in G,
According to the history of The Magic Table, The Gold Donkey, and the Club in the Sack, the facts would show that tables, when asked, can set themselves with a tablecloth, cutlery, a delicious feast and red wine, while clubs can be told to beat up our foes. Some donkeys spit gold coins… but then I’d be careful magicking animals because they may turn out to be enchanted princes or princesses and they won’t be happy with you when the spell is lifted if you’ve forced them to spit gold for your own gain!
Spinning wheels and spindles are also rather sensitive to magic I believe. I own a ‘Sleeping Beauty’ wheel and it spins a good yarn.
All the best with your enchantments.
Reilly.
Dear Groping in Gretna,
I, too, have been, and still am a magician. Like you, I have produced coins, and other objects where it first seemed none existed. But here’s the key: they were not produced out of “thin” air, but rather “thick” air.
Yes, the air around us is thick, not only with objects and talismans, but ideas, emotions, images and characters that exist to entertain and enlighten us. Our task, like other magicians is to recognize them, and pluck them out so that mere mortals can share in the delight.
And regarding talismans: When you say you are having difficulty “imbuing” some objects with magic, here are my thoughts. I do not think you can imbue an object, I believe it already has a soul. It is our job to find what that soul is.
A wing-nut may not seem to have any special qualities in the moment. But to the pilot (in real life or in a fairytale) who sees the glint off the sun, feels something eerie, then turns and tightens the loose nut, that wing-nut has clear significance. It has a soul that spoke to him, and perhaps, saved his life. It is not just any wing-nut…it is this “specific” wing-nut, that now becomes a talisman.
In Eric A. Kimmel’s story, The Soul of the Menorah (from the book, A Jar of Fools), a hayfork is mistaken for a menorah. There is much consternation about whether it is a hayfork or a menorah. Eventually, the great seer of Lublin proclaims, “It may be a hayfork, but it clearly has the soul of a menorah.”
One of my all time favorite Hanukkah tales, Mark! Brings a smile to my face just to think about it!
There is a lot of magic in a simple sack. Apples From Heaven: Multicultural Folk Tales About Stories and Storytellers, http://www.amazon.com/Apples-From-Heaven-Multicultural-Storytellers/dp/1932279776, has some good stories about magic sacks. It’s amazing what Ali the Persian finds in his sack to relieve the worries of the Caliph. There is a sack from Korea that has more than enough–maybe even too much magic in it. In the Norwegian tale, A Sackful of Truth, young Hans is given a different magic object, a magic flute, with which he is able to collect plenty of truths to put into his sack.
But I think the most magical object of all is a story. It is inspiring to think that everyone is capable of creating that kind of magic, just by opening up their lips and summoning a story from thin air!