Mr Galliano's Circus Read online

  Jimmy could have cried for joy. What his mother said was true then—if you laughed at obstacles and used them as stepping-stones they did really take you somewhere. How much better it would be for Jimmy to go into the ring with his own dog Lucky, than as helper to Mr. Wally with Sammy the chimpanzee!

  Mr. Wally kept his word. The next day, when Mr. Galliano had calmed down, and Mrs. Galliano had sent all the circus-folk tins of lobster to make up for Mr. Galliano’s bad temper the day before, Mr. Wally asked to have a word with Mr. Galliano.

  He disappeared into his caravan with the ring-master. Jimmy waited nearby anxiously.

  “Give Jimmy a chance,” said Mr. Wally to Mr. Galliano. “I believe he has trained that dog of his till it’s almost like a child, Galliano. He’s longing to go into the ring again.”

  “But you kept him out, Wally—yes?” said Mr. Galliano.

  “Then why do you speak for the boy now?”

  “I speak for him because he is a good boy, one of those few people who pay back good for evil,” said Mr. Wally, going red.

  Mr. Galliano whistled softly. Mrs. Galliano spoke to him in her slow voice from the back of the caravan.

  “You should see him, Galliano. Jimmy is a fine boy.”

  “Very well, I will see him,” said Mr. Galliano. “But it will be a waste of my time, yes. I will see him in the ring with Lucky in an hour’s time, Wally.”

  Jimmy was overjoyed when Mr. Wally came out and told him the news. How glad he was that he had taken his mother’s advice and not been horrid to Mr. Wally! If he had he would not have had Mr. Wally’s help now. He ran to get Lucky for a little practise on the tight-rope.

  In an hour’s time Jimmy was in the ring with Lucky. He had dressed himself in his fine circus suit. Lucky had on her quaint little skirt too. She ran about on her hind legs, wuffing in excitement. She knew quite well that something important was going to happen.

  “Do your best, Lucky, old girl,” said Jimmy. “Do your best!” Lucky licked his ear; and then Mr. Galliano came in—and Mrs. Galliano too. But nobody else was allowed inside the tent.

  “Begin,” said Galliano—and Jimmy began. He said very little to Lucky—just a word now and again—for Lucky understood a cock of his head, a snap of his fingers, or a whisper better than a shouted command.

  First Lucky did the simple things—begging and trusting and jumping and walking on her hind legs carrying a flag, a basket, or a parasol. Then she wheeled the pram and tucked up the doll. Then she walked the tight-rope with Jimmy, running lightly along it on her small feet, with their thin rubber socks on. Mr. Galliano had never seen a dog doing that before and neither had

  Mrs. Galliano. They sat and stared as if they were turned to stone-could it be possible that the dog Lucky, who was no more than a puppy, had learnt all these things in a few months?

  Then came the counting. Jimmy slipped a little wooden shoe on to Lucky s right fore-foot, and stood her on a wooden stand. He cried out loudly, so that Mr. and Mrs. Galliano might hear. “Lucky, listen to me! If I give you two bones and three bones, how many will you have?”

  Lucky listened, her head on one side. She thought. Then she knocked with her foot—five times.

  “Quite right!” cried Jimmy, throwing her a biscuit. “Now listen again. Lucky, if I give you three bones and then take away one, how many will you have?”

  Lucky knocked the answer loudly with her foot—two knocks—then she barked twice as well to show that she really did know the answer! Mr. Galliano was astonished.

  Then Jimmy brought out the letters of the alphabet and spread them in front of the little dog.

  “Bring me the letters of your name, Lucky,” he cried—and Lucky found them and brought them to him, one by one—L-U-C-K-Y. Mrs. Galliano clapped. She simply couldn’t help it.

  And then Jimmy made Lucky do her last trick. “Lucky,” he said, “can you tell me the name of the man who owns the best circus on the road?”

  Lucky wagged her tail and set off to find the letters she had been taught. And what letters do you think she found? She found ‘G-A-L-L-I-A-N-O!’ Galliano! Jimmy had had to put two L’s and two A’s into the alphabet as Galliano’s name had two. Wasn’t it a long word for a little dog to spell?

  Mr. Galliano jumped up from his seat. “Wonderful! Amazing!” he shouted. “This is a dog in a thousand, yes—and she shall go into the ring with you tonight, Jimmy—yes, yes, yes!”

  Jimmy went red with joy and thanked Mr. Galliano.

  “That dog will make your fortune, yes, without doubt,” said the ring-master, and he cracked his whip which he always carried about with him.

  Jimmy tore off to tell his mother and Lotta and Lal and Laddo and Oona and Mr. Wally. They were all pleased.

  “You must have an even finer circus suit,” said Oona. “Yes, you must have one that glitters and sparkles like mine. We will go into the town to an old dressmaker I know, Jimmy, and she will make you a magnificent suit.”

  “But I haven’t much money,” said Jimmy.

  “You will soon have plenty,” laughed Oona. “That dog of yours will earn more in a month than you or I could earn in a year.”

  Well, from the very beginning of her life in the ring that night, Lucky was a success. Mr. Galliano had not said anything about Jimmy and Lucky in his circus posters, and so no one knew that they were going to see them that night.

  But when the little dog had finished her marvellous tricks, everyone stood up and cheered till they were hoarse! Jimmy had to come into the ring again and again and bow, whilst Lucky ran round and round his legs in delight. People had been astonished enough when Lucky had walked the tight-rope behind Jimmy - but when they saw that the dog could count and spell, they were amazed! Even Sammy the chimp joined in the cheering! Mr. Galliano had never known the people to cheer and clap so madly.

  Everyone was pleased at the little boy’s success with his dog, for they all liked Jimmy. Oona himself went to fetch Jimmy’s new suit when it was done, and squeezed himself into Jimmy’s caravan to see the little boy try it on. My goodness! It was like an enchanted suit. It fitted Jimmy tightly from heels to head, and even his toes glittered as he walked, for sequins had been sewn everywhere! He wore a little red velvet cloak over the glittering silver suit, and really, his mother could hardly believe it was Jimmy who stood before her.

  There were only a few more days to stay in the place where the circus was then giving its show. Each night Jimmy and Lucky were cheered and clapped, and Mr. Galliano seeing the seats fill up well, and the money pour into the box at the gate, tipped his hat over his right ear so much that it fell right off, and Jemima the monkey ran off with it, much to Lotta’s delight.

  “I suppose you’ll soon be getting too grand to play with me any more, Jimmy,” she said one day, as they sat together on the steps of Lotta’s caravan, eating buttered buns.

  “If you say things like that, Lotta, I shall push you off the steps,” said Jimmy. “You ought to know me better—and anyway, it isn’t so much I that get the claps and cheers—it’s Lucky.”

  “You taught her, though,” said Lotta, licking the butter off her bun. “Nobody else could have taught Lucky so well. I heard my mother say so.”

  “Did she?” said Jimmy, pleased. “Oh, Lotta—I’m so happy! First I wanted to join the circus and never thought it would happen—and it did! Then I wanted to go into the ring, and I did—and then I wanted to take Lucky into the ring, and now that’s happened too.”

  “Yes—you are very lucky,” said Lotta. “And I think your dog Lucky will bring you more luck too.”

  Lotta was right. Lucky brought Jimmy more good fortune. The last night that the circus was giving its show for the town, a big man sat in one of the front seats, watching. When he saw Jimmy come in, all glittering from top to toe, bringing with him his small, dancing dog, the big man sat up. This was what he had really come to see.

  He watched carefully, and whistled softly to himself when he saw Lucky counting and spellin
g. At the end of the show he went to Jimmy’s caravan.

  Jimmy’s mother was there, cooking some bacon and eggs for their supper. The big man spoke to her.

  “Are you Jimmy’s mother?” he said. “Well, my good woman, I am Mr. Alfred Cyrano, the owner of the biggest circus in the world. I want your boy to leave this circus and come to join mine. I will pay him well. He has a dog there that I could do with in my circus.”

  At that moment Jimmy came up. Mr. Alfred Cyrano clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, boy!” he said. “That’s a fine dog of yours. I’ll buy her from you, and engage you to come to my circus for ten pounds a week. And I’ll give you one hundred pounds for the dog.”

  Jimmy couldn’t say a word. Neither could his mother. One hundred pounds for Lucky—and ten pounds a week to join a bigger circus! It seemed too strange to be true. But then a thought struck Jimmy.

  “If you bought Lucky, then she wouldn’t be mine,” he said. “And suppose you didn’t like me after a week or two and sent me away—I would have to leave Lucky behind, wouldn’t I?”

  “Oh, well, if I buy the dog, she’s mine,” said Mr. Alfred Cyrano, lighting a cigar about twice as big as Mr. Galliano ever had. Jimmy made up his mind in a flash.

  “Then I say no, thank you, sir,” he said. “I can’t part with Lucky, not even for a thousand pounds. She’s worth much more than money to me. I love her, and she loves me. And besides, it would be mean to leave Mr. Galliano and all my friends here just as I am beginning to help them to make money. They took me on and were kind to me when I was just a little schoolboy and knew nothing.”

  “Pah!” said Mr. Alfred Cyrano; “you are a stupid silly boy. One day you will be sorry you did not come with the great Mr. Cyrano!”

  He strode off in disgust. When the news got round that Jimmy had said no to Mr. Cyrano, everyone was excited. And then a message came to Jimmy to go to Mr. Galliano’s caravan. What could he want?

  Jimmy did get a surprise when he found out why Mr. Galliano had sent for him!

  THE WONDERFUL CARAVAN—AND JUMBO’S SURPRISE

  Jimmy set off to Mr. Galliano’s caravan. It was late and the little boy was tired. What did Mr. Galliano want with him so late at night?

  He went up the steps. Mrs. Galliano opened the caravan door and he went in. It really was a lovely caravan, roomy and comfortable—much, much better than Jimmy’s own. Mr. Galliano was sitting at the table eating a plum-pie with cream. He cut Jimmy a big slice, poured cream over it, and pushed it towards the surprised boy.

  “Eat,” he said. “I want to talk to you, Jimmy. I hear that Mr. Alfred Cyrano came to ask you to sell Lucky to him and go with him to his big circus—yes?”

  “Yes, he did, Mr. Galliano,” said Jimmy, eating the pie hungrily. “But I said no.”

  “Why did you say no?” asked Mr. Galliano, and he looked hard at Jimmy.

  “Well, Mr. Galliano, sir, there were two reasons,” said Jimmy, going red. “I won’t sell my dog Lucky to anyone in the world—and I’m not going to leave you, sir, either, when you’ve given me my first chance.”

  Mrs. Galliano made a gentle noise rather like the purring of a cat. Mr. Galliano choked over a piece of pie. He swallowed it, cleared his throat, jumped up and gave Jimmy such a clap on the back that the little boy almost fell into his plate of pie.

  “He won’t leave Galliano—no?” roared Mr. Galliano in delight. “He won’t sell his dog—no? He does not want money—no? He loves his dog and his friends before he loves money—yes?”

  “Well, Mr. Galliano, I do want money really,” said Jimmy. “But not if I have to leave you or sell Lucky to get it.”

  “And what do you want money for, Jimmy?” asked Mrs. Galliano in her soft slow voice, putting a cup of coffee in front of him.

  “There’s one very special reason I want it for,” said Jimmy. “I want my mother to have a fine caravan like this, Mrs. Galliano. She isn’t really one of the circus-folk, you see, and she’s been used to having plenty of room to move about in. Our caravan is so small and old and ugly, though we’ve made it look better since we’ve painted it.”

  “Now listen to me, Jimmy,” said Mr. Galliano, and he sat down and leaned over the table to Jimmy. “You are a loyal and grateful boy, and I tell you those two things are hard to find in anyone. Well—I, too, can be loyal and grateful—yes? Galliano can be a good friend to those who stick to him. You shall have the caravan you want—yes, and all the things in it that you want too! You have said you will stay with me, and I know, Jimmy, that you and your little dog will bring money to the circus. Very well, then—in return I will spend money on you—yes?”

  Jimmy’s mouth fell open in surprise and delight. Have a caravan like Mr. Galliano’s—big, roomy, and beautiful? Whatever would his mother say?

  “Oh, Mr. Galliano—thank you!” stammered Jimmy. “I didn’t expect anything like that. I do hope I shall be worth it all to you.”

  “Boys like Jimmy don’t grow on every bush, do they, Tessa?” said Mr. Galliano, smiling at his wife. “You shall stay with me till you get too big for my little circus, Jimmy—yes?”

  Jimmy said goodnight and fell down the steps of the caravan in a great hurry to tell his mother the grand news. What a lucky day it had been for him when he had chosen his puppy Lucky! Lotta had named her well! He bumped into Mr. Tonks as he ran in the dark to his own caravan.

  “Now, now, is this a new elephant or an escaped express train?” said Mr. Tonks, sitting down suddenly in the field.

  “Whatever’s the matter, Jimmy? Are you running a race?”

  “No,” said Jimmy, and he poured out his story to Mr. Tonks as they sat there in the dewy field.

  “Boy, you did well to say no to Mr. Cyrano,” said Mr. Tonks solemnly. “He did not want you—he wanted your dog. Two weeks after you had joined his circus he would have sent you off, without Lucky. He is not a good man.”

  “Well, Mr. Galliano is!” said Jimmy. “And I'll never leave him as long as he wants me.”

  He tore off to his own caravan, where his father and mother were sitting waiting for him, wondering whatever had happened to him.

  Jimmy soon told them everything, and they sat up talking till long past midnight. “Oh, if only I can have a really proper caravan, with plenty of room for everything, and a nicely fixed-in stove, I should be really happy,” said Mrs. Brown, delighted. Jimmy’s father looked proudly at his little boy. Who would have thought he could do so much?

  Jimmy didn’t sleep much that night. He tossed and turned, and thought of Lucky and Oona and Mr. Tonks and Lotta and Mr. Cyrano and everything. Most of all he thought of the new caravan he was going to get for his mother. Should he go and choose it by himself for a big surprise—or should he take his mother with him and let her choose it? Perhaps it would be best to let her choose it. He fell asleep then, and slept so late that the circus was almost ready to move off on the road again before he awoke. Lotta had fed Lucky and the other dogs. Mrs. Brown would not let her wake Jimmy.

  “We pass a big place that sells caravans on the way to our next show-place,” said Mr. Tonks. “It’s quite near the place where we shall camp for the night.”

  “I shall ask Mr. Galliano if I can get it, then!” said Jimmy joyfully. So the next day, with a note from Mr. Galliano in his hand, Jimmy, his mother, and father, all went to the caravan-place. The caravans stood in a great field, ready to be bought. There were all kinds—ones to be hired for two or three weeks—ones to be lived in always, big ones, little ones, blue ones, yellow ones—ones to be pulled by horses and ones to be pulled by cars.

  “I say!” said Jimmy, in surprise. “Look at all those caravans, Mother! Whichever shall we choose?”

  The man who managed the caravan-place showed them a great many caravans. Mrs. Brown stopped by a yellow one with blue wheels and blue chimney. “Is this very expensive?” she asked, “It is so large and roomy, and everything is fitted so neatly inside. Look, Jimmy, there are even taps to turn on and off, and a place
to store water in so that you can get it without always running to the nearest stream! We can fill up whenever we want to, and it will last us for some time.”

  The man looked at Mr. Galliano’s letter. “You could have that one if you wanted to,” he said. “It is not any more money than Mr. Galliano says he will pay.”

  So they chose the yellow caravan. Really, it was wonderful! There was a place for everything. There were bunks to sleep in that folded flat up against the wall to be out of the way in daytime. Mr. Brown said it reminded him of a ship. There were four bunks, but Mrs. Brown said it wouldn’t matter, they needn’t use the odd one.

  There was a fine stove fitted neatly in a corner. There were cupboards all round the sides and under the bench that ran down one side. Underneath the caravan were lockers where all kinds of things could be stored. There was even a folding table, painted yellow!

  “I shall hardly need to get anything to go into the caravan!” said Jimmy’s mother joyfully. “Just curtains and a clock and a carpet—things like that.”

  They set off to buy these things. They bought a green carpet and green curtains, and other little things that Mrs. Brown wanted. Really, their caravan would be nicer than anyone else’s, except Mr. Galliano’s!

  “We’ll come and fetch the caravan this evening,” said Mr. Brown, putting all the things inside it. “We’ll bring a horse with us.”

  But they didn’t bring a horse. Mr. Tonks said he would lend them Jumbo, for the horses were tired with their long journey. So, about seven o’clock, Jumbo set off with Jimmy. Mrs. Brown was busy turning the things out of the old caravan and Mr. Brown had plenty of odd jobs to do. Jimmy could quite well fetch the new caravan.

  He went along beside Jumbo, who was happy to be with the little boy he loved. They had to pass through a small and busy town on their way to the caravan-field, and a crowd gathered to watch the big elephant pass. Jumbo, was going along quite peacefully when he suddenly stopped, lifted up his trunk and trumpeted long and loudly.

  “What’s the matter, Jumbo?” said Jimmy, in great surprise. But he was even more surprised when Jumbo left him and lumbered towards the crowd. The people scattered in alarm. Jumbo hurried towards a man who was standing in a doorway. He reached out his trunk and took firm hold of the man.