Hurrah for the Circus! Read online

  “Not a bit,” said kindly Lilliput. “Hey, Jemima, the money’s not for you! Put that back!”

  Jemima had stretched out a little arm and picked up ten pence. She had put it inside her cheek, but Lilliput made her put it back into the teapot. “She’s artful enough to go and buy herself some ice-creams!” he said. “And then she’d be ill!”

  Lotta ran back to the Browns’ caravan. She picked up an old raincoat and a beret. She put on a pair of shoes. Then she called softly to Lulu, the black spaniel, and together the two slipped out of the caravan, unseen by anyone.

  Lotta squeezed through the hedge at the back of the caravan, and found herself on the main road. A bus was coming, and she stopped it. In she got with Lulu, and off they went together in the rumbling bus.

  “I want to go to Uptown,” Lotta told the conductor. “How near do you go to that?”

  “Well, that’s a good way away,” said the conductor in surprise. “We only go as far as Hillocks, six miles off. But you can get a bus there to Uptown, though it will take you a long time.”

  It was night before the little girl reached Uptown. She had come there because she remembered that a great friend of Charlie Tipps lived there, and her father had told her that this man was very clever at altering the appearance of animals so that they looked quite different. Then they were sold again. Lotta had an idea that Charlie Tipps might take Lucky to this man.

  “Where shall I sleep?” wondered the little girl, as she and Lulu got out of the bus, feeling hungry and tired. “I can’t sleep in a house. I never have in all my life! I couldn’t bear it! Come, Lulu, we’ll find a place somewhere.”

  Lotta bought some cakes and chocolate at a little shop, and, sharing them with Lulu, she set off out of the town towards the green hills that lay on the south.

  She came to a farm. She made out the shape of a big barn in the distance, and she and Lulu went into a field, crawled through the hedge, and crept quietly to the big, shadowy barn.

  She pushed the door open. In the barn were stacked sacks full of something soft. “These will do nicely for a bed, Lulu,” said Lotta. The little girl pulled some into a nice soft heap and lay down. She was very tired. She threw the old raincoat over her, and pulled Lulu close to her.

  “I’m lonely, Lulu,” she whispered. “I’ll hug you, and we’ll keep each other nice and warm.”

  Lulu licked Lotta’s nose. She was a gentle, loving dog, and it was a great comfort to Lotta to have her for company. Soon the two were fast asleep.

  In the morning Lotta washed her face in a nearby stream. She did not brush or comb her hair, for she had brought neither brush nor comb with her. She shook her mop of curls just as Lulu shook her silky black ears and coat! Then they set off back to Uptown.

  “We’ve got to find Mr. Binks, Charlie’s friend,” she told Lulu. “That was his name, I remember. But we mustn’t let him see us, Lulu, for he might remember me. I went with Lal and Laddo when they went to see him about our white horse that was stolen. We must be very careful.”

  Lotta asked at a post-office for Mr. Binks’s address, for she had forgotten it.

  There were three Mr. Binks living in the town, but as soon as she heard the address of the second one, the little girl remembered. That was the one!

  She set off to find it, munching bread and chocolate. Lulu had made a good meal off scraps of fresh meat at a butcher’s. She trotted along happily by Lotta’s feet, wondering what all the adventure was about.

  At last Lotta came to a low, rambling farmhouse, which she remembered from two or three years before. There were big stables in the fields beyond, and many sheds and kennels.

  Lotta stood behind the hedge and gazed in. Was Lucky there? How she longed to know! But there were so many dogs barking, so many horses neighing, so many hens clucking, that it was impossible to hear if Lucky’s sharp bark was among them! She watched horses being ridden round a large field. They were being trained for a circus, and they were most beautifully kept. Lotta wished she could ride one!

  Suddenly an idea flashed into the little girl’s head. If she dressed up as a boy, nobody would know her! She could go into the fields there, and even if Mr. Binks saw her he would not remember her. She turned and ran back to the shops.

  She went into a hairdresser’s, and asked for all her pretty curls to be cut short, like a boy’s. The girl did not want to do it, but Lotta suddenly took a pair of scissors and began to chop off her curls herself, so the shop-girl had to finish the job properly. What a funny little thing Lotta looked when she came out!

  Then she bought a shirt and a pair of blue shorts at another shop.

  Lotta slipped behind a hedge on her way back to Mr. Binks’s house, and changed into her new clothes. When she came through the hedge into the road again, she looked exactly like a little boy!

  Lotta felt rather grand. She stuck her hands into her pockets, and whistled as she went, with Lulu at her heels. The spaniel did not seem to notice that Lotta was any different. She smelt the same, and that was all that Lulu cared about!

  And now Lotta went boldly into the fields around the farmhouse and examined every shed and stable to see if little dog Lucky was there. But she could not find any sign of her. “She must be in the farmhouse somewhere,” thought Lotta.

  And then a most extraordinary thing happened. A big car drew up outside the farmhouse, and out got Mr. Alfred Cyrano, head of one of the biggest circuses, a man who had once offered to buy Lucky from Jimmy! Lotta knew him at once, and his great big cigar too, and she stared in amazement.

  Her quick little brain set to work at once. “He always wanted Lucky, and everyone knew it! Oh, he must have come for Lucky! So Lucky is here! He’ll take her away with him. If only I could go with him! But how?”

  Mr. Alfred Cyrano went into the farmhouse. Lotta crept round, trying to see into the windows. At last she discovered that Cyrano and Mr. Binks were at the back of the house, overlooking the fields where the horses were cantering. On the floor was a small travelling-box, big enough for a dog.

  For a moment Lotta did not know what to do. Then the sound of the cantering of hoofs put an idea into her head. She would do some tricks on those horses, hoping that the two men would look out of the window and see her! Then maybe she could beg a job from Mr. Cyrano, and go with him back to his circus—with Lucky! And if she didn’t manage to escape somehow on the way, taking Lucky with her, she wouldn’t be as clever as she thought she was!

  The little girl’s heart began to beat fast. She ran to a great black horse with a broad back. He had no saddle and no bridle.

  He shied away as Lotta came up. But the little girl swung herself up on to his back and galloped him round the field, whilst two men who were exercising the horses shouted angrily at her!

  Lotta knelt on the galloping horse. She stood up! She stretched out her arms, and there she was, going lightly up and down on the galloping horse, waving to the two astonished grooms as she passed them.

  From the corner of her eye she saw that Mr. Binks and Mr. Cyrano, hearing the shouts, had come to the window and were staring in amazement. The little girl dropped down to the horse’s back, got up again, and this time stood facing backwards, looking over the horse’s tail. Then she stood first on one leg and then on the other! She jumped up and down! It was marvellous!

  Lotta had been a circus-girl all her life, but the horse she was on was only half trained, and a stranger to her. He began to gallop so fast that Lotta had to sit down again. One of the grooms was afraid the boy—as he thought Lotta was—would be hurt. He galloped up on another horse, shouting to Lotta to let him drag her off.

  But the little girl stood up again, and when the groom’s horse came alongside she neatly jumped on to his own horse, just behind him, and stood there, her hand lightly on his shoulder. He brought his horse to a stop. But before he could speak to her, a loud voice shouted from the farmhouse: “Come here, you! Who are you?”

  It was Mr. Cyrano, who had been watching Lotta’s pe
rformance in astonishment.

  Lotta jumped from the groom’s horse and ran up to him in her shirt and shorts.

  “Who are you?” asked Cyrano again. Lotta decided to be grand.

  “I am the Boy Wonder!” she said. “Barney Beano, the Boy Wonder! I can ride any horse in the world! I’m looking for a job.”

  “Well, you can ride, that’s certain,” said Mr. Cyrano. “Got any luggage? You can come back with me now, if you like, and start next week.”

  “I’ve got no luggage,” said Lotta, “but I’ve got a dog. Can I bring her?”

  “Yes,” said Cyrano, and he turned to go inside the house with Mr. Binks. Lotta whistled to Lulu, and the two went and waited by the gate. Soon Mr. Binks came to the door and beckoned. “Take this box to the car for Mr. Cyrano,” he ordered.

  Lotta flew to get the box. Could Lucky be inside it? There was no sound inside, and Lotta did not dare even to whisper Lucky* s name. But Lulu seemed strangely excited at the box, and sniffed all round it when it was in the car.

  Mr. Cyrano got in and took the wheel. Lotta was at the back with Lulu and the dog-box. Mr. Binks called goodbye and the car slid down the lane.

  The Boy Wonder was off to Mr. Alfred Cyrano’s circus! How Lotta wished that Jimmy could see where she was now!

  LITTLE DOG LUCKY!

  MR. CYRANO’S circus was a long way away. It was three hours before they arrived there, and Lotta was very hungry. The dog in the travelling-box had not made a sound, and even though Lotta had whispered Lucky# s name, no answering whine or bark had come. It was puzzling.

  When they arrived at the circus, Mr. Cyrano bellowed for a man called Tiny. Tiny was simply enormous, so it made people laugh when they heard his name.

  He came up. Mr. Cyrano waved him to the back of the car.

  “You’ll find the dog I told you about in a box there,” he said. “He’s been given some sleeping medicine, so he’ll have to sleep it off. He’ll be all right tomorrow. Take this boy too and let him have a bunk in your caravan. He’ll help with the horses and ride in the ring next week.”

  Lotta went off with Tiny, who seemed quite friendly. Lulu followed at her heels. Tiny cut Lotta some bread-and-cheese sandwiches, and read the paper whilst Lotta and Lulu ate them. And then, quite suddenly, Lotta saw her own picture looking at her from the paper. What a shock she got!

  She read what was printed underneath. It said: “LOTTA, THE MISSING CIRCUS-GIRL. MR. AND MRS. BROWN ARE VERY WORRIED ABOUT HER, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN CHARGE OF HER WHILST HER PARENTS ARE ABROAD. A REWARD IS OFFERED TO ANYONE WHO WILL BRING HER BACK.”

  How glad Lotta was that she had dressed up as a boy! Nobody would know her—and she couldn’t, couldn’t go back till she had got little dog Lucky again! What a good thing nothing was said in the paper about Lulu!

  Tiny had placed the dog-box inside an empty cage, which had its side up, so that Lotta could not see inside. So the little girl had not been able to find out if Lucky was in the box or not. She made up her mind to slip out of the caravan that night and find out. She noticed that Tiny put his cage-keys on a little shelf.

  So when the camp was in darkness, and Tiny was snoring in the caravan, Lotta picked up a torch from the shelf, took the keys gently, and stole down the steps with Lulu like a black shadow. She made her way to the cage nearby and unlocked it. A little whine greeted her. Lucky had evidently awakened!

  The little girl shut the door behind her, and flashed her torch in front of her, longing to see little dog Lucky, with her half-brown, half-black head, and her black spot and brown spot on her white back.

  But quite a different dog looked up at her with wagging tail and friendly yelps! Lotta stared in surprise and dismay!

  Tears came into her eyes. Surely she hadn’t gone so far in this adventure for a strange dog! Lulu ran up to the dog and sniffed her happily.

  “Your head is quite black, not brown and black!” said Lotta. “And your tail is black too. Lucky’s was white!

  And you’ve got four black spots on your back instead of one brown and one black!”

  The little dog jumped up at Lotta, licked her and pawed her gladly. “You do look so like Lucky, and you act just like Lucky!” said Lotta. “I wonder, oh, I wonder if they’ve dyed your dear little head and the spots on your coat and your tail to make you different! Are you Lucky?”

  “Woof!” said the little dog, and she got up on her hind legs and began to do some of the tricks that Jimmy and Lotta had taught her.

  Then the little girl knew for certain that it was little dog Lucky, altered so that no one should know her. She was to be trained for Mr. Cyrano’s circus, and he would make a lot of money! Perhaps he didn’t know—perhaps Mr. Binks had made Lucky different and sold her to Mr. Cyrano simply as a very clever dog, easy to train. Lotta didn’t care. All she knew was that she had got Lucky back—and she was going to take her to Jimmy as soon as ever she could!

  “Yes—and we’ll start this very minute!” said the little girl, excited. “Come, Lucky# Come, Lulu!”

  The three slipped out of the cage and set off for the gate. It was shut. Lotta climbed over *t and the dogs squeezed under.

  Lotta did not know which way to go, but she was quite determined to put as much road between her and Mr. Cyrano’s circus as she could!

  For hours the three of them tramped down dark roads till Lotta was almost dropping with sleep. She found an old haystack and pulled out some hay to make a bed. She lay down against the stack with the two dogs, and slept till the sun was high in the sky!

  Now she had to find out where she was. She asked at a farmhouse and found that she was at a place she had never heard of. “I want to go to Greenville,” said Lotta. “Is there a train that goes there?”

  The farmer looked at the queer, dirty, untidy little boy with two dogs. What a little gipsy he looked!

  “You walk to the station and ask,” he said. “I’ve never heard of Greenville!”

  So off went Lotta again, asking the way to the station—and on the way a car passed her. Who do you suppose was driving it? Mr. Alfred Cyrano, looking very angry indeed, for he had heard that the Boy Wonder had run off in the night with the valuable dog he had just bought!

  And Mr. Cyrano saw Lotta walking along the road with the two dogs! He stopped the car and ran back, shouting angrily. But was Lotta afraid of him? Not a bit.

  “If you come any nearer my dogs will bite you!” said the little girl. “So be careful! Show your teeth, Lulu; show yours, Lucky!”

  Both dogs bared their teeth and snarled at Mr. Cyrano. Then, as quick as lightning, the little girl ran to the hedge and squeezed through it, running across the fields like a hare, the two dogs beside her. Mr. Cyrano knew he would never catch them.

  Lotta reached the station at last. It was quite a big one and the little girl bought sandwiches and milk for herself and the two hungry dogs. Then she sat down to wait for the train to come.

  She was so very happy. What would Jimmy say when she walked into the camp with Lucky? He would forgive her, she was sure, for anything she had done that he might blame her for.

  Jimmy and Mrs. Brown were very worried, for they loved Lotta and were afraid something might happen to her, going off alone with only Lulu for company. Poor Jimmy was more worried than anyone, for he felt it was his fault that Lotta had gone—and he kept thinking first of his lost dog Lucky, then of Lotta, then of Lucky, and he felt very lonely indeed without either of his best friends.

  Towards the evening of the second day that Lotta had been gone, Jimmy looked out of his caravan. He saw a queer little figure coming in at the circus-gate.

  “Look at that boy, Mother,” said Jimmy. “I wonder who he is-oh, Mother, Lulu’s with him! Do you think he knows anything about Lotta?”

  “There’s another dog too,” said his mother, as Lucky came bounding through the gate, delighted to be back in her own camp again.

  There was a shriek from Jimmy.

  “Mother! It’s Lucky—my own Lucky!”


  “No, it isn’t,” said Mrs. Brown. “It’s not a bit like Lucky!”

  But Jimmy would have known Lucky if she had been painted blue and yellow and red! No matter whether her head was a different colour and her spots changed, he would know his little dog a mile away! He leapt off the caravan steps and tore to the gate, yelling “Lucky! Lucky! Lucky!”

  Lucky yelped back in excitement and ran to meet her little master. She sprang straight into his arms and lay there, licking his face as fast as she could. Jimmy hugged her, and cried and cried, and hugged her, and everyone came running up to see what was happening.

  Jimmy looked up at last, and saw the strange little boy nearby, watching with a delighted grin. Jimmy stared and stared—this boy was so like Lotta; did Lotta have a brother?—could it possibly be Lotta?

  Then the little girl made one of her dreadful faces and gave Jimmy a pinch—ah, it was Lotta all right!

  “Lotta!” shouted Jimmy, and hugged her as well as he could with Lucky still in his arms. “Lotta! You darling! You have got Lucky back. But why is your hair so short? Why are you dressed like that? Where have you been? Why...”

  Lotta laughed joyfully. She took hold of Jimmy’s arm. “I’ve had such an adventure!” she said. “But I’m so hungry. Let’s go into the caravan and have supper, and I’ll tell you everything!”

  Mr. Galliano came hurrying up at that moment. He lifted Lotta up on his shoulder and patted little dog Lucky in delight.

  “And here is Lotta come back as a boy!” he shouted, his hat very much on one side. “And here is Lucky come back as another dog, yes! You will come and have supper with me in my caravan and tell me all your news, Lotta!”

  This was a great honour. Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown, Lotta, Jimmy, and the two dogs all crowded into Mr. Galliano’s big caravan to eat a fine supper that Mrs. Galliano cooked. Mrs. Brown wanted Lotta to wash her hands and face, but the little girl wouldn’t.

  “Not just this once, please,” she begged. “I can’t wait to tell you all my adventures, Mrs. Brown!”