Hurrah for the Circus! Page 9

Mr. Galliano laughed. “We will see, yes, we will see,” he said. “It will not be long now before your parents are back, my little Lotta. Train your pony well, and maybe one day we will see you in the ring!”

  Jimmy brought Lucky to make friends with Black Beauty.

  The little dog liked the pony at once, and Black Beauty dropped his head to sniff at the small creature that stood on its hind legs to reach his nose!

  “They’re friends already!” cried Jimmy, in delight. “Oh, Lotta, what an exciting time we’re having lately!”

  “Yes,” said Lotta, trotting her pony over to the stables to ask Lou where she might put Black Beauty. “Yes, we are having adventures lately, but Black Beauty is the nicest adventure of all! My own horse, my very, very own! I am the luckiest girl in the world-and you are a dear, Jimmy, to buy him for me. I hope he didn’t cost too much money.”

  “No,” said Jimmy, though the pony had cost him nearly every bit of the money he had saved. But what did that matter? Lucky and he would earn plenty more, and Lotta was happy. Black Beauty would be just as much of a success as Lucky had been—and oh, what fun if they could teach Lucky to do some tricks with Black Beauty!

  “We break camp tomorrow!” said Mrs. Brown that night to two tired children. “Up early, both of you!”

  “Oooh! Bears at our next camp!” said Jimmy. “Shan’t I like that! Bears, Lotta! Bears, Lucky! What fun we’ll have!”

  THE BEARS JOIN THE CIRCUS

  NEXT day the circus was on the move again. Once more the tents were taken down and Brownie was very busy. Soon the circus procession was on the road—cages, caravans, long strings of horses, and old Jumbo patiently pulling the three largest cages behind him.

  Lotta was not in the caravan this time. Where was she? She was riding her new pony, Black Beauty, who was now perfectly obedient! How proud Lotta was as she rode on her beautiful pony! For once in a way she had brushed her short hair till it shone, and had put on her prettiest frock, for she felt that a lovely thing like Black Beauty deserved a fine rider!

  Little dog Lucky was running about on her hind legs, but you may be sure that Jimmy was keeping a sharp eye on her. Since she had been stolen the little boy had hardly let her out of his sight. Lucky was already fond of Black Beauty, and for most of the journey the little dog ran on all-fours by Beauty’s heels, or walked on her hind legs by her nose. Sometimes the pony put down his proud little head and lightly touched the clever dog. Then Lucky gave a little yelp and tried to lick Black Beauty’s nose!

  “Hhrrrrrmph!” suddenly sneezed the elephant. Black Beauty was so startled that she stood straight up on her hind legs like Lucky! Lotta nearly fell off, and Jimmy shouted with laughter.

  “You wait till I get you, Jimmy!” cried Lotta.

  “It did look funny, Black Beauty and Lucky both up on their hind legs!” said Jimmy. “I half thought old Jumbo would stand up too!”

  They came to their next show-place at last. There was still a day before the circus opened. Mr. Galliano was expecting the bears that day, for he wanted to see them perform in the ring before the show opened.

  A large travelling-cage was already in the great field when Mr. Galliano’s people arrived. Jimmy looked at it and gave a shout.

  “The bears! It must be the bears! Come and see, Lotta.”

  “I must see to Black Beauty first,” said Lotta, and she slipped down from the pony’s smooth back. She put her arms round his neck and the pony nuzzled against her. Then the little girl led him off to have a feed and a good rub-down.

  She was simply delighted with her pony. She longed to teach him how to dance, and how to gallop round and round the ring whilst she did tricks on his back.

  The bears were in their cage. There were five of them, three not much more than year-old cubs. They were dark brown, fat, and clumsy. Jimmy went to the bars of their cage and spoke to them.

  The bears took no notice, but as the little boy went on talking, one of the cubs walked over to him with shambling feet.

  “Hi there! Come away!” shouted a voice suddenly.

  Jimmy turned and saw a fat man running towards him. “Do you want to get clawed?” shouted the man.

  “It’s all right, Mr. Volla!” said Tonks, who was nearby. “That’s Jimmy, our Boy Wonder! He went into the tigers’ cage at our last show, and all they did was to purr at him like cats. Those bears will be eating out of his hand in five minutes!”

  “Ah,” said Mr. Volla, who had moustaches like Mr.

  Galliano, “so that’s Jimmy. I’ve heard of him. He’s got a marvellous dog, hasn’t he?”

  “Yes, I have,” said Jimmy proudly. “There she is, look!” Lucky trotted up to Mr. Volla, and then did the new trick that Jimmy had been teaching her—turning head-over-heels as fast as ever she could—over—and over—and over! Mr. Volla laughed.

  “I’ve never seen a dog do that before!” he said. “But my bears can do it, though not so neatly as Lucky. Hup, bears, hup! Over you go!”

  Mr. Volla cracked a small whip he had, and all the bears got up on their hind legs. One by one they turned head-over-heels, but they did it so comically that Jimmy laughed till he cried.

  “They do it just like Stanley the clown when he wants to be very funny,” said Jimmy.

  “Ah,” said Mr. Volla, “bears are the clowns of the animal world, you know. They are clumsy, and they know they’re funny. They love it. You must come and watch them in the ring this afternoon when they perform for Mr. Galliano. Two of them put on boxing-gloves and pretend to fight. They’ll make you laugh all right!”

  So that afternoon Jimmy went to watch the bears. They were real clowns, there was no doubt about it—and how they loved to fool about and be funny! They each had a stool to sit on, and one bear made it his business to wait behind one or other of the bears and take away his stool just as he was going to sit down! Of course the other bear fell flop!

  “That cub, Dobby, thought of the trick himself,” said Mr. Volla proudly. “You don’t have to teach him anything! He may look clumsy and slow, but his brain’s as good as any clown’s!”

  The bears all knew their own stools. They could dance slowly and clumsily on their big hind feet, and Dobby and another bear, Susie, took paws and did a sort of clumsy polka together, which sent everyone into fits of laughter.

  Then another two bears, Grizel and Tubby, had boxing-gloves put on their enormous paws, and they boxed with one another, getting some smacking blows on their noses and chests. Suddenly Grizel gave Tubby such a loud smack that Tubby sat down with a grunt and wouldn’t get up again! Then all the other bears grunted loudly and clapped their paws together so that their great claws clattered.

  Then Mr. Volla cracked his whip again, and Dobby went to fetch a big football. Dear me, how funny those bears were with that football! They kicked it, they dribbled it, they fell over it, they hugged it! And then, when Mr. Volla cracked his whip once again, they all solemnly took paws and danced round to the music of ‘Ring-a-ring-of-roses’, and when it came to the words, ‘All fall down!’ down fell every bear, plop!

  Everybody clapped hard. The bears got up and bowed, waving their big, flappy paws and winking their small eyes. They were a great joke.

  Jimmy was thrilled. Here were animals that really liked being funny. He loved them. So did Lucky. The little dog sitting beside Jimmy had watched the bears all the time.

  “Oh, Mr. Galliano, the bears are much better than the tigers!” cried Jimmy. “Tigers hate doing tricks, and it’s a shame to make them. But bears just love being clowns. Look at Dobby pretending to do a dance all by himself!”

  So he was. Mr. Volla had taken the other bears off, but Dobby had turned back and come to do a little show all by himself in the ring. His eyes twinkled. He loved showing off.

  Mr. Volla’s whip cracked from outside the ring. Dobby dropped down on all-fours and shambled off, grunting. Everybody clapped again.

  “They are good, yes,” said Mr. Galliano. “You are right, Jimmy. It is better to
have animals that love their work. The bears will be a great success, yes!”

  And they certainly were! When the circus opened the next night, the audience stood up in their seats and cheered each turn.

  Sammy the chimpanzee; Jumbo playing cricket; Lilliput’s clever monkeys; Oona the acrobat’s amazing tricks; Sticky Stanley the clown’s comical ways; Jimmy and his dog Lucky; Lou, Pepita, and Juanita and their beautiful dancing horses—they were all cheered and cheered again, but the bears got the biggest cheers of all!

  Mr. Galliano stood in the ring, dressed in his tight-fitting red coat, his top-hat well on one side, and his moustaches very long and curling, as pleased as could be. His whip cracked for every new turn, and only one person in his circus was just a little bit impatient.

  That was Lotta. How she longed to go into the ring with her lovely Black Beauty! If only she could hurry up and teach him to dance and to do all the things a circus pony had to learn!

  Then Lotta could go into the ring too!

  Mr. Galliano caught sight of Lotta as he strode out of the ring, and saw her longing eyes fixed on the sawdust circle.

  “Cheer up!” he said. “We shall do well here! It will be fine for everybody, yes!”

  “Mr. Galliano, can I go into the ring too, if I teach Black Beauty?” begged Lotta. “You did say I could, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, you may,” said Mr. Galliano. “But we cannot make a new turn for you, Lotta. You will have to ask Lou if you may share a little of his turn.”

  Lotta was not pleased with this. She knew quite well that circus-folk hate sharing their turn with any one. Lou and his sisters liked her, but even so she did not think they would let her come in with them. They wanted all the cheers and clapping for themselves and their own horses!

  Lotta told Jimmy. He nodded his head. “Yes,” he said, “Lou and the others are kind enough, but after all it isn’t fair to ask them to let you have some of their own turn, Lotta.”

  “Well, what can I do, then?” asked the little girl, almost in tears. “What’s the use of having a fine pony like Black Beauty and teaching him tricks if I can’t take him into the ring?”

  Jimmy thought for a while, and then he jumped up with a shout. “I know what we’ll do!” he said. “We will teach Lucky to ride Black Beauty, and then you shall bring your pony into the ring when it’s my turn! I don’t mind sharing my turn with you, Lotta—and perhaps you could begin like that. It would be better than nothing.”

  Lotta hugged Jimmy for joy. “You are the kindest boy!” she cried. “Oh, Jimmy, let’s begin teaching Lucky tomorrow! I’m already teaching Black Beauty his tricks, and he learns like lightning!”

  LOTTA GETS HER CHANCE!

  THE two children began teaching Lucky to ride Black Beauty the very next day. Lucky was always eager to learn new tricks, for she was a very clever dog and loved to use her brains.

  She knew how to balance herself on the tight-rope, so she found it easy enough to sit on the pony’s broad back, but when Black Beauty began to trot, Lucky found it was not so easy!

  She slipped and fell to the ground, but she did not hurt herself of course. Before Jimmy could stop Black Beauty and put Lucky on his back again, the little dog gave a leap and jumped up herself!

  “Look at that!” said Jimmy. “Would you believe it, Lotta? She leapt on that trotting pony just as easily as you do! She’s holding her balance better this time, look! She doesn’t need teaching! She knows what we want her to do and she’s doing her best to learn!”

  Black Beauty went cantering round and round the ring, for Lotta had already taught her to do this at the right pace. Lucky fell off again, and once more jumped up. She found that by sitting on her tail she could keep her balance quite well. Before the morning had ended the little dog could ride the pony as well as Lotta could.

  “Marvellous!” said Lotta, patting the happy little dog. “Do you know, Jimmy, I believe we could teach Lucky to jump through a paper hoop just as I do! Once she has really got her balance on horseback she can do that, I’m sure.”

  The two children taught Lucky and Black Beauty together every morning, working patiently. They never worked the animals too long, for Jimmy had long since learnt that little and often was the best way to teach, and he and Lotta always praised their animals and rewarded them.

  “You know, Lotta, animals are just like people,” said Jimmy, as he was brushing Lucky one morning, and Lotta was grooming Black Beauty. “People with brains love to learn anything, and they’re always trying new things. Stupid people don’t want to learn and can’t. Animals are the same. The clever ones long to learn, but it’s no use teaching the stupid ones anything. I’m glad I was born with brains, aren’t you? It must be dull to be stupid.”

  “Yes,” said Lotta. “But it must be worse to be born clever and be too lazy to use your brains. I’ve known some people like that, Jimmy—and some animals too.”

  “Well, stupid or not, I love all animals,” said Jimmy. “But it’s more fun to be with the clever ones! Isn’t it, little dog Lucky?”

  Lucky licked her master’s hand and yelped. She thought Jimmy was the king of the world, and she was happiest when she was trying to do what Jimmy wanted her to.

  Lotta and Jimmy had a fine time with the pony and Lucky. The dog and the pony enjoyed being with one another, and worked together beautifully. Soon Lucky learnt how to leap from Black Beauty’s back through a paper hoop held by Jimmy, and back on to the pony’s back again!

  The first time she did this, Jimmy and Lotta shouted for joy. They were sure that when Mr. Galliano saw the trick he would let Lotta bring her pony into the ring at last.

  Lotta worked hard with Black Beauty too, teaching him to waltz as the other horses did. The little girl brought the gramophone from the caravan and Jimmy wound it up and put the records on for Black Beauty to waltz to.

  Black Beauty, unlike most of the dancing horses, had a perfect sense of time. He danced slowly if the record played slowly, and quickly if it played quickly. He was very nimble on his feet, and loved the music.

  He let Lotta do anything she liked with him. She had been the first to conquer him and he loved the little girl with his wild little heart, though he would not let anyone else touch him except Mr. Galliano and Jimmy.

  Lotta rode him at full-speed, and then, at a shout, he would stop dead! The little girl would be thrown right over his head, but she knew how to fall and, like a cat, always landed on her feet! Black Beauty would then gallop full-speed round the ring again, and Lotta would wait till he came by and leap up safely on his back.

  She could ride him kneeling on one or both knees. She could ride him standing forwards or backwards. She could jump through a paper hoop held by Jimmy, and she could do something else very difficult too. This was a trick her father could do.

  The trick was to lower herself under the pony’s body and come up the other side safely, to sit on his back, whilst he was cantering round the ring! It was a dangerous trick, for if she slipped and fell, the pony’s hoofs might cut her—but Lotta was not even afraid of that! She felt sure that Black Beauty would be clever enough not to tread on her.

  She never did fall, because she was very nimble, and soon learnt to swing herself under Black Beauty’s middle and up the other side.

  Lucky ran alongside, yelping excitedly, and sometimes Lotta would lean right down and pick Lucky up. Then they would stand up on the pony together, Lotta yelling and Lucky barking like mad.

  The children always chose the early morning for their practice, because they did not want anyone else to guess what they were doing. And also, others needed the ring for practising in later on in the day. Circus-folk do not need just to know their tricks—they must practise always, all the time.

  At last Jimmy felt that little dog Lucky had learnt his horseback tricks perfectly, so he went to speak to Mr. Galliano.

  “Lucky can ride on Black Beauty, sir, and jump through the hoops,” said the little boy. “If you would come and watch one
morning, perhaps you’d like the new turn and say we could do it one night.”

  So Mr. Galliano came to watch, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw Luck/ s new tricks.

  “That dog is human, yes!” he said. “You will teach him to dress as a ring-master, wear a top-hat, and crack a whip next! Yes! Bring Black Beauty into the ring tonight, and Lucky shall do his new trick.”

  “May Lotta bring her pony into the ring, please, Mr. Galliano?” said Jimmy. “She has helped me to teach Lucky, you know, and it’s her pony.”

  “Very well, she may do that,” said Mr. Galliano. “Tell her to wear her circus-frock.”

  Jimmy flew off to tell Lotta the good news. She was to go into the ring again!

  Oh, what fun!

  “And, Lotta, you must ride round the ring once or twice yourself, and stand up on Black Beauty, just to get a few claps!” said Jimmy. “Maybe if the people like you, Mr. Galliano will let you do more another night. Get your circus-frock out and we’ll see if it’s clean.”

  It was clean—but alas, it no longer fitted Lotta, who had grown very much the last few months. The little girl was ready to cry. She knew she could not go into the ring unless she had a proper frock.

  “Now, don’t be a baby!” said Mrs. Brown, putting on her hat and taking up her basket. “Come along into the town with me, and we’ll buy what we need for you. I can run it up with my sewing-machine in no time and make you look a real little fairy!”

  “Oh, Mrs. Brown, you’re a darling!” cried Lotta, and she put on her shoes and rushed after Mrs. Brown.

  Well, what a busy time Lotta, Mrs. Galliano, and Mrs. Brown had that day, making a new frock for Lotta. They had bought gauzy stuff set with glittering silver spangles, and they made the little girl a fluffy dress of this, that stood out in a short skirt like a fairy’s frock. The little bodice had silver spangles on too.

  Her old silver crown and wand she could use again, but new silvery stockings had to be bought. Her long silver wings were mended and repainted with silver paint—and then everything was ready, down to the silver shoes that had been bought with the stockings. They had no heels and were well-rubbed with resin so that Lotta would not slip when standing on her pony.