the day was fine. billy, not long released from his green shade, wondered if the world was ever so lovely before; the flowers so sweet, the birds so joyous. could it be only a few short weeks since that gray sunday? billy’s confinement had quickened him, introduced him to himself; now he looked on life with wider eyes, with a more understanding heart.
he was out early wheeling from house to house, where various parts of the “show” were receiving last touches. one by one he gathered each “attraction,” and herded them all to jimmy’s big barn, where the procession was to form. some were late, bess for one; but billy was not anxious about her.
it had been hard to persuade her, though her heart was aching to join the fun. “huh! do you suppose i’d be a common snake-charmer?”
“common?” billy retorted, “they can’t be common. they have to have power more’n anybody. and snake charmers ’most always are egyptian princesses, or royalty of some kind,” he added hastily, lest exact bess should call on him for a genealogy of his princesses.
the magic name won the day. bess was ever dreaming of the land of mystery, whose pictured daughters of old she resembled; and the chance to masquerade in its atmosphere lured her.
max was the first to be quite ready with his exhibit. it was a queer creature that one gradually discovered to be some sort of a bird; though such a one had never before been seen on land or sea. max had arrayed his mother’s big white gander for the occasion. a turkey-tail fan made a huge breastplate, if one can imagine a breastplate of feathers. all the long-tailed roosters that had been killed in town for months, one would guess, had contributed to the coat of sprawling feathers that was tied over the body of the bird. and no one knew by what magic the boy had coaxed some one to lend him the magnificent peacock plumes that rose high above the little wiggling goose tail.
in a cage of wire netting bearing the legend, “the roc—the egg,” the uncomfortable gander swayed and craned his neck; and all but his voice was satisfactory. in the bottom of the cage a whitewashed stone the size of a small pumpkin did duty as the egg.
a three-legged rooster appeared. and sir thomas katzenstein, according to schedule, roamed his box in great agitation, though in fine form, impressively carrying out the label on his cage, “baby royal bengal tiger.”
lying in silent disdain on his familiar cushion, flash, as the “polar bear,” did equally well; while bouncer fretted between the fills of the home-made, bunting-draped chariot that served as “the polar bear’s snowy lair of the north.”
there was a half-grown calf with an artificial hump for the “water buffalo”; and harry and clarence were cunningly strapped together for the siamese twins.
“but they are dead,” jimmy protested.
“but couldn’t another pair have been born in siam?” may nell questioned; and as no one felt sufficiently informed to deny it, harry and clarence continued their strained relations.
the prettymans’ white cow was ingeniously shaped and caparisoned to represent “india’s sacred white elephant”; and jackson was the hindoo leader. this exhibit caused much controversy. the attendant should ride on the neck of the elephant, all agreed to that; but the cow objected; so they compromised by having jackson walk. the matter of costume for jackson was not so easily settled, as the differing pictures of sacred elephants presented a variation in the attendants’ garb. may nell,—who was to be the “fair princess of bombay,”—as soon as she could get a hearing, ended the dispute amicably by suggesting that jackson be allowed his choice in the matter of dress, an alternative that permitted each disputant to withdraw from the argument with honor.
jimmy had the trick ponies and the trained dogs. teaching them was the chief joy of his life. what if there were only two ponies, and their spots were painted on? and what if the children had seen all the tricks over and over again? they were good as new each time. besides, the ponies’ one brand-new trick, when at the crack of a whip they stood on their hind feet in unison, was so effective that it frightened may nell. she saw it first in the barn; and when their shod hoofs came down she thought they would crash right through the floor.
jean was the goddess of liberty; shifty and another larger boy the steeds that pulled her car. but boys and box wagon were so smothered in bunting that only the goddess was conspicuous, standing, well-balanced, stately, and fair.
one tall, ambitious girl contributed a unique float called, “lot’s wife looking backward.” she had not been certain of the color for the desert, consequently had made the whole thing, including the wagon, the boys, and herself snowy white. she had copied an old bible picture, carrying out the idea with sheets, and such liberal doses of flour, that only a heavy dew was needed to turn the float to dough instead of salt. however, the sun shone, and the addition of diamond dust over all made a very realistic picture that billy praised heartily.
guinea pigs, pigeons, and other and larger live stock, normal or otherwise, masqueraded as marvellous creatures from foreign lands.
bess arrived at last. a gorgeous affair was her chariot, the foundation being mr. prettyman’s spring wagon. bess, with some borrowings, charley’s help, and her own quick invention, had made a very good imitation of a circus wagon. charley, the strong man, held the reins over old dom pedro, the horse she loved, that had once been a racer. she had discovered some very real looking, jointed snakes that wriggled and curved in a manner startlingly serpentine; while tremendous boa constrictors, cut from old circus posters, were disposed about the cage in alarmingly lifelike positions.
bess’s coming launched the procession. people in the vicinity who had not before known of the presence of a circus, knew it now. everybody talked at once, and every living thing made its own kind of a noise. billy as master of ceremonies had his hands full, his voice full too, one might say.
but at last they got under way and proceeded as quietly as possible down the back street to the home of mrs. lancaster, where buzz, as the “prize baby of vine county,” awaited them in his car, which was very handsome,—one would never have dreamed it was only a large wash-tub strapped to a coaster; flowers and cloth do make such wonderful changes if handled with art!
that preliminary march was not without adventure. the “howdah” on the white elephant where may nell rode as the fair princess of bombay, became loose and threatened to spill its small bit of royalty. and when harold cinched the thing tighter the old cow bellowed so the smaller children broke and ran. however, they were soon back, and the procession halted at mrs. lancaster’s front gate in fair order. but when she saw the imposing string of wagons, children, and animals, known and unknown, she was afraid to trust her precious buzz to them.
“billy boy, it’s fine! it’s splendid! but it’s so big i’m afraid buzz will be scared.”
“well, why don’t you go along, mrs. lancaster? don’t prize babies have attendants?”
“surely; but—”
“oh, please, mrs. lancaster,” billy coaxed. “the circus won’t be any circus at all without buzz. we’re to have him for a side show after the performance. we’ve advertised him,” billy pleaded well.
“well, the lack of buzz shall not damage your show; i’ll go,” mrs. lancaster yielded.
and billy did not think of it as strange till buzz’s grandmother called from behind the window curtain, “delia, you surely won’t traipse through town with that crowd! how you will look!”
“why, ma, the children are quite respectable; i know all their mothers.” buzz’s mamma looked a little mischievous.
“you romp!” came the disgusted voice once more. “you’d better cut your hair, and your skirts, and be a child again.”
“i’d love to, billy,” mrs. lancaster whispered; “i’ve never liked being grown up.”
billy beamed upon her. he adored her, as did every child in town.
now the band came up, a troop of boys in gorgeous uniforms made of red calico and tinsel paper. a drum and fife kept tolerable time; but the wheezy harmonicas and paper-covered combs, the tin horns and clanging triangles, quite “covered” any tune the fife attempted. yet what matter? it was a joyful noise; and even the horses kept step to the valiant drum.
flags waved. in spite of billy all shouted orders at once. the line was as serpentine as bess’s snakes that she held high and wriggling above her snake-entwined head. oh, she was a very realistic snake charmer! buzz crowed and clapped his pudgy little hands; and the lancasters’ small chinese boy who pulled the baby’s car almost fell over himself laughing.
before they turned into main street, however, the procession was in fair alignment, and the solemnity of the moment hushed all chatter. billy’s most personal disappointment was bouncer, who, unhappy because he could not caper in freedom at billy’s heels, let his lovely, bushy tail, that usually waved above his back in a graceful curve, hang limp and dusty between his legs; while from drooping head and sad eyes, he looked reproachfully at billy every time the latter ran past.
but on the whole billy was proud. “the kids showed their pluck and stuck to their jobs,” he told his mother afterward. the white elephant bellowed impressively in front of the postoffice; and jimmy’s ponies never reared so gracefully as in front of the bank.
all the people came out of their shops and offices and clapped generously. a light breeze floated out the flags, and made the gold fringe on the snake charmer’s cage wave and look rich and foreign. the band outdid itself; and as the forward end of the procession turned out of the street, a great cheer began behind them, grew and swelled, till even the youngest child knew “folks liked the circus.”
“to the park!” billy shouted, his heart thumping with joy.
“the children will get too tired,” the snake charmer warned.
“no, we won’t!” came a dozen voices.
“yes, yes; take us to the park, papa,” piped one half of the siamese twins.
“of course they won’t be too tired! the kids have pluck.”
the snake charmer was silenced; for if the children had before this been tired, not one of them now but swelled with pride and fortitude at this praise from billy.
all went well for some blocks. there was a flattering audience at each front door; a few honored the pageant by following. these were mostly mothers of the younger children, who knew the possibilities of such an aggregation of animals and boys.
but just before they were to enter the park bouncer had his innings. a rabbit, startled, sprang from under the roadside bushes and ran down the street toward the open country. bouncer’s tail went up. he dashed out of line, overturned the polar bear’s cage, and was off after his quarry, barking wildly, with the fast disrupting cage dangling at his heels. the polar bear, liberated, flew home like a streak of white light. the trained dogs broke from their struggling boy leaders, carrying with them gleaming bits of red paper uniform.
the two steeds attached to the car of the goddess of liberty, also deserted their task, and marked their path with bright bits of paper and bunting.
old dom pedro, scenting fresh excitement, snorted and bolted. the strong man was not strong enough to hold him to line, though he guided the horse safely to the carter stable, where bess appeared suddenly, swaying alarmingly in her flimsy snake cage.
half an hour later charley went back to the disappointed remnants of the show gathered in jimmy’s barn, and told them mrs. carter had said, “no more circus this day for bess.” buzz and his laughing chinese had been hurried to safety. the roc had shed a part of his false feathers, and was fast giving himself away as plain gander. the white elephant had also become restive, and it was thought best to transfer the fair princess of bombay from her howdah to terra firma. and the goddess of liberty, minus her car, and a part of her draperies, and plus a big smooch on her cheek, was somehow not very imposing. various other livestock became weary or rebellious, and the siamese twins had to be severed to prevent their coming to blows.
it was too bad! there could be no show in the barn. but the band was still lusty, the trick ponies remained, the boys and girls were eager to talk it over, and—the procession had been a success!
presently the little chinese boy returned, his grin resumed, and a large basket on his arm.
“missee lancastler, she say you heap good show. now you heap hungly. you catchee him plenty glub.” with that he uncovered a treat that made them forget the circus. they munched the sandwiches, the luscious fruit, candy, and cake, and other good things from mrs. lancaster’s generous pantry, and discussed the procession; voted mrs. lancaster a trump; and decided to have a circus every year.
and the shouts that greeted this fiat shook the old barn and made the hens in the hay cackle with fright.
