Читать книгу Mr. Galliano's Circus - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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The next day, as soon as afternoon school was over, Jimmy ran off to the circus field. A great tent had been put up. This was where the circus was to be held that night. The circus folk had been very busy all day long, getting everything ready.

Jimmy looked for Lotta. The little man who owned the monkeys came along and he glared at Jimmy.

“You go home just as quickly as ever you can,” he said. “Go along! No boys allowed here!”

“But ...” began Jimmy.

“What! You dare to disobey me, the great Lilliput!” said the little man, and he ran at Jimmy. Jimmy didn’t know quite what was going to happen next, but a voice called out from the caravan near by:

“Lilliput! Lilliput! That’s my friend! Leave him alone!”

The little man turned round and bowed. “Your pardon,” he said. “Any friend of yours is welcome here, of course, dear Lotta.”

“Don’t be silly, Lilliput!” said Lotta, and the little girl jumped down from the caravan and ran over to Jimmy. “This is Jimmy. And this is Lilliput, Jimmy. He has the monkeys. Where’s Jemima, Lilliput?”

“Somewhere about,” said Lilliput. “Jemima love! Jemima love! Come along!”

A small, bright-eyed monkey came running out on all-fours from under a cart. She tore over to Lilliput, leapt up to his shoulder and put her arms round his neck.

“This is Jemima,” said Lotta. “She is the darlingest monkey in the world—isn’t she, Lilliput? And the cleverest.”

“That’s right,” said Lilliput. “I bought her from a black man when I was in foreign lands, and she’s just as cunning as can be. Look, Jemima—here’s Nobby! Go ride him, go ride him!”

The monkey made a little chattering noise, slipped down to the ground and ran quietly over to a large brown dog who was nosing about the field. She jumped on to his back, held on to his collar and jumped up and down to make him go. Jimmy laughed and laughed.

“Come along!” said Lotta, slipping her bare brown arm through his. “Come and see the clown.”

The clown lived in a rather dirty little caravan all by himself. He sat at the door of it, polishing some black shoes he meant to wear that night. He didn’t look a bit like a clown now. He had no paint on his face, and he wore a dirty old hat. But he was very funny.

“Hallo, hallo, hallo!” he said, when he saw Jimmy coming. “The Prince of Goodness Knows Where, as sure as I’m eating my breakfast!” He got up and bowed politely.

Jimmy laughed. “But you’re not eating your breakfast!” he said.

“Then you can’t be the Prince,” said the clown, “That just proves it—you can’t be the Prince.”

“Well, I’m not,” said Jimmy. “I’m Jimmy Brown. What’s your name?”

“I am Sticky Stanley, the world-famous clown,” said the clown proudly, and he gave his shoes an extra rub.

“What a funny name!” said Jimmy. “Why do you call yourself Sticky?”

“Because I stick to my job and my friends stick to me!” said Stanley. And he leapt down from his caravan, began to carol a loud song and juggle with his two shoes, his brush, and his tin of polish. He sent them all up into the air one by one and caught them very cleverly, sending them up into the air again, higher and higher.

Jimmy watched him, his eyes nearly falling out of his head. However could any one be so clever? The clown caught them all neatly in one hand, bowed to Jimmy, and turned two or three somersaults, landing with a thud right inside his caravan.

“Isn’t he funny?” said Lotta. “He’s always like that. Come and see the elephant. He’s a darling.”

The elephant was in a tall tent by himself, eating hay contentedly. His leg was made fast to a strong post.

“But he doesn’t really need to be tied up at all,” said Lotta. “He would never wander away. Would you, Jumbo?”

“Hrrrumph!” said Jumbo, and he lifted up his trunk and took hold of one of Lotta’s curls.

“Naughty Jumbo!” said Lotta, and she pushed his trunk down again. “Look, this is Jimmy. Say Jimmy, Jumbo.”

“Hrrrumph!” said Jumbo, and he said it so loudly that Jimmy’s cap flew off in the draught! Jumbo put down his trunk, picked up Jimmy’s cap and put it back on his head. Jimmy was so surprised.

“Hrrrumph!” said Jumbo again, and pulled out some more hay to eat.

“He’s very clever,” said Lotta. “He can play cricket just as well as you can. He holds a bat with his trunk, and hits the ball with it when his keeper, Mr. Tonks, bowls to him. Now come and see the dogs.”

Jimmy had heard the dogs long before he saw them. There were ten of them—all terriers. They were in a very big cage, running about and barking. They looked clean and silky and happy. They crowded up to Jimmy when he put his hand out to them.

“That’s Darky and that’s Nigger and that’s Boy and that’s Judy and that’s Punch and that’s ...” began Lotta. But Jimmy couldn’t see which dog was which. He just stood there and let them all lick his hands as fast as they could.

“I take them all out once a day,” said Lotta. “They go out five at a time. I have one big lead and they each have a short lead off it, so I can keep them all together. They do pull though!”

“What do they do in the circus?” asked Jimmy.

“Oh, all kinds of things,” said Lotta. “They can all walk on their hind legs, and some of them can dance round and round in time to the music. This one, Judy, can jump through hoops held as high as my head. She is very clever.”

“I like Judy,” said Jimmy, letting the little sandy-headed terrier lick his fingers. “How do they teach the dogs their tricks, Lotta? Do they punish them if they don’t do them properly?”

Lotta looked at Jimmy in horror. “Punish them!” she said. “That shows how little you know about a real good circus, Jimmy. Why, we all know that no animals will play or work properly for us unless we love them and are kind to them. If Mr. Galliano saw any one hitting a dog or a monkey he would send him off at once. We love our animals and feed them well, and look after them. Then they are so full of love and good spirits that they think it is fun to play and work with us.”

“I like animals too,” said Jimmy. “I would never hurt one, Lotta, so don’t look at me like that. One thing I’d like better than any other is a dog of my own—but Dad couldn’t possibly buy a licence for him, so I’ll never have one! How I wish I belonged to a circus!”

“I wish you belonged too,” said Lotta. “Usually in a circus there are lots of children—but I’m the only one here and it’s often lonely for me.”

“Oh, I say! Look! Who’s that over there?” said Jimmy suddenly, pointing to a man who was doing the most extraordinary things on a large mat outside a caravan.

“Oh, that’s Oona the acrobat,” said Lotta. “He is just practising for to-night. Oona! Here’s a friend of mine! Where’s your ladder? Do go up it upside down on your hands and stand on your head on the top of it, just to show Jimmy!”

Oona was at that moment looking between his legs at them in a very peculiar manner. He grinned and stood the right way up. “Hallo, youngster!” he said. “So you want to see me do my tricks before you come to the circus!”

“He’s not coming,” said Lotta. “So do your best trick for him, Oona, do!”

Oona, who was a fine strong-looking young man with a mop of curly golden hair, fetched a step-ladder from his caravan. It was painted gold and looked very grand. Oona stood it firmly on the ground, turned a few somersaults on his mat first, and then walked up the ladder to the very top on his hands, waving his legs above him as he did so. When he got to the top he stood there on his head alone, and Jimmy stared as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. Oona lightly twisted himself over and came down beside Jimmy on his feet.

“There!” he said; “easy as winking! Try it yourself, young man.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly!” said Jimmy. “I can’t even walk on my hands.”

“That’s easy, if you like!” said Lotta, and to Jimmy’s amazement the little girl flung herself lightly forward and walked a few steps on her hands.

“How I wish I could do that!” said Jimmy. “My goodness! The boys at school would stare!”

“Try it,” said Lotta. “I’ll hold your legs up for you till you get your balance.”

Somehow Jimmy got on to his hands and Lotta held his feet up. “Walk on them—walk on your hands!” she shouted. “Go on—I’ve got your legs all right!”

“I can’t!” gasped Jimmy. “I can’t make my hands go—my body is so heavy on them!”

Lotta began to laugh. She laughed so much that she dropped Jimmy’s legs, and there he was, lying sprawling in the grass, laughing too.

“You’d do for a clown, but not for an acrobat just yet,” said Oona, with a grin. “Now off you go—I want to practise!”

“I’ve got to go and help Lal get into her dress for to-night,” said Lotta, as the two children went away. “I must say good-bye, Jimmy. Come again to-morrow.”

Jimmy ran off home, his head full of elephants and monkeys and dogs and people standing on their heads and walking on their hands. If only he belonged to a circus too!