Читать книгу Circus Days Again - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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The circus opened at Bigminton after a day or two’s rest. The weather kept fine, and Mr. Galliano was delighted to see so many people paying their money at the gate.

“You shall have a new dress,” he promised Lotta, sticking his hat on one side. “And you, Jimmy, shall have a new ring-suit that shines like the moon.”

All circus-folk liked to wear the loveliest suits and dresses that they could possibly afford, when they appeared in the ring. The shinier the better. Lotta longed to have a dress so covered with spangles that the dress itself could hardly be seen. Jimmy didn’t mind so much, though he too liked to feel grand when he went into the ring. But how he loved to dress up little dog Lucky.

Lucky had quite a wardrobe of coats and collars and bows. Jimmy’s mother kept them all clean and mended, and laughed to see Lucky parading up and down in a grand new coat or stiff bow.

“You and Jemima the monkey and Sammy the chimpanzee are all as vain as little girls,” she said. “As for Jemima, I wonder she doesn’t carry a looking-glass about with her to see if her whiskers are straight.”

Oona the acrobat came by and called to Jimmy. “Hie, there! Would you like to come with me and visit my cousin? She lives near here, and maybe she’s going to join the circus.”

“Oooh, yes!” said Jimmy, and jumped down the steps with Lucky at his heels. “Where’s Lotta? She’d like to come too.”

Lotta was practising in the ring. She had Black Beauty there and was galloping round and round, standing lightly on his back. When her father shouted ‘Hup!’ she jumped right round and stood facing the horse’s tail. When he shouted again she leaped round the other way. It was marvellous to watch her.

“Lotta! Have you nearly finished?” cried Jimmy. “Oona’s going to visit his cousin, and I’m going with him.”

“I’ll come too,” said Lotta, and she leaped lightly off the horse’s back. She turned to her father. “Can I go now, Laddo?” she asked. She called her mother Lal and her father Laddo, as everyone else did.

“Yes, you can go,” said Laddo. “Leave Black Beauty. I want to trot him round with the other horses. He’s a great help to them, he’s so clever.”

Lotta and Jimmy ran off with Oona. They asked him about his cousin. “Who is she? What does she do? Is she an animal-trainer?”

Oona laughed. “Well—not exactly an animal-trainer. She keeps parrots.”

“Parrots!” squealed Lotta. “Oh, I love parrots! What do hers do? Do they talk? Does she take them into the ring?”

“Of course,” said Oona. “They talk, they recite—and they sing a song together. One of them, I forget its name, is very clever indeed. It can hold a brush in its claws and brush its crest. It can do a little dance too, whilst the music plays and the others sing.”

“Golly!” said Jimmy. “That will be fun. I’ve never had anything to do with birds before. I wonder if they’ll like me as much as the animals do.”

Oona looked at Jimmy and laughed. “Oh, you’ll find that all Madame Prunella’s parrots will let you do what you like with them,” he said. “You’ve got the secret of handling every live creature there is, Jimmy—and the parrots will be all over you.”

They caught a bus and went down into the heart of Bigminton. They came to a ramshackle little house, with a notice in the window, ‘Rooms to let’. As they knocked at the door a chorus of screeches rose on the air from inside the house.

Then a deep voice spoke: “Come in, wipe your feet, shut the door, and say how-do-you-do.”

Jimmy looked astonished. This was a funny greeting, he thought. He wasn’t sure if he was going to like Madame Prunella if she spoke to them like this. Lotta saw his face and laughed.

“That’s not your cousin speaking, is it?” she cried to Oona. “It’s one of the parrots, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” said Oona, and he opened the door. Another voice called out in a sing-song manner:

“Here comes the sweep! Swee-ee-eep! Swee-ee-eeep! Wash your face, my dear, wash your face.”

The children laughed. That was another parrot, they knew. What fun! They all went into a tiny room, and Oona kissed a small, fat little woman there. She was in a dressing-gown, sewing, and around her were about a dozen parrots, some grey and red, some the most brilliant colours imaginable.

“Good morning,” she said. “Excuse me getting up, but I’ve lost my shoes this morning, and there are pins everywhere. I upset the pin-box, you see—and now I daren’t leave my chair to look for my shoes in case I prick my feet.”

The children looked at the small, fat-cheeked little woman and liked her very much. Her eyes were small, and almost buried in her plump cheeks, but they shone and twinkled like blue beads. Her head was a mass of tight black curls. One parrot sat on her shoulder, singing a soft little song, and the others talked and screeched around. It was rather like being in the parrot-house at the Zoo. Every one had to shout, for they couldn’t be heard unless they did.

“This is Lotta, and this is Jimmy,” cried Oona to his cousin.

“Oh, I’ve heard of Jimmy and his wonderful dog, Lucky,” said Madame Prunella, smiling. “Where is she?”

“I left her with my mother,” said Jimmy. “I don’t much like bringing her among a lot of traffic. You’ll see her if you join Mr. Galliano’s circus. I do hope you do, Madame Prunella. I’d love to get to know some birds. I’ve only had animals so far.”

“My parrots will never go to anyone but to me,” said Madame Prunella proudly. “I have trained them all myself, and look after them—and not one will allow itself to be handled by a stranger.”

As she spoke, a large red-and-grey parrot lifted its crest up very high, and spoke in a deep voice. “Eggs and bacon, ham and cheese, coffee and biscuits!” it remarked, and then, very solemnly, hopped along the edge of the bookcase where it was perched, and rubbed its great curved beak against Jimmy’s cheek.

Madame Prunella stared in the greatest surprise. “Look at Gringle!” she cried. “Gringle! You are making love to Jimmy! You have never done that to anyone before! What’s happened to you?”

“Ham and tongue, tomatoes and eggs, toffee and chocolate,” said the parrot, and stepped straight on to Jimmy’s left shoulder!

Then it opened its beak and gave such a terrific screech that it made Lotta jump, and gave Jimmy such a fright that he rushed to the other side of the room! The parrot flew off his shoulder, sat on the top of the curtain, and laughed like a naughty boy who had played a joke.

Every one else laughed too. “Oh, Jimmy! You did look scared!” said Lotta.

“I should think so,” said Jimmy indignantly. “Screaming like an express train right in my ear.”

“Mushrooms and kippers,” remarked the parrot, scratching its head.

“That parrot seems to think of nothing but food,” said Jimmy.

Madame Prunella stared at Jimmy. “Gringle has never behaved like that before,” she said. “Jimmy, go round the other parrots and see if they will rub their heads against you, or talk. Mind that green-and-red one over there—he’s a bit bad-tempered and may tear your hand with his beak. Go slowly.”

Jimmy was only too pleased to go round the parrots. Lotta watched proudly. She knew better than anyone how marvellous Jimmy was with all live creatures. She had watched him with fierce tigers! She had seen him with bears and monkeys. She knew how dogs and horses all loved him. She knew that the parrots would make friends with him at once.

And so they did. As soon as the big birds knew that Jimmy wanted to be friendly, they crowded round him, muttering, screeching, talking. Two perched on his shoulders. One tried to sit on his head. The others flew round him, making quite a wind with their big wings.

Jimmy laughed. “I like them,” he said. “They are clever birds, Madame Prunella. Oh, do come and join our circus, and let me help you with your parrots. I’d love to know them.”

“Well, I was thinking of joining Mr. Phillippino’s Circus,” said Madame Prunella, “but as my cousin is with Mr. Galliano’s, and you are there, Jimmy, I’ll come! I’d like to see you handling my parrots. Maybe you could teach them some new tricks.”

Jimmy beamed. It would be fun to have plump-cheeked little Madame Prunella in the circus. She looked such a comical, good-tempered little person.

But suddenly he had another glimpse of her—one that surprised him and Lotta very much. She jumped up from her chair to take one of her parrots—and trod on one of the pins that lay all about the floor. She gave a screech just like one of her parrots, held her foot and danced angrily about, treading on yet more pins with her other foot!

Madame Prunella was in a temper—and such a temper! She screeched, she shouted, she yelled—and all the parrots with one accord flew as far away from her as they could! She caught hold of the table-cloth and flapped it wildly. She picked up a broom and ran at the two children as if she would sweep them from the room. They were quite frightened.

“Come away,” said Oona, grinning. “Prunella is in one of her tantrums. She’ll get out of it as quickly as she got into it—but it’s safer to go when she’s like this!”

The children fled down the little path to the gate. They could hear the shouting and screeching of the parrots behind them. Gringle was yelling, “Pepper and mustard, pepper and mustard!” at the top of his voice.

“Golly! Pepper and mustard is just about right when Madame Prunella loses her temper!” said Jimmy. “What a funny person! I like her, though she gets into tantrums—and I do like the parrots. I hope she joins the circus and comes along with us.”

A curtain was pulled aside and a window was thrown open. Madame Prunella looked out, smiling.

“Tell Galliano I’ll come along tomorrow,” she called. “About twelve o’clock!”

Like an April shower Madame Prunella’s temper had passed away. Gringle was on her shoulder, rubbing against her ear. “Sugar and spice,” he said. “Sugar and spice.”

“We shall have some fun with Madame Prunella!” said Oona, grinning. And he was right!