Buddy by William Joyce

Author:William Joyce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

CHAPTER 6

The fair was a happy mix of the miraculous and the silly. There was the Hall of Tomorrow, a big white modern building filled with rocket ships and machines that would make the world of the future easy and carefree. There were robots who could do housework, beds that could make themselves, and even a gadget called the Brain-a-lator that was supposed to make you smarter. Next to the Hall of Tomorrow was an old-fashioned circus sideshow with exotic dancers, vaudeville comedians, magicians, and human oddities. There was even an antique roller coaster and a Ferris wheel.

Across from these was the Avenue of Electricity, which showed the miracles of electric power, including Captain Electro and the world’s largest light bulb. Then there were the Streets of Many Lands, where each street looked exactly like a little strip of Paris, Rome, Dublin, or faraway Bombay. And right in the middle of the clutter of circus clowns and robots was the Ape Pavilion.

Gertie, Buddy, and the chimps were a very popular attraction—even more popular than the world’s largest light bulb. They had their own stage where they would perform and a glassed-in viewing hall where people could watch them in their special cages.

At first everybody had a wonderful time. Especially the chimps. They loved to perform and were happy with the attention and applause. Maggie Klein did a ballet dance and walked on a tightrope with Skippy. Joe and Captain Jiggs played drums and the banjo and sometimes tap-danced while Buddy would sit in a big easy chair and pretend to read the paper.

Thousands of people came to see them, and millions more read about them in newspapers and magazines. They were famous. Even Franklin Roosevelt, the president of the United States, came to visit.

But after a while Buddy seemed to grow bored with all the hubbub.

“He’s unhappy,” Gertie told Bill. “For the first time since we’ve had him, he’s unhappy. I think he’s been cooped up in his cage for too long.”

The next day, when Gertie opened Buddy’s cage to check on him, Buddy jumped up suddenly and rushed for the door.

“Buddy, stop!” Gertie yelled, but he brushed right past her. Again she yelled for him to stop, but he didn’t listen. He knocked open the door of the pavilion and ran out into the crowded streets of the fair.

Gertie shouted for Bill and the others.

Buddy wasn’t hard to follow. Gertie could hear the screams of “Gorilla loose!”

She got a glimpse of Buddy as he headed toward the circus midway, but a frantic older gentleman grabbed her. “It’s King Kong, lady!” he bellowed. “Run! Run!”

Buddy galloped from place to place at the fair. He paid no attention to the startled, screaming people. Happy to be free, he began to tear away his beautiful clothes. There was something in the air that drew him on, something that smelled familiar.

As he rounded the Wonders of Bread pavilion, he saw what he’d been searching for: a cluster of trees and undergrowth surrounding the African Safari ride.

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