Freddy and the Perilous Adventure by Walter R. Brooks

Author:Walter R. Brooks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Overlook Press

Chapter 10

The tents of Boomschmidt’s Colossal and Unparalleled Circus had been pitched in the fair grounds just west of the village of South Pharisee. Freddy and Jinx saw the flags flying a long way off, and then as they came closer they saw the big tent with the little tents around it, and the red and gold wagons, and the crowds of people. They went up to the gate where, in a little booth, an ostrich was taking tickets.

There was one thing about Mr. Boomschmidt’s circus that was different from every other circus, and that was that the animals weren’t kept locked up in their cages, but were allowed to mingle with the customers, and even did a good deal of the work usually done by attendants. Naturally at first people were inclined to be a little nervous when they were shown to their seats by a hippopotamus, or when they went into a sideshow and found a full grown tiger looking over their shoulder. But as the Boomschmidt show came back to the same towns year after year, they got used to it and began to like it. And when mothers saw their children being chased by a leopard or a hyena, they didn’t scream and carry on, but just smiled happily and said: “What fun they have, to be sure!” It was a very good arrangement all around.

Freddy and Jinx got in line and moved up to the gate.

“Hello, Oscar. How are you?” said Freddy.

But the ostrich just looked at him and said: “Tickets, please.”

Freddy took off his hat. “Remember me now? I’m—”

“If you haven’t tickets,” said the ostrich in a snippy voice, “kindly stand to one side.”

Some of the people giggled, and a woman behind Freddy said: “Oh, move on; we can’t stand here all day!”

“But I want to see Mr. Boomschmidt,” Freddy persisted. “I’m a friend of his. I’m Freddy, the pig that—”

“I see you’re a pig,” said Oscar, “but Mr. Boomschmidt isn’t hiring any more talent. We have all the trained animals we need for the show. Now kindly step aside or I shall have to use force.”

Freddy was a good deal embarrassed at being obliged to hold up the line, and he was about to step aside and try one of the other entrances, when Jinx, who had been getting madder and madder, suddenly stuck his face into the ticket window.

“Oh,” he said, “so you want to pretend you don’t remember us, hey? Well, it’s all right with us. Why anybody’d want to know an overgrown biped with his knees turned backwards and a length of garden hose for a neck I don’t know. But you let us in to the boss, or I’ll come through this window and take those plumes of yours to trim my friend’s hat!”

“Well, really!” said the ostrich, and he started out of the booth.

“Come on,” said Freddy, taking hold of Jinx’ paw. For an ostrich can kick as hard as a mule. But at that moment a large lion came bounding up.

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