The Lion Tamer's Assistant by Solet Scheeres

Author:Solet Scheeres
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Published: 2022-03-30T15:06:04+00:00

Roberto started swinging from the other side. He let go and for a few seconds it really did look as if he were flying. Then he grabbed his father’s hands. They swung through the air together. One, two, three times, and then Roberto let go again. He did a somersault in the air and grabbed for his own swing again, but he missed and fell heavily into the net below.

From high up near the ceiling Papa Wallenda shouted something angrily. My hands were drenched in sweat. I had never seen anything like it. Roberto Wallenda hadn’t lied. He really could fly! He jumped out of the net and climbed back up the ladder. Again and again they practised their routine while my eyelids got heavier and heavier.

“Coetzee, wake up and come help us sweep the ring,” Titto’s voice woke me. Still groggy from sleep, I climbed over the edge of the ring.

“No!” Francesco called crossly. “You must pay more attention, child. Always walk around. You must always enter the ring through the tunnel. Listen for a change!” I was too sleepy to answer back so I just walked around quietly. Tickey showed me how to sweep a pattern in the sawdust in the ring. It was hard at first, but eventually I got the hang of it.

“There is a bucket still lying on the other side of the ring,” Titto said to me. “Fetch it for us quickly.”

I had to walk over the pattern that we had just carefully made in the sawdust to get to the bucket.

“No!” Titto roared. He had quite a big voice for such a small man. “Don’t you ever learn, child? It is bad luck to walk through the ring once it’s been swept. Something terrible will happen to us now!”

When I finally got outside Rosalita was sitting next to the fire with some of the men who had come in the truck. Behind the fire were some tattered tents and the wagon in which we travelled.

“It is such a lovely evening,” said Rosalita. “Zuzu says the rain is far away and that the fire will burn through the night. I think you can sleep outside with him and Baloi tonight.” She passed me a tin plate with hot porridge and gravy. “But first you must eat. Tomorrow you can go with the men and the elephants to wash.”

Wash! I hadn’t thought about that. How was I going to wash with a bunch of grown men in a river?

The porridge was delicious and the sauce even more so. I would deal with the washing dilemma in the morning. It didn’t take me long to clean my plate. I could hear my mother’s voice telling me not to attack my food like a hungry animal, while my father looked at me disapprovingly.

My stomach was full and warm. Exhaustion washed over me and I gave my empty plate back to Rosalita. She passed me a grey blanket and a small, hard, straw pillow. Baloi came walking towards us with a guitar.

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