and wearing a bright red jacket, red pants, and a white top hat walked out. Behind him were the clowns. One was juggling as he walked. Another danced in with a mop. There were clowns on stilts, one in a baby carriage, and another clown in a tiny car that he drove backwards around the ring.
“Look,” Eric said to Cam. “Here come the horses.”
“And here comes the Elkans Troupe,” Cam said.
There were elephants, monkeys, bears, and camels in the parade. Small dogs wearing clown hats and little skirts ran out. Circus men and women in fancy costumes smiled and waved.
“Look, here comes the circus fat lady,” Cam said.
Aunt Molly laughed and said, “She looks more like a thin lady wearing lots of padding.”
Just as the parade was ending, the ringmaster called out, “I direct your eyes now to the wire high above you. We proudly present the Bailor Brothers!”
“I can’t look,” Aunt Molly said, and covered her eyes.
Two men in bright yellow costumes walked slowly across the high wire. They were holding long poles to help them keep their balance. When they got to the platform at the other end of the wire, the men picked up a few wooden clubs. Then they walked back onto the wire.
“What’s happening now?” Aunt Molly asked.
“They’re juggling,” Cam said.
“And it’s not scary,” Eric said. “The wire isn’t even shaking, and anyway, there’s a safety net.”
In the next acts tigers leaped through burning hoops, and elephants stood on their hind legs. Bears danced and rode motorcycles. The Elkans Troupe of acrobats built a human pyramid. The trapeze artists flew from one swing to the next, spinning and turning as they flew. Then a big cannon was rolled out.
“This is the last act before the intermission,” Cam said.
The music stopped. A man dressed in silver walked out. He climbed to the top of a ‘platform near the mouth of the cannon and waited.
“And now,” the ringmaster announced, “the Jack Wally Circus is proud to present Zanger, the Human Cannonball.”
Aunt Molly said, “I don’t want to see this,” and she closed her eyes again.
The man in silver put on a helmet. He slid down the mouth of the cannon. Someone lit a string at the base of the cannon. There was a loud bang and lots of smoke as the Human Cannonball flew into a net at the other end of the arena.
The people in the audience clapped. Cam, Eric, and many others stood up and cheered. Aunt Molly opened her eyes. When she saw the Human Cannonball climb out of the net, she clapped, too.
The ceiling lights went on. People hurried from their seats toward the lobby. Some children cried. Some asked for ice cream, soda, popcorn, and cotton candy.
Cam, Eric, and Aunt Molly let a small girl and her mother move by. After they passed, Aunt Molly looked on her seat and on the floor in front of her.
“What are you looking for?” Cam asked.
“My handbag. I forgot where I put it.”
Cam reached under Aunt Molly’s seat and took out the handbag. Aunt Molly opened it and said, “Let me give you money so you can buy some ice cream or cotton candy.”
Aunt Molly sat down. She took a scarf, a few gloves, a hairbrush, and an old woolen sock from her handbag. She put those things on her lap and looked inside her bag again. Then she said, “I had my wallet when I bought the tickets. Now I can’t find it.”
Cam searched through the pockets on the side of the handbag and the ones in Aunt Molly’s coat. Eric looked on the floor. But the wallet was gone.
Chapter Three
Aunt Molly put the scarf, gloves, hairbrush, and woolen sock back into her handbag. Then she said, “Maybe I left the wallet at the ticket booth. Or maybe the Lost and Found has it.”
“When Aunt Molly took me to the zoo,” Cam told Eric, “she lost her sweater. We found one of the monkeys wearing it.”
Aunt Molly said, “I do seem to lose things. Once, while I was reading in the library, I took my shoes off. I didn’t remember them until I stepped
“Look,” Eric said to Cam. “Here come the horses.”
“And here comes the Elkans Troupe,” Cam said.
There were elephants, monkeys, bears, and camels in the parade. Small dogs wearing clown hats and little skirts ran out. Circus men and women in fancy costumes smiled and waved.
“Look, here comes the circus fat lady,” Cam said.
Aunt Molly laughed and said, “She looks more like a thin lady wearing lots of padding.”
Just as the parade was ending, the ringmaster called out, “I direct your eyes now to the wire high above you. We proudly present the Bailor Brothers!”
“I can’t look,” Aunt Molly said, and covered her eyes.
Two men in bright yellow costumes walked slowly across the high wire. They were holding long poles to help them keep their balance. When they got to the platform at the other end of the wire, the men picked up a few wooden clubs. Then they walked back onto the wire.
“What’s happening now?” Aunt Molly asked.
“They’re juggling,” Cam said.
“And it’s not scary,” Eric said. “The wire isn’t even shaking, and anyway, there’s a safety net.”
In the next acts tigers leaped through burning hoops, and elephants stood on their hind legs. Bears danced and rode motorcycles. The Elkans Troupe of acrobats built a human pyramid. The trapeze artists flew from one swing to the next, spinning and turning as they flew. Then a big cannon was rolled out.
“This is the last act before the intermission,” Cam said.
The music stopped. A man dressed in silver walked out. He climbed to the top of a ‘platform near the mouth of the cannon and waited.
“And now,” the ringmaster announced, “the Jack Wally Circus is proud to present Zanger, the Human Cannonball.”
Aunt Molly said, “I don’t want to see this,” and she closed her eyes again.
The man in silver put on a helmet. He slid down the mouth of the cannon. Someone lit a string at the base of the cannon. There was a loud bang and lots of smoke as the Human Cannonball flew into a net at the other end of the arena.
The people in the audience clapped. Cam, Eric, and many others stood up and cheered. Aunt Molly opened her eyes. When she saw the Human Cannonball climb out of the net, she clapped, too.
The ceiling lights went on. People hurried from their seats toward the lobby. Some children cried. Some asked for ice cream, soda, popcorn, and cotton candy.
Cam, Eric, and Aunt Molly let a small girl and her mother move by. After they passed, Aunt Molly looked on her seat and on the floor in front of her.
“What are you looking for?” Cam asked.
“My handbag. I forgot where I put it.”
Cam reached under Aunt Molly’s seat and took out the handbag. Aunt Molly opened it and said, “Let me give you money so you can buy some ice cream or cotton candy.”
Aunt Molly sat down. She took a scarf, a few gloves, a hairbrush, and an old woolen sock from her handbag. She put those things on her lap and looked inside her bag again. Then she said, “I had my wallet when I bought the tickets. Now I can’t find it.”
Cam searched through the pockets on the side of the handbag and the ones in Aunt Molly’s coat. Eric looked on the floor. But the wallet was gone.
Chapter Three
Aunt Molly put the scarf, gloves, hairbrush, and woolen sock back into her handbag. Then she said, “Maybe I left the wallet at the ticket booth. Or maybe the Lost and Found has it.”
“When Aunt Molly took me to the zoo,” Cam told Eric, “she lost her sweater. We found one of the monkeys wearing it.”
Aunt Molly said, “I do seem to lose things. Once, while I was reading in the library, I took my shoes off. I didn’t remember them until I stepped
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