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"Mac! Mac! The circus is coming to
town again!" Ian shouted as he climbed the tree. "Mac! Did you hear me?"
Mac was lying, curled up in a ball,
sleeping soundly. "What did you say?" he yawned.
"Wake up. I said the circus is
coming to town. Remember when we took Molly to the fair? That was fun,
wasn’t it? Well, this will be even more fun!" Ian reminded.
Mac sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Just how do you know the circus is coming to town?"
"There are signs nailed to the trees
at the edge of the woods. One is a big poster with a picture of a tiger on
it. Another poster has clowns on it. I love clowns, don’t you?" Ian
giggled.
"Tigers? Clowns? Sounds like a
circus to me. When will it be in town?" Mac asked.
"Tomorrow! I had a wee run into town
and the circus people are already there. They are setting up the big tent
and all the rides. There are cages with the tigers, lots of dogs and even
some big elephants. Wouldn’t it be fun to ride on an elephant?" Ian
laughed.
"Settle down, Ian. All right, we’ll
go to the circus!" Mac said.
"Maybe we should go over there now
and watch what’s going on! It’s exciting seeing all the animals in their
cages. Maybe we’ll see a clown too. Can we go, Mac? Can we?" Ian pleaded.
"Let me find something to eat and
then we’ll head that way. I think we should stay out of the way though,
for now," Mac warned. The two raccoons climbed down the tree and Mac
looked for some nuts and berries. He popped them into his mouth and
mumbled, "Let’s go."
They could hear the noise and
commotion of the circus from the edge of town. "There’s the tent! It’s up
already!" Ian said, delighted. "Oh, there’s the ferris wheel and the
spinning ride. I don’t like spinning rides, do you?"
"Not particularly, however, I do
like the ferris wheel. Maybe we can have a go on that later," Mac said. He
was starting to get excited too.
They were very close to the circus
grounds now and hid behind a large rhododendron bush. "Shhhhhh. Let’s do
this quietly," Mac urged. "I see the cages. There’s the tiger. It looks
mean and hungry."
Just then two men came walking out
of a small trailer. "What do you mean the dogs can’t perform? What’s the
problem here? You know the show must go on!" It was the Circus Master
speaking.
"The dogs are not well. They must
have had some bad food," the dog trainer said.
"The show must go on. What will we
do now? We need some small animals to do the tricks. All these worries are
giving me a headache," the Circus Master said. He turned around and went
into his trailer and slammed the door shut behind him. The dog trainer
walked away.
"Ian, did you hear that? The dogs
are sick. They need small animals. We’re small animals. I think we could
handle some simple tricks. Let’s knock on the Circus Master’s door and see
what he thinks," Mac suggested.
"Mac! Are you serious? We can really
be in the circus? Oh, what fun!" Ian giggled.
The raccoons crept out of the bushes
and stood near the front door of the trailer. The Circus Master opened the
door when he heard noises. "What’s this? Raccoons?" Ian and Mac stood
quietly, staring up at the man. "Say, how’d you lads like a wee job for a
day or two?" Ian and Mac nodded. The Circus Master took them over to the
wardrobe trailer. "Fit them with tutus. They’re taking the dog’s place.
Oh, and make sure they get all the peanuts and popcorn they want."
Ian and Mac licked their lips.
"Come on, lads. Tutus? I’m surprised
you went along with wearing them," she said, smiling at the raccoons.
"What’s a tutu?" Ian asked Mac when
the wardrobe lady crossed the room.
"I don’t know. It must be a costume
of some kind. Look at all the clothes!" Mac answered.
The lady came back in with two pink,
frilly tutus. "Here you go, lads. Slip them on. I’ll be back in a few
minutes." She left them alone.
Mac held the pink tutu up. "What is
this? I’m not wearing a pink, lacy tutu. Look how frilly it is."
Ian held his up. "Are they crazy?
I’m not wearing it either." Hesitating, he thought for a moment, "but if
we don’t wear it, then we don’t get peanuts and popcorn. I’m hungry. I
think maybe we should cooperate. It’s only for a short while, after all."
The lady came back in carrying a
large bag filled with peanuts. She dumped them on the ground. "Here you
are, lads. Your reward for wearing the outfits," she smiled.
"Look at all those peanuts! Yikes!
There are hundreds of them. Come on, Mac. We’ve got to wear the costumes,"
Ian begged.
"Och, all right, but only for a wee
while," Mac agreed.
The raccoons slipped the tutus on.
Ian began to giggle when he saw Mac. "You look ridiculous. You look like a
bag of pink cotton candy. It’s way too tight on you and look how your tail
sticks out. Hee hee hee hee."
"You’re no radiant beauty yourself,
Ian. If you think I look bad, you should look at yourself in the mirror.
You look like a marshmallow." Mac laughed and laughed. "I think I’ll have
a few peanuts now," he said and nibbled a few.
The lady came back into the room
again. "Lads, the circus isn’t till tomorrow, but you can stay here with
us tonight. Take off the costumes and then come outside. I’ve got to take
you over to your trainer, Jock. He’s got a few tricks for you to learn."
She went outside.
Ian and Mac slipped off their tutus
and tossed them on top of the drawers. "I’m glad to get out of that!" Mac
said. He and Ian grabbed a handful of peanuts and then went outside.
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