| A TWICE WEEKLY SERIAL OF BIG TOP FOLK BY
SIMON PARKE |
|
EPISODE 19
ANIMALS AND ACROBATS
"I just think horses are the soul of the circus," said Daisy.
There is a troupe meeting in the ring the following morning, and while waiting for Burt, the old chestnut of circus animals has arisen again.
"Horses the soul of the circus?" says Davido incredulously. "Do us a favour, Daisy! We haven't moved on since Roman times!"
"Least they don't get killed all the time by gladiators!" says Young Lee.
"You can't get killed 'all the time'," says Davido. "You can only be killed once, as far as I know."
"Well, ours don't get killed at all."
"Oh no, we don't kill the animals anymore – we just shut them up for life!"
"Every creature has to sleep somewhere," says Daisy. "Even you're shut up in a trailer every night."
"My choice," says Davido.
"But not Samantha's, surely?" asks Scuttle, cackling.
The Great Davido and Samantha have become an item of late; though nothing is definite.
"You'll have to ask her," says Davido. "She doesn't seem to mind!"
"We'll need to untie her first!"
"Could I just say that I care," says Georgio, who had been doing his bending exercises, but half-listening.
"About what?" asks Ringo.
"Er – about the animals," says Georgio. "I really care about the animals; as does Davido."
"Well, I'm sure we all care about the animals," says Ringo.
"Yes, but I – we – really care about them. That is, we're more caring."
"I don't think you're more caring than Daisy," says Ted.
"And by the way," says Georgio, "Grouse shooting is not uncaring."
This comment rather comes from nowhere, stopping conversation; at which point Burt arrives.
"What's happened?" he asks, seeing a circle of puzzled faces.
"Georgio has just been explaining the kindness of the grouse shoot," says Ringo.
"And advocating letting the circus animals go," adds Daisy.
"Born free!" says Georgio.
"Born yesterday, more like," says Burt. "Get rid of the animals? We have seats to fill."
"The Cirque du Soleil seem to manage without them," says Davido.
"The Cirque du Soleil isn't grass roots circus. It's an acrobatic show."
"What's not to like?!" says Davido, before being goosed by everyone else. Acrobats do tend to have a rather high opinion of themselves...
More clowning around |
