Colin Joins the Circus , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Merv Lambert

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25 pages

English

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How does Sammy save the day, when Colin loses the magic bookmark at the circus, and when they are all trapped in the lion's cage complete with lion? Who is haunted by the phantom skateboard? How does Colin turn a fearsome gang-leader into Mr. Wobbly Man? How does he save his family by going back to a witch-trial in the seventeenth century? What amazing discovery do Olivia and Colin make regarding their daughter, Baby Charlotte? Read on to find out...

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Children's

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Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	28 septembre 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781849896795
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Title Page

COLIN JOINS THE CIRCUS

By
Merv Lambert

Publisher Information

Colin Joins The Circus
Published in 2011 by
Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

The characters and situations in this book are entirely imaginary and bear no relation to any real person or actual happening.

Copyright © Merv Lambert

The right of Merv Lambert to be identified as author of this book has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Colin Joins the Circus

Olivia was away in Liverpool with Auntie Flo, who was moving house and wanted some help in choosing new curtains and furniture. M had also gone there to stay with Billy and Jilly.
When he was a very little boy, Colin had never really liked circuses. Now he was older his opinion was about to change. He had not intended to go there. He had felt tired after a long day working at the library, and just before he fell asleep in his armchair with Sammy on his lap he must have accidentally turned to the wrong page in his special book. The bookmark seemed to pulse an alarm, but too late! Colin, now wide awake, looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing a brightly coloured clown’s costume with abnormally long, floppy shoes, and then his hand brushed against a rather stiff wig of long red hair.
“Oh, no!” he gulped. “I don’t like this, Sammy.”
The little dog was already sniffing around a large pole holding up the enormous tent known as the Big Top.
As he gazed around his surroundings, Colin’s thoughts were interrupted by a shout.
“Hey you, Droopy!”
Colin turned, pointed at himself and mouthed the word, “Me?” He saw that the person shouting at him was a tall thin man, also dressed as a clown with a painted white face, but wearing a smarter kind of uniform with harlequin diamonds on it and topped off by a hat that resembled a small white traffic cone.
“Yes, you, Droopy! Get over here! You’re needed for the car rehearsal.”
Colin wandered over to where a young woman, also in a clown’s outfit like his own and with a clown’s painted face, had just pushed a very comical open-topped car into the circus ring.
She looked familiar and seemed friendly enough. Then Colin realised that it was his new wife Olivia.

“Hello. What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Liverpool with Auntie Flo.”
Well, I’m not. We’re here to stand in for my cousin Suzanna and her boyfriend.”
Sammy licked Olivia’s hand
“Is he part of the act?” asked Colin.
“I don’t see why not. Listen carefully though. We’ve got a lot to do ready for tonight’s show. First you come in, flop around looking daft, do a funny run to the car, and, as I drive it into the ring, you dive into the back. I drive round and then you pick up that bucket over there. You pretend to throw water out of it onto the audience in the nearest seats, but they only get covered in stars made out of glitter paper. Then I drive round to that pretend petrol-pump and Bozo - that’s Suzanna’s brother by the way, who was shouting at you - he threatens to empty a bucket over you. You pretend to crease up laughing and point at the bucket you emptied over there, showing everyone that you will be doused in paper stars…but…and it is a big but…while I ‘m pretending to fill the car with petrol, you keep on laughing and pointing at the buckets and Bozo until he tips his bucket over you. I have to warn you. It’ll be real water in his bucket! You collapse into the car again looking amazed and horrified. We drive out and swerve round the lion-tamer’s cage as it is being driven into the ring.”
“Oh,” said Colin. “As simple as that!”
“Yes,” smiled Olivia. “Only beware of Bozo. His real name is Xristope and he doesn’t like you. He doesn’t like me, or even Suzanna his sister. He doesn’t like anyone except himself.”
“Great!” groaned Colin. “What a charmer!” He patted his little dog. “Never mind, Sammy boy, we’ll give it a go, eh?” Throwing out his chest dramatically he announced, “Let the rehearsal commence!”
“Oi!” came a voice from outside the ring. “ I give the orders round here!” It was Bozo or Xristophe, Suzanna’s nasty big brother. He strode into the ring and stood next to the petrol-pump. “Get on with it then!”

The next forty-five minutes passed very quickly for Colin, as they practised the clown act several times, and, fortunately for Colin, without any water. He had decided to seal the bookmark in a small, clear plastic bag to protect it from the water in Bozo’s bucket.
By now Colin was smiling. He had really enjoyed being a clown, and Sammy had loved riding around in the noisy little car. He gave a happy bark. Colin’s face fell at the extremely grudging praise he received from Bozo.
“Well, it’ll have to do, I suppose. Don’t forget to play the audience for laughs, Droopy. In our business timing is everything. Don’t be too pleased with yourself either. The dog did better than you!”
“Yes,” chuckled Colin. “He usually does!”
“Come on, Colin. Don’t take any notice of him.” Olivia was pulling him by the arm. “Let’s go and eat at the staff café. It’s not a café really, just a large caravan. And don’t worry about Bozo Bonehead. He’s always like that, but beware! Maybe his bite is worse than his bark! Remember, I know a little about fairs and circuses.”
“What do you mean?” asked Colin, as he sat down at one of the tables in front of a large caravan parked on the grass of a local park. He put a bowl of water down on the ground for Sammy.
“Bozo wants the circus all for himself. The owner, Uncle Leo, is retiring. Bozo resents having a sister to share it all with.”
“Has he tried any dirty tricks to get her out of the way?”
“Not so far, but I wouldn’t put it past him. I’m keeping my eyes open. Oh, and I think you make a very funny clown.”
“Thank you, my lady,” grinned Colin. He stood and gave a little bow.
As they tucked into some delicious circus hamburgers, Olivia told him that the circus was a sell-out for that night’s performance, and accordingly later that evening Colin was not surprised to see all the people with eager faces streaming into the big top to take their seats.
It was not long before the ringmaster, Suzanna and Xristophe’s father, who was also of course Olivia’s Uncle Leo, a tubby, smiling little man, wearing a shiny top-hat, introduced the first act, which was a group of young Ukranian men and women riders, who put their superb horses through their paces.
Then it was Olivia and Colin’s turn to enter the ring. Bozo was already there next to the petrol-pump, and with his hands on his hips he frowned at everything they did. First Colin ran into the ring and deliberately tripped over his enormously long shoes and fell down. All the children in the audience laughed and also most of the adults.
Bang! Bang! In came the noisy little clown car with Olivia driving and Sammy sitting proudly in the front passenger seat. He drew squeals of delight from the small children watching. Olivia pretended to drive the car at Colin, who flopped over the back of it into the rear seat. Bozo was still glaring angrily. Olivia stopped the car on the side of the ring opposite the entrance, so that Colin could step out and pick up his bucket. He was enjoying this immensely. He stepped up on to the low ledge that ran around the ring. He pretended to wobble and nearly fell a couple of times, as he walked carefully along it. Each time there were hoots of laughter. Then he pretended to aim his bucket at a big man seated in the second row, made a show of being frightened, turned round and danced along the ledge with his clown’s shoes flapping noisily. He came to a young couple in the second row, who were holding hands and smiling happily. The girl’s face, however, suddenly registered alarm, for she thought she was about to be drenched, but Colin turned once more neatly around and he emptied his bucket of shiny, spangled paper stars over a small girl and boy sitting with their parents in the front row. The kiddies giggled in delight, trying to catch in their small fists the tiny, glittering paper stars, as they floated and fluttered towards the ground. The audience roared their approval and clapped. Meanwhile Olivia had driven the clown car to the pretend petrol-pump and was making a great play of filling its tank. As Colin made his way towards the pump, Bozo continued to glare. He was wearing white gloves to match his white hat. Turning up his nose disdainfully, he lifted up another, much bigger bucket and raised his eyebrows at Colin, who immediately pointed one index finger at it, and laughing exaggeratedly, kept pointing from his own bucket to the one held by Bozo. He milked the audience’s laughter with this. The children were squealing with glee. Colin bent forward at the waist to emphasise how funny he thought it was that the bigger bucket was full of paper stars. As he brought his head up, Bozo, with a spiteful, beaming grin tipped his half-full bucket of extremely cold water over him. It almost took Colin’s breath away, and the bookmark seemed to flutter briefly in his top pocket. However, he remembered his next move, which was to flop into the back seat of the car again, as Olivia drove it out of the ring.
Unfortunately the person driving the lion-tamer’s cage into the ring at that very moment had done so