The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1876-02-18
Young Folks.
JlM'S CIRCUS.
tFrom the N. Y. Trlbune.t

w nat loT sdlu JlHl
"Circuses is such a awful wicked thing"
replied Mabel. "Men just stand on their
heads and ride horseback without sitting
down, and it costs 20 cents too"
suppose if you got in without paying
anything, it wouldn't be so wicked, would
it9" said jim
81 don't know, p'raps that is it," replied
Mabel, "only thought it was the horses
with nothing on 'em, and the monkeys and
things"
"First." said Jim, 81 suppose we shall
have to choose a President"
"Are you sure circuses have Residents Y''
said little boy who couldn't sound his
p's.
"Of course" said jim, and as they all
voted for him, he was elected without much
trouble.
"Well, we've got to have a tent anyway,
said Mabel, "cause saw it in the picture
great white tent that looked like a tre-
nendous big umbrella made out of sheets
or something"
Many and varied were the plans suggested
for this tent, but the President finally set
tied the matter by ordering them all into the
woodshed, where they soon cleared away the
chips, and had plenty of room for the per-
formance.
81 tell you what" said Mabel, 81 will be
the whale, and sit ON this little woodpile
and bark"
"Now see here, Mabel Peters, Pm Presi-
dent, and don't want whale at all, and if
/ did / wouldn't let him bark, because whales
don't bark"
"What do they do then ?" asked Mabel.
''They only upset boats with their tails, u
said Jim.
"Then tell you what" said Mabel, "you
let Tommy Mace be the boat, and I'll upset
him see if DON'T
MABEL" said the President sternly, "ii
you don't stop talking at once, 1 shall make
you be audience" but 1 don't believe she
would have stopped if the log on which she
was sitting hadn't rolled over and tumbled
her up so that she had to go into the house
for clean apron.
81 suppose" said the President, "that the
first thing to do now is to choose a monkey,
Has any one here ever been a monkey be-
fore?"
ri never have been one," said little fell
low with cheeks as red as sunset, shut can
soon learn, guess. Is it easy ?"
"Why, all you have to do," said the Pres
ident, sis to sort of run round"
'Don't monkeys ever say anything" asked
the red.cheeked boy. But the President
couldn't tell him, and so it was decided that
he should say, 'T'm monkey, Pm monk
ey," once every minute to distinguish him
from the other animals.
"Well, if can't be whale" said Mabel
who had just returned, "I'm going to be a
polar bear, or shan't play. Polar bears is
nice and soft. What do they do?"
"They don't do anything all day, but just
sit on the ice and shiver," said the Presi-
dent.
'Then 1 won't be him." said Mabel
"What is some real nice respectable animal
that does nothing but eat candy all the time?
I'll bs him."
''And l, and /, and Ip' shouted all the
little girls, and about half the boys.
1t was some time before the list of animals
was complete, and I don't believe Barnum
himself ever had such collection in his
life
SIS there any one here who can stand on
his head ?" asked the President.
Two small boys, with very big heads, held
up their hands.
GAS the performance is about to begin,"
said the President, ''any animal except the
monkey, who speaks word till he's spoken
to, will be put into the corner"
So the two little boys with the big heads
came forward and tried to stand on 'em,
They tumbled this way and that, and dug
their fingers into the dirt, and kicked their
toes SO hard that they went completely
over
81 guess their heads amt fiat enough on
top" said Mabel.
"The next time that animal speaks without
permission she will be severely punished"
said the President.
Either the heads were too big for the
boys, or the boys too small for the heads, l
don't know which, but it was evident from
the first that they couldn't stand on them,
and they withdrew from the arena, after
having worked so faithfully that their col.
lars came off
"The next thing, said the President, twill
be-
'The next thing" interrupted Mabel
''why, they haven't done that yet. Want tC
see me do it?"
''Mabel Peters, go this minute and stant
in the corner by that black hear, anC
don't you whisper to him either" said thu
President.
So Mabel went and stood in the corner
The next thing proved to be a horse rae,
between four boys, and was so exciting tina
the entire collection of animals got up anC
clapped their hands, and shouted so louC
that Bridget the cross cook, came out anC
boxed one of the horses ears, and the onll
way they could console him was to say tina
he had won the race, which wasn't so at all
but as the three horses ahead of him agreed
to it, it was all right
SIS there any one here, "sad the President
"who has good strong patches Oh the knee
of his pantaloons y
A little boy got down from the wood-p
and came forward.
"Oh, what splendid big patches" sal,
Mabel. "If was boy it seems to me
should have pantaloons with patches jus
like those. Wouldn't your" she whispere,
to the black bear. But the black bear didn'
answer. He had patches too, but the
weren't ON his knees, and he didn't care t
continue the subject.
''My mother said that these are the las
i IL 4, L..