Christmas at the Circus

[fleetsparrow]

12/23/11

Christmas, Dick decided, was the most exciting time of the year. It always meant visiting with his dad’s family and traveling to new and exciting places. This Christmas, however, was the best because, not only was his blood family close, but he was going to spend the whole time with some of his circus family, too. Laughing hard and loud, Dick skipped through the camp, unable to contain his joy.

The trailers and wagons had been pulled together to make a large campground with the animal cages near the back. As Dick twirled and flipped his way through camp, reveling in the whirl of color the decorations made, he felt something grab him and hoist him up in the air. The young boy squealed with laughter as he was brought eye-level with his abductor.

“Hi, Zitka!”

The elephant flapped her ears and lifted him higher.

“No, Zitka, I’m not flying today.”

Zitka bounced him slightly before tossing him in the air. Dick twisted and spun once before straightening himself and letting Zitka catch him right-side-up this time.

“Special for you, Zitka.”

She lowered him to the ground and the two started wandering up to the camp. Zitka touched her trunk to one of the strands of garland wrapped around a trailer and trumpeted slightly, looking down at Dick.

“Do you want some garland, Zitka?”

Zitka nodded and nudged him with her trunk. Dick hugged her quickly.

“I’ll go get you some!” Dick tore off through the camp, heading for his parents’ trailer. As he approached, he heard his mother laugh.

“I will never understand how someone so at home hundreds of feet in the air can’t manage a simple ladder.”

“Mary, those are two completely different things. The trapeze was made to let us fly; the ladder was made to kill you.”

Mary laughed again, playfully swatting her husband on the leg. Dick came running up to her, talking a mile a minute. She knelt down and put her hands on his shoulders to keep him still.

“Calm down, little one. What do you want with Zitka?”

“I’m decorating her! She wants to look pretty for Christmas, so I want some garland and lights and wreaths and ornaments and blankets and paper and bows and ribbons and–”

“Whoa, there, kiddo,” John said, easily jumping down from the ladder. “Have you told Albie about this?”

“No...but I’m sure he won’t mind! Zitka will be so pretty and she’s so sad she doesn’t have any decorations and I’m sure he’ll say I can, can I use some of ours, please, oh please, oh please?”

Mary laughed and looked up at John.

“Well, love? Feel up to decorating an elephant?”

“If it keeps me far away from that ladder, I’ll decorate anything.”

“I’ll go tell Albie what’s going on. Take Dick and carry down some of the boxes.”

“Yes, ma’am. Come on, kid, we’ve got an elephant to decorate!”

Dick jumped and hugged his parents tightly before racing inside to grab a box of decorations. This was going to be the best Christmas ever!