In a small town there lived a family of kittens. During the day they played in the yard, and in the evenings they read.
One day, whilst looking through picture books, they saw an unusual picture. It showed a large round building with a roof that stretched upwards and the word "Circus" written on it.
The kittens read this book and looked at all the pictures.
And they thought:
How wonderful it would be if the circus came to our town too.
Whilst this hadn't happened yet, they entertained themselves by pretending to be clowns. All audiences usually laugh when clowns fall. So they threw banana skins under their feet, slipped on them and fell down laughing.
They put a brush or mop under the door, and when it opened, everything would fall and make whoever entered the room laugh. They put on their father's hat or mother's beret, and because the hats were too big for them, they constantly fell over their eyes, covering them, and everyone laughed. The kittens even told their parents that they wanted to be circus performers.
And their father replied:
Before becoming circus performers, you need to study the subject thoroughly, look at books, read textbooks on circus arts. And you also need to train and practise a great deal.
After this conversation, some more time passed. And one day, whilst walking with their parents in the park, the kittens heard music coming from somewhere beyond the forest. They all went towards the sound. And, oh wonder!
On the park grounds, in a large clearing, stood a tent similar to the one they had seen in the pictures in their circus book. And right in front of them hung a colourful poster telling of the upcoming circus performance.
Wow! It's the circus!
Cried the kittens.
Hooray! The circus has arrived!
Mum, Dad, we want to go to the circus!
Wait.
Said Mother Cat.
First we need to buy tickets. And there's the ticket office! Look, what a long queue there is. Be patient.
The queue moved quickly. And soon the cat family had approached the coveted window.
Take your tickets.
Said Magpie the ticket seller.
Your row and seat are marked on them.
The cat family headed towards the colourful tent. There were many spectators inside. Everyone who wanted to see the performance had taken their seats. The lights on the stands went out, only the stage, which in the circus is called the "ring", was lit. Special circus music began to play, the hall fell silent and the performance began.
First onto the ring came the presenter — the ringmaster. He greeted the audience and announced the first performer. It was an Elephant.
He danced on a bright pedestal. It was amazing that such a huge animal could dance so gracefully, and on such a small area as the surface of the pedestal.
After finishing his dance, the Elephant bowed, raised his trunk and played it like a trumpet. All the spectators applauded him very loudly.
In place of the graceful Elephant came a striking Tiger — a bold and fearless beast. And his act was very difficult, bold and serious. The Tiger jumped through a ring of fire, everyone in the hall became frightened, but the Tiger was not afraid of anything. He performed his act with dignity and received loud applause for it.
And then funny clowns ran onto the ring. They did somersaults, stumbled, splashed water on themselves, fell… and did it so clumsily and funnily that all the stands with spectators shook with laughter.
Following the clowns, two Foxes came onto the circus ring. Smartly dressed and beautiful, they walked gracefully along a tightly stretched thin rope, using fans to help them maintain their balance. Then they climbed up to the very top of the circus dome on a trapeze. And the hall froze with delight and fear.
The Foxes swung on the trapeze easily and freely, like on a swing. As if not noticing that they were not on a children's playground, but high above the ground. From a distance it seemed that doing this was quite simple. But this act is not only beautiful, but also dangerous. And to perform so skilfully, you need to practise a lot.
The aerial gymnast Foxes bowed and everyone clapped their hands, expressing their delight at their act and talent in this way.
Then horses, camels, zebras and llamas performed. Their combined act amazed with the complexity of movements, the way they danced, galloped and walked around the ring. It was very beautiful and graceful.
Next onto the circus ring came a magician. Oh, what he did! He put individual scarves in a trunk and pulled out scarves tied together with strong knots. He blew up a white balloon and instead a white dove appeared.
He put a monkey in a bag and pulled out bananas. The magician put coloured ribbons in a metal tube and pulled out a coloured feather duster for dusting. The hall was delighted. And with prolonged applause, it did not want to let the magician go behind the curtain for a long time, asking for more.
In place of the talented magician came sea creatures. A sea lion played with a ball, and for this he was given fish to eat. And he also clapped his flippers like hands and also received a treat. A crocodile clicked its teeth and beat its tail, imitating playing percussion instruments.
The kittens watched the performance as if mesmerised.
But then the presenter came onto the ring again, called all the performers to take a bow and announced that the performance had ended. The audience applauded standing. And after prolonged and loud applause, they began to leave, reluctantly leaving the cosy circus tent.
The cat family also headed home. On the way they discussed what they had seen, expressing their delight and admiration for the skills and abilities of the performing artists.
The kittens had supper and went to bed. And at that time the animal performers were also having their supper after the performance they had given.
The horses and zebras were chewing tasty carrots and fragrant hay. The Elephant was enjoying juicy fruits, and the Tiger fresh meat, the sea lions were eating small sea fish, and the monkeys were peeling sweet bananas one after another. They had worked hard today, and their colleagues' appetites were also excellent. Having eaten their fill, the performers also wanted to sleep.
The Tiger roared and closed his eyes.
Sweet dreams, esteemed Tiger!
The Elephant trumpeted with his trunk again, like on a trumpet, and prepared to go to sleep.
Good night, Mr Elephant!
The seal did his last tricks, practising in his home, but his strength was leaving him and he began to fall asleep.
Sweet dreams, Seal!
The Foxes yawn, rub their eyes with their paws and also go to bed.
Sweet dreams, Foxes!
Well, there we are. Now everyone is asleep — both the animals and the kittens. Everyone had a busy and joyful day, gradually turning into evening. Now night had come. And tomorrow the sun will rise, morning will come and there will be a new day and new experiences.
Read fairy tales and the circus will surely come to you too with performers who will delight you incredibly with amazing acts.
