The Curly-Haired Hen | Page 9

men with
goitres, men covered with feathers, men covered with fur,--in fact, men
of every possible kind, size, and land,--men to suit every possible taste.
All the most curious specimens were represented. Besides these there
was a colossal menagerie. In it there were more than twenty elephants,
giraffes, hippopotami, rhinoceroses, zebras, dromedaries, camels, and
the rarest kinds of antelopes. Then came the reptiles,--from the boa
constrictor, who was ten yards long, to the smallest blind-worm,
amongst them some of the most dangerous kinds. Crocodiles twenty
feet long, monstrous toads, tortoises as big as donkeys. Then there were
the wild beasts too. Lions from Abyssinia, from Atlas, tigers from
Bengal, from Persia, jaguars, panthers, leopards, all the big cat family,
lynx, onca, tiger cat. Bears of all kinds, grizzly, grey, black, and white.
Then came wolves, foxes, coyotes, in fact the whole series of the dog
tribe with every possible domestic variety.

In little barred cages was a collection of smaller carnivorous animals
and rodents. In a huge room all the monkeys from the big gorilla to the
minute ouistiti or witsit, were installed; they squabbled, pulled one
another's tails, bit one another, uttered piercing cries. There were
constant battles going on in that corner.
Then in an immense aviary were all the birds of creation, divided into
classes, from the humming-bird, the size of a hornet, to the ostrich.
This was, to tell the truth, the part that interested Mother Etienne most
of all. She was more used to creatures of this kind, they reminded her
of her beloved poultry-yard. In spite of the signs put up everywhere,
"Do not feed the animals," the good woman who had purposely filled
her basket with cakes threw them in indiscriminately. There were
enough for all the animals she passed. First she threw some to the lions.
The lions took no notice, at which she was most surprised. Her idea in
offering the cakes was to see if the animals were hungry and to find out
that way how they were treated.
Miss Booum, who was acting as her guide, was much amused at her
astonishment and could not resist saying:
"Madame, to offer a cream bun to a tiger is like offering a beef-steak to
an elephant. Just keep your cakes for the ostriches, they are so greedy
that they will eat stones. If they were to keep a hardware store they
would be certain to eat up their stock."
Pleased at this permission, when she came to the ostriches, Mother
Etienne offered them a cake, but they looked down at it very haughtily
and suspiciously. From this she concluded that even those birds were so
well-fed that they were not hungry and felt quite satisfied about
Yollande.
After half an hour's walk through the circus, having visited every
corner of it, they went towards the manager's house. There five o'clock
tea was served. Mother Etienne, quite at ease, did honour to the lunch
so graciously provided, and after thanking Miss Booum gratefully, she
kissed Yollande very tenderly and prepared to return to the farm.

At a sign from the young American girl, a stout piebald pony,
harnessed to a trap, was led forward by a groom.
"That is my own carriage and my horse Charlie, which you can drive
yourself, Madame, if you like. He is quick and safe, you may be sure of
that. You will be at home again in less time than it took to come here
with four horses. Farewell, dear Madame, a pleasant drive. Remember
that we expect you tomorrow for the afternoon performance, and that
nice little maid of yours too. Your seats will be reserved."
The two women shook hands cordially, Mother Etienne got into the
carriage, and took the reins. The pony feeling a hand used to driving,
set off at a quick trot, then warming to his work flew over the ground.
He had the paces of a big horse and had to be kept well in hand.
Mother Etienne soon reached home delighted with her adventure. She
was assailed by questions from Germaine and Petit-Jacques. They sat
there drinking in her words. Mother Etienne told them as best she could
all that had happened and all that she had seen in the most secret wings
of the gigantic circus. Germaine in her excitement was forgetful enough
to let the soup boil over and the roast burn, but all the same they dined
gaily. There were still plenty of questions to be asked. Mother Etienne
had to go over every detail and even to tell some stories over again.
They went on talking far into the night--so charmed were the listeners
at the recital.
Nobody thought of going to bed. Germaine was longing for the morrow,
she was so anxious to see for herself