In Search of Goliathus Hercules (10 page)

Maestro Antonio rummaged in his trunk and then pulled out a matchbox. Henri opened it and saw two rather groggy-looking fleas.

“Now, be careful with them, Henri.”

“Yes, sir, I mean…Tony.” Henri took the new recruits back to the glass case and dumped them out of the matchbox. He could see they were exhausted and obviously famished. Pulling out his penknife, he made a small incision in his left thumb and squeezed out two drops of blood to feed them.

“Hello. Welcome to Maestro Antonio’s Amazing Flying Flea Circus. My name is Henri and I’m, um…the trainer.”

“I’m Pedro, and this is Pablo,” said one of the fleas.

“Gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You have arrived at precisely the right time to audition for our world-renowned circus.”

“What’s an audition?” asked Pedro.

“What’s a circus?” asked Pablo.

So much for human fleas being bright, thought Henri. “A circus is a performance in which fleas, in this particular case, perform tricks. An audition is a kind of test in which we see if you are good enough to perform with the troop.”

“Oh,” said Pedro. “No, I don’t think I want an audition.”

“Me neither,” said Pablo. “It sounds like a lot of work.”

Henri had not anticipated this response. He looked at the other fleas, but of course they were too small so he couldn’t read their expressions. He decided to try another tactic. “Pedro, Pablo, did you enjoy that meal you just had?”

“Sure did. Could do with some more.”

“Well, let me tell you that all working fleas receive a hearty meal after each performance. And, um…those fleas who choose not to perform are asked to leave and, of course, are not entitled to partake in the rewards that come with the job.”

“Hmm…I changed my mind,” said Pedro.

“Me too,” said Pablo. “I want an audition.”

And with that, Pablo and Pedro auditioned successfully and became the newest members of the flea circus. The veteran fleas began to show them the basics; however, Henri could not imagine either of them taking over Sophia’s balancing act. As he sat watching them practice, he heard a small voice. It was Maria.

“Henri, may I offer a suggestion?” she whispered.

“Of course,” said Henri.

“Well, this may not sound very good, but…generally speaking, I think that you will find that female fleas are better performers. I’m not sure why. I suppose we love to jump. I think that you’ll discover that the boys are, um, a bit lazy, and I mean no disrespect to Fabio, Umberto, and Giovanni, but it’s we girls who carry the show.”

“Thank you, Maria. Pedro and Pablo appear to be proof of your point,” Henri replied. He watched Pedro make a leap for the moving chariot and miss because his jump was too short.

P
roblems! Why were there so many problems? Henri decided to write them down on paper and put them in order according to urgency:

Replace Pedro and Pablo. They are terrible!

Find something Pedro and Pablo can do without injuring themselves or anyone else.

After Henri had written these down, he realized that everything pointed to the fact that he needed not just more fleas—he needed
talented
ones.

Despite nearly a week of training, neither could balance on the ball, and one night they almost ruined the chariot act when Pablo got himself wedged in the spokes of one of the wheels. The chariot had come to a grinding halt, causing Giovanni to crash and Umberto to tumble out, head over heels. Still, as a veteran of the flea circus, Umberto did manage to make it look like a planned tumbling routine, so that the audience didn’t seem to recognize that this was a complete disaster. After the show, Maestro Antonio said, “Henri, I commend you on adding a new twist to the routine, but in the future, would you inform me of any changes to the program prior to the start of the performance?”

“Yes, Tony, sorry about that,” Henri replied. He had to remove the stuck Pablo from the wheel with the dreaded tweezers. Groaning, Pablo complained that his back was broken, although this clearly wasn’t the case since he moved as quickly as any of the others when the blood droplet meal was served.

Pedro, on the other hand, really had managed to maim himself. Henri felt some guilt over this accident. Having sat in on a few performances in the big top, Henri had watched Herbert Kramer the Lion Tamer coax his big cats through rings of fire. Amazing! thought Henri. He decided to adapt that trick for the fleas with a set of miniature rings.

The fleas had been less than excited. “It sounds dangerous, Henri,” said Maria.

“It’s not, really.” Henri replied. “Look, you can see for yourselves! I’ll take Maria and Sophia to the big top to see the show.”

They’d agreed to hide in Henri’s hair with the firm understanding that they were not to bite him. And so the two fleas attended their first non-flea circus. Henri found a spot under the bleachers where he could point things out to Maria and Sophia without drawing attention to their presence. When the show began, the two fleas came out of his hair and rested upon his forehead for a better view.

The two fleas were absolutely delighted with the performance. They chortled and cheered with the rest of the crowd at the antics of the clowns, the daring of the trapeze artists, and the precision of the acrobats. They watched the lions jump through hoops of fire, and when they saw that the big cats were unharmed, they admitted to Henri that if those furry lions could manage to get through the flames unsinged, then so could they!

“We have to be brave like the lions,” said Maria.

“Well, we’re much better jumpers than those cats,” said Sophia. “It would be easy to jump through twenty rings.”

Henri laughed. “That would be great, but I don’t think we’ll have room for that many. I think six rings would be good, and then it should be easy enough for even Pedro and Pablo to jump through them.”

“Good point,” said Sophia. “Those two nincompoops!” he heard her mutter.

Just then Henri heard the sound of scuffling shoes behind him. He turned around and saw a clown watching him from a few feet away. Sophia and Maria scurried for cover in his hair as he had instructed them to do if anyone came around. He wasn’t sure whether they had been fast enough, though.

“Talking to yourself?” the clown asked.

“Um, yes,” stammered Henri.

“That’s a sign of craziness. Are you going mad?” the clown jeered.

Henri realized first that the clown was a girl, and second, that she was probably no older than him. He didn’t feel so intimidated now.

“That’s right. I’m the crazy flea boy!” and he made a leap toward her.

She laughed. “So I see. And was that flea language you were speaking? I couldn’t understand a word you said.”

Henri had never really thought about it before. Speaking to insects came so naturally to him that he had never stopped to think that it might sound any different than English. “Well, yes, of course it was.” For her amusement and also to warn the fleas, he said in what he now realized was insect talk. “Maria, Sophia, keep yourselves hidden. I think the girl may have spotted you.”

And, indeed, she had. She laughed again and said, “You’re weird. You really are the flea boy. Henri, right? Do you always carry your fleas around with you? It’s kind of disgusting. People won’t want to be around you if they know.”

Henri’s face fell. Drat! This was not going to improve his reputation at the circus. He decided to tell the girl the truth, though she certainly wouldn’t believe him. “No, they don’t usually travel on me, but we’re working on a new act. The fleas are going to jump through hoops of fire just like the lions. They were scared and thought it was too dangerous, so I brought them to see the show and prove to them that they can do it too.”

“Sure, sure. OK, stop it. You don’t need to make up a big story.”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe it,” Henri said. “But let me prove that I really am speaking to the fleas.” To Sophia and Maria he said in insect language “Girls, you can come out now. Just walk out onto my forehead. ”The clown girl listened and watched him with interest. Slowly, the fleas came out, appearing as two dots on his forehead. Then Henri held out his hand and said again in insect speech to them, “Would you mind jumping onto my hand?” In a second, the two fleas sat in the palm of his hand.

“Wow! I don’t know how you did that. I can’t believe you’re really talking to them. You must be some kind of magician. Good job! I’m Robin, by the way.”

“Pleased to meet you, Robin. Why don’t you come by the flea circus sometime and see our show. If you come tomorrow, you can see the new rings of fire act, and then you’ll know that I was telling the truth.”

“You really want me to believe you, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, I suppose I do, but mostly I don’t want the circus folk to think I’m some dirty, flea-bitten boy.”

She laughed again. “I wouldn’t worry about that too much. Lots of people around here have fleas. People don’t like to talk about them for obvious reasons. You know Billy, the lion tamer’s assistant?” Henri nodded. “He’s got fleas, for sure. I always see him scratching himself, but I don’t think less of him. It’s a—what do you call it? My dad told me…an occupational hazard!”

“What does that mean?” asked Henri.

“It means it’s a danger, an annoyance that comes with the job. I gotta go now. I’m on again in five minutes. See you, Henri.”

“OK. Bye.” And as an afterthought he said, “Break a leg!”

Robin turned and smiled. “Thanks,” she said and hurried off. Henri had learned in his first week that you never wish a performer good luck because if you do, they believe quite the opposite will happen. So you wish something bad on them—like breaking a leg—instead.

Returning Sophia and Maria to his hair, Henri smiled. Three good things had happened. First, the fleas were now convinced that they could jump through the rings of fire. Second, he had met Robin, who didn’t seem to look down on him, and in terms of the circus hierarchy, she was far superior since she was a performer in the big top. And finally, he knew where to get fleas! Billy! But he would have to figure out a way of getting them without making Billy feel bad.

The following day, Maestro Antonio announced, “And now ladies and gentlemen, a world premiere! Let me introduce a pair of brave daredevils…Pedro and Pablo! These two will launch themselves through not one, not two, not three, no, not four, not even five, but six, yes, six rings of blazing fire. Enrico, prepare the rings!”

Henri was a little concerned. Despite his suggestion yesterday that the two fleas rehearse, both had decided that it was so easy it wasn’t necessary. Henri leaned over to set the rings ablaze. As he did so, he whispered to Pedro and Pablo, “Break a leg!” Pedro looked startled but braced himself and launched his body into the air. Through the hoops he flew, but Henri could see his jump was off-center. He landed at the other end and collapsed! Pablo was up next, but it was clear he was frozen with fear. Luckily, out of nowhere, Maria jumped through the hoops and landed beyond Pedro with a flourish. The audience roared with delight. Of course, they had no idea which flea was which, so it was all the same to them. Two fleas had made it through the rings of fire.

When the show was over, Henri quickly turned his attention to Pedro. “What happened?” asked Henri.

“You told me to break a leg! I didn’t break a leg. I burned one off! This is all your fault!” he howled.

“Oh, quiet!” said Sophia. “It’s nobody’s fault but your own, you idiot. You should have practiced the way Henri wanted you to.”

“What am I going to do now?” Pedro wailed. “I’ll never work again.”

“The only reason you won’t work is because you’re so lazy!” Maria retorted.

“OK, OK, everyone. Calm down. Pedro, I am very sorry you were hurt,” said Henri. “Maybe I could make you some crutches? Or an artificial leg? That’s what they do for soldiers who have lost their legs in battle.”

“Now,
that
I would be interested in,” said Pedro.

“Henri, don’t be ridiculous,” said Sophia. “Pedro, you still have five good legs. You are exaggerating! Look at you, you’ve been moving around almost normally.”