Ten Thumb Sam

R
ACHEL
D
UNSTAN
M
ULLER

Text copyright © 2007 Rachel Dunstan Muller

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to
be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Muller, Rachel Dunstan, 1970-
Ten Thumb Sam / written by Rachel Dunstan Muller.

(Orca young readers)
ISBN 978-1-55143-699-9

I. Title. II. Series.

PS8626.U4415T45 2007    jC813'.6    C2007-903850-6

First published in the United States, 2007
Library of Congress Control Number
: 2007930414

Summary
: Sam wants to run away from the circus because,
unlike the rest of his family, he is “all thumbs.”

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs
provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canada Council for the Arts,
and the Province of British Columbia through the
BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Typesetting by Teresa Bubela
Cover artwork by Cindy Revell
Author photo by Bern Muller

Orca Book Publishers
PO Box 5626, Stn. B
Victoria, BC Canada
V8R 6S4

Orca Book Publishers
PO Box 468
Custer, WA USA
98240-0468

www.orcabook.com
Printed and bound in Canada.

10 09 08 07 • 4 3 2 1

For Rebecca, Naomi and Emily,
the original Stringbinis,
and for Anastasia, the new kid in the troupe
.

Sam and his family were launched into the world with support and encouragement from the following people: my husband, Bernard Muller; my editor, Sarah Harvey; and the members of the Ballycastle Writer's Group. Thank you all!

Sam put his foot on the bottom rung of the long wire ladder and looked up. “I can do this,” he whispered.

“What's that?” his brother Andrew asked.

“Nothing,” said Sam. He swallowed. From this distance the high wire looked like a long piece of dental floss.

“If you're not ready,” said Andrew, “we can try again tomorrow.”

“I'm ready.” Sam took a deep breath and began to climb, painfully aware that his entire family was watching him.

“I'm right behind you,” Andrew said.

Learning to walk the high wire had seemed like a good idea to Sam a few months ago. But back then the practice wire was just a few inches off the ground. Andrew had helped Sam take his first teetering steps.
Sam worked hard every day until he could make it across the practice wire without falling. He'd looked more like a toddler taking his first steps than a tight-rope walker, but Andrew had assured him he would get more confident with time.

Sam wasn't feeling confident now, even with a harness and a safety rope to save him if he fell. His arms and legs were trembling. The higher he climbed, the more his body shook. “Uh, Andrew?” he said as his head drew even with the small wooden platform at the top of the ladder.

“Yeah?”

“I'm stuck,” said Sam, trying not to panic.

“What do you mean, you're stuck?” his brother asked.

“I mean I can't let go of the last rung. My hands won't budge.”

“Take a deep breath,” said Andrew. “You'll be fine.”

“I don't think so,” Sam said through clenched teeth.

“Don't worry,” said Andrew. “Everyone's nervous their first time up here. Just whatever you do, don't look down.”

Sam immediately looked down and saw his mother, his father, his brother Martin, and his sisters Elizabeth,
Louise and Annabel. They looked impossibly small. Sam felt his stomach heave. “I think I'm going to be sick.”

“Wait—,” said Andrew.

It was too late. Sam's breakfast was already on its way up—and down.

“Looks like Elizabeth and Louise got the worst of it,” Andrew said as he helped Sam descend. He shook his head. “Wouldn't want to be in your shoes when the twins catch up with you!”

Back on firm ground, Sam made straight for the Stringbini family bus. There were six narrow beds tucked into the back of the converted school bus. Sam and his two older brothers slept in the three curtained-off beds on the bottom level, and his sisters slept in the three bunks on the top. It wasn't your typical domestic arrangement, but then the Stringbinis weren't your typical family.

Each member of the Stringbini family had an important role in the Triple Top Circus. Each member, that is, except Sam. Sam's father, Magic Max, was a magician who helped manage the small circus. Sam's mother, Irene, was famous for the daring trapeze act she performed with Elizabeth and Louise, Sam's fourteen-year-old twin sisters. Sixteen-year-old
Andrew was the star of the Triple Top high wire. Thirteen-year-old Martin juggled colorful balls and flaming rings while balancing on a unicycle. Even Annabel had a role. Sam's six-and-a-half-year-old sister was Magic Max's assistant. The crowds loved Annabel, although Sam could never quite figure out why. Maybe it was her dimples and her blond ringlets. And the fact that they never saw her stamp her feet or pout when she didn't get her way.

Sam was the only one who didn't have an act. He was clumsy, forever tripping, stumbling and bumping into things. Because he was “all thumbs,” Louise and Elizabeth had nicknamed their youngest brother “Ten Thumb” Sam. He was six years old the first time he heard this nickname. He had been so angry, he almost cried.

“You're just going through an awkward stage, sweetie,” Irene had assured her son. “You'll grow out of it.”

“When?” Sam demanded.

“I don't know,” said his mother. “Everyone is different. You'll just have to be patient.”

Sam tried to be patient as he waited for weeks, then months, then years. But watching from the sidelines was boring. No one ever cheered for Sam.
He
was never greeted with thunderous applause.

“I'm ready to be in the circus too,” Sam had finally insisted shortly after his tenth birthday.

“But you are in the circus,” said Max. “You help collect tickets, you sell cotton candy…”

Sam shook his head. “It's not the same. I want to be in the show, like the rest of you.”

Sam's parents exchanged glances. “Where do you want to start?” Irene asked.

“The high wire,” said Sam.

So much for that, he thought now as he entered the Stringbini bus and slammed the door behind him. If only he'd known he was terrified of heights. All that practice, all that hard work—it had all been for nothing!