The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney Read Free Book Online

you go into that tent, for your own good, look at her only in the mirror. It is very distressing for us always to have one or two customers turned to stone at every performance, besides being very difficult to explain to the police. So, once again, I ask you to look only at the medusa's reflection, not at the lady herself."
     John Rogers tweaked the hem of the doctor's gown. "We wanta see the big bear, doc, me and the wife and the kids. Which tent is it in?"
     Doctor Lao frowned down on the plumber. "Whatsa mattah allee time talkee talk bear business? Me no savvee bear business. You no like this Gloddam show, you go somewhere else." The doctor spread wide his arms and swept on in his discourse:
     "Possibly the strangest of all the animals in this menagerie, and certainly one which none of you should miss seeing, is that most unique of all beasts, the hound of the hedges. Evolved among the hedgerows and grassplots of North China this animal is the living, breathing symbol of greenness, of fecund, perennial plant life, of the transitional stage between vegetable and animal. The greatest scientists of the world have studied this hound and cannot decide whether he is fauna or flora. Your guess, ladies and gentlemen, is as good as the next. When you examine him, you will notice that, although his form is that of the usual dog, his various bodily parts are those of plants. His teeth, for instance, are stiff, thick thorns; his tail is a plait of ferns; his fur is grass; his claws are burrs; his blood is chlorophyll. Surely this is the weirdest beast under the casual canopy of heaven. We feed him hedge apples and green walnuts. Sometimes, too, though not often, he will eat persimmons. Let me advise you, good people, to see the hound of the hedges even though you must forgo seeing the mermaid or the werewolf. The hound is unique."
     "I can't seem to get much information out of the old boy," said the plumber to his wife. "Let's look at something else first; then maybe we can find the bear later."
     "Well," said Mrs. Rogers, "suppose we watch the magician. I think the children would like that."
     So the plumber and his family went into the tent to the right to watch Apollonius perform. Except for the mage they were the only ones in the tent.
     Apollonius looked at them dreamily as they filed in. "It will be ten cents apiece," he said. John Rogers handed him a half-dollar. The thaumaturge put the coin in an old cigar box and scratched his head thoughtfully. "Now what sort of magic would you be wanting to see?" he asked.
     "I want to see you take a pig out of this bag," said Alice, holding up to him her little sack of candy.
     "Elementary, my child, elementary," said Apollonius. He inserted two fingers into the mouth of the candy sack and drew out a Poland China shoat. It squealed and writhed and kicked its little legs. The magician handed it to Willie. "You keep this, lad. Feed it well. It ought to make good sidemeat some day."
     "Oh, goodness," said Mrs. Rogers, "we haven't room for a pig, really. Our place is so small, you know."
     "Um," said Apollonius. "What a pity." He took the pig away from Willie and shoved it back in the sack. "It was such a nice pig, too. What do you want me to do now?"
     "Know any card tricks?" asked Mr. Rogers.
     "A multitude of them," said Apollonius. He reached into a pocket of his gown, took out a pack of cards and shuffled them with one hand. The cards climbed and fell in graceful spirals and parabolas, pyramiding and mixing and disintegrating, but always returning into a neat square-sided pack.
     "This is not magic," commented the wizard. "This is only manual dexterity. Shall I convert some wine into water for you?"
     "Why not change water into wine?" asked the plumber.
     "I can do that as readily," said the magician. He took up a beaker of water and mumbled over it. It changed