Chicken Soup for the Little Souls (5 page)

“And wait till you see the bears in their tutus! The dancing bears will crack you up! Some of them ride motorcycles and do wheelies. . . .”

“What about the elephants?!” asked Vincent. He was so wound up, he could barely spit the words out. “What do the elephants do?”

“Well, they dance ballet for one thing! They stand up on their hind legs and carry people around in their mouths. The coolest part is when an elephant holds a girl by his trunk and spins her around really fast.

“And the trapeze artists! They really fly! One swings across on a trapeze, then lets go. Another one catches her legs and swings her upside down. Then he lets go and she does a somersault in midair! She switches trapezes with a new guy who's just swung in. Then, blindfolded, the new guy does a triple somersault!”

Danny's father bought their tickets and said, “Ready, sport?”

“Wait, Dad,” said Danny. Then, to Vincent, he said, “But that's not even the best. The best, the very coolest act in the circus is: THOR! Wait till you see this giant cat in action!”

Vincent's eyes were as big and round as saucers. “This is gonna be the best birthday present I ever got!” he yelled.

Vincent hopped up and down with excitement as his dad stepped up to the window. The ticket agent shook her head. “I'm sorry, sir. The management doesn't accept this coupon anymore. You'll have to pay full price.”

Vincent's father stood still.

In a small voice, Vincent said, “What's the matter, Dad? Buy the tickets!”

He doesn't have the money
, Danny thought. His heart sank as Vincent's father closed his wallet and gently pulled Vincent out of the line. Vincent wouldn't see the circus. All of Danny's excitement melted away until he felt like crying. He looked up at his dad and whispered, “What can we do?”

Danny's father thought for a moment, then said, “You know, the courts are open late tonight, Son. Would you rather see the same old circus again or shoot some hoops, instead?” He handed Danny the two tickets he had just bought, saying, “It's up to you.”

Danny understood right away. He thought about the decision his father was letting him make.

A warm, good feeling filled Danny up inside, and a smile crept across his face. “I guess I could use some practice for Saturday's game,” he said.

Vincent and his father were already walking away.

“Hey, Vincent,” Danny called, running to them.

Vincent turned around, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“What?” he mumbled.

Danny saw the tear streaks on Vincent's face and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

“I really liked telling you about the circus, buddy. And I guess . . . I want you to see it more than I want to see it myself. I've got this basketball game. . . . Anyway, my dad and I are going to go practice, so it turns out we don't need these tickets after all. Really.” Danny held the tickets out to Vincent.

Vincent's face lit up like Christmas. “Can we, Dad?”

Vincent's father looked at Danny with eyes full of thanks. Before the man could say anything, Danny pressed the tickets into Vincent's hand and ran back to his own dad.