The Tiny Ringmaster (3 page)

Ruth couldn’t believe her eyes. From the outside, the tent appeared rather small, but this was no normal-sized tent. It stretched on and on for days. Countless performers practiced in vast stretches of practice areas. Pretty women in blue dresses danced, trapeze artists slid across a tight rope, and animal tamers soothed elephants. Clowns and people in tights laughed and choreographed. She slowly walked along the middle of the tent, trying not to be noticed too quickly or to bump into anyone. They were all smiling, practicing, and perfecting.

Ruth walked so gently that she was almost tiptoeing. As a performer, she knew how important it was to practice with no interruptions. She began to smile, realizing that she might have something in common with these people, but she held back. She wanted to make sure no one had noticed her yet. After all, she wasn’t even sure how to explain her story. What would she tell them? She had no clue how she ended up here, and she thought that telling them she was dreaming probably wasn’t an option. Out of nowhere, a very large man in a top hat appeared in front of her, and she bumped right into him. He yelled, “HALT! Who goes there?”

Ruth winced, closed her eyes, and hunched. She opened one eye and realized that he yelled straight over her head. Since she was already discovered, she tugged on his pants leg. “It’s just me, sir. Pardon the intrusion.” Everyone stopped. Ruth looked up nervously. What a silly thing to say. The clowns stopped laughing, the ladies stopped dancing, and even the animals stopped making noises. The giant man looked down and blinked a few times. Ruth nervously bit her lip. “I... I... was in the forest. And I... I... saw... your. light. And... I was cold... and... and... hungry.” Ruth gulped.

The giant man smiled and let out a big laugh. “Well, welcome child! No need to be afraid! We will take care of you here.” Everyone nodded in agreement and resumed their activities. The man scooped Ruth up with his hand and placed her on his shoulder. “There you go, child. Can you see better now?”

Ruth smiled and nodded fiercely. What had she been so afraid of? Ruth was able to observe the practice area more closely. She could see much more from the top. These were definitely circus people! They were all so large! They looked like humans... sort of. The flurry of activity turned the tent into a blur, and the colors of the costumes turned the practice floor into a kaleidoscope.

She took a closer look at the giant man carrying her. He had curly, blonde hair that was so light it was almost white. It was barely contained under a sparkly black top hat. With hair so messy and crazy, Ruth wasn’t sure how his hat stayed on at all. His eyes were blue like the sky and out-sparkled his hat, which complimented his rosy red cheeks nicely. His faced looked like it was permanently fixed in a huge smile with gleaming white teeth. He had an unusually long neck that matched his pencil thin arms and legs. He was as skinny as a pretzel stick and as tall as a billboard. He looked as though he might snap in half at any moment.

He wore a sparkly black tuxedo jacket to match his hat, a screamingly bright red tie, and black and red striped pants. Ruth took a mental note of his fashionable clothing combination. Just as she started to take stock of the rest of the crew, it occurred to her that she didn’t even know the gentle giant’s name. Ruth bent down and whispered in the large man’s ear. “Sir, I don’t mean to be a bother, but what is your name?”

The man chuckled heartily. “My dear child, no need to be so nervous and polite. I’m Eritol, Ringmaster of the Greats.”

“The Greats?”

“Yes, my child, the Greats. These people you see here come from a long line of great circus performers. Many toil for years to be considered a part of our group, only for us to decide they are not good enough. Our dancing ladies are the prettiest, our clowns are the funniest, our animals are the grandest, and our circus is the bestest!”

He chuckled so deeply that his body began to shake. Ruth grab onto his shoulders to stabilize herself. She could already tell that these people were unlike anything she had ever seen, and Eritol hadn’t done much to answer her question. She sat puzzled.

Eritol continued. “My child, now you must forgive me for being rude. What is your name?”

“Ruth.”

Eritol stopped abruptly. He scooped Ruth up with his large hand and gently placed her back on the ground. He knelt beside her. Even when he was kneeling, Ruth had to crane her neck to look up at him. His face had lost all color and was now the same shade as his white teeth. He looked as though he had seen a ghost.  “Child... Did... did... did you say your name was... Ruth?”

Everyone had stopped what they were doing again. She thought for a second that it might be a good idea to lie and say that her name wasn’t Ruth. The Greats might have had a bad experience with a Ruth before. She knew she had to think of something quick because they were all staring. She reminded herself that they were nice people. They wouldn’t hurt her. She should probably be honest, but she still hesitated. “Ummmmm... ye...ye... yeah... yes?”

Eritol jumped up, and the ground shook when he landed. “OH! OH! CELEBRATION! CELEBRATION! THE GREAT RUTH HAS ARRIVED!”

All of a sudden, everyone cheered, clapped, laughed, and almost cried from happiness. Ruth couldn’t believe that they were all this excited to see her.

Eritol bent down to talk to her again. “Ruth! Oh my dear Ruth! We’ve been waiting on you! And you’re just as wonderful as they’ve described!”

Ruth looked confused. “They?”

Eritol laughed. “The Elders, my dear child, the Elders! Well, they must see you at once! OH HAPPY DAY!” The cheering and jubilation continued.

Ruth didn’t want to put a damper on the party, but she had to correct this misunderstanding. They must have confused her with someone else. She tugged hard on Eritol’s pants leg again. Eritol knelt down. “Eritol, sir, I think you might have the wrong person.”

Eritol smiled at her with shining eyes. “No, my little great one. I know it’s you! You’re just like they described! How I didn’t notice before?! Well... I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t figure it out! I just never thought, in all my days, I’d live to see you! But you’ve come now! We’ve got to get you dressed! You’ll be presented to the Elders this evening! OH HAPPY DAY!”

By this time, Ruth was utterly confused. She absolutely had to be dreaming. There was no earthly way that any of these things could be happening right now. Why would giant people just sit around to wait on her? Why was she so special? And honestly, where was she?

The dancing ladies floated gracefully towards Eritol. The red haired one tapped Eritol on the shoulder. “Eritol?”

Eritol blushed. “Yes, Ginger?”

“Do you mind if me and the ladies whisk her away and give her the royal treatment? We promise to take good care of her.”

Eritol blushed further. Ruth stifled a laugh. “Why, yes, yes. Please! I can’t think of anyone else to do a better job! You ladies know how to jazz up anyone... Not... not that Ms. Ruth needs it of course, but I’m sure you’ll take good care of her! When you are finished, we’ll proceed to the Elders! I mean... If that... Well, what I meant to say is that... if this plan works for you, Ms. Ginger.”

Ginger winked at Eritol. Ruth wasn’t sure, but it looked as though Eritol almost fainted.

Ginger walked towards Ruth. Ruth was mesmerized by Ginger’s beauty and her soft white skin. “Come, my dear. Let’s go have a little girl time, shall we?”

Ruth could already see why Eritol liked Ginger so much. She began to walk with Ginger to the doorway in the middle of the tent. Maybe there were other tents outside that she hadn’t noticed when she first walked up. As she got closer to the doorway, she realized that it didn’t lead back outside. The doorway was a little smaller than the main entrance, but it had crystal beads and lights around it. The sign above the door said, “Girls Only.” Ruth decided that she needed one of those signs for her bedroom.

As Ruth and Ginger rounded the corner to enter through the doorway, Ruth paused and gasped. Through the door was another grand hallway leading to another great tent. The hall was so grand it didn’t look like a tent at all. It was lined with hundreds of tiny, twinkling white lights and tiny, twinkling white crystal beads that reflected the light. A plush red velvet carpet aisle lined the middle of the hallway, and gold and silver flowers and swirls were painted on the walls. It was a hallway fit for a queen. Ruth halted in wonder.

Ginger looked down, “Is there something wrong honey?”

Ruth stuttered, “It’s... it’s... it’s... just so... beautiful.”        

Ginger giggled approvingly. She looked down at Ruth and winked, “Us girls wouldn’t have it any other way. Wait until you see the dressing room!”

Ruth followed Ginger eagerly into the glowing hall. She was aware that she was gaping a bit, but she couldn’t help it. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life! The way the light reflected in the beads and on the paint on the walls made her feel like she was in a palace. The carpet felt amazing too. It was unbelievably plush, like walking on clouds. Ruth’s feet were very grateful, and she suddenly felt very calm.

Ginger was almost as tall as Eritol, but not quite. Her skin was as pale as fresh snow, and her hair was as red as flames in a fireplace. Her eyes were green and sparkled in time with the tiny white lights in the hall. She was probably the most beautiful woman that Ruth had ever seen. Despite her tall stature, she didn’t stomp around clumsily like Eritol. She floated along, barely touching the ground. She had an invisible cloud carrying her, gently placing her wherever she needed to be. Her personality bubbled like the sparkling grape juice Ruth’s mom let her have on holidays. Just being near Ginger made Ruth want to giggle. Ruth chuckled as she realized that Eritol probably felt the same way.

Ginger stopped before they reached the doorway at the end of the hall. She looked at Ruth with a huge smile. “Ruth, honey, what’s your favorite color?”

Ruth paused. She knew what the answer was, but she was a little embarrassed to say it. It was so normal. “Umm... it’s usually pink, but you know... pink can be kinda boring and predictable, so...”

Ginger stopped her. “Pink is wonderful! Pink is my favorite color too.” She looked over her shoulders at the other dancing girls. “Girls, you know what to do. It shouldn’t be much work at all.” The girls all giggled as they scattered and scurried into the room.

Ruth wasn’t really sure what was going on, but she thought that she might be too anxious to wait much longer. She thought back to how scared she was in the forest. Things had changed for the better, but the situation was also becoming increasingly odd. She was impressed that she could imagine such a wild and fantastic story. She usually had a creative knack for storytelling, but this one took the cake. She hoped that she remembered this dream when she woke up in the morning. Her head began swimming with thoughts, so she was thankful when another dancing lady peeked her head out of the room. “Ginger? We’re ready.”

Ginger beamed even brighter. “Let’s go!”

Ruth walked ahead of Ginger. She wanted to run, but she tried to play it cool. When she turned the corner, she froze. Pink with gold and silver accents swallowed the room. The carpet was a shaggy pale pink and a foot deep. A row of pink velvet salon chairs with gold trim lined one side of the room with floor-to-ceiling mirrors fit for the likes of Cinderella. In the middle of the room, there was a large, a pink velvet round sofa. An enormous chandelier with pink and white crystals hung above the sofa and covered the entire room in little pink glimmers. At the back of the room, a marble table was covered in food. Ruth saw cookies and cupcakes, spaghetti and meatballs, fried chicken, and mashed potatoes and gravy! On the wall opposite of the salon chairs, satin pink leopard print curtains hung grandly. Ruth couldn’t even imagine what wonders lay behind those.

Ginger grinned widely. “Why don’t you take off your shoes, Ruth, and go get some food? We’ll get started on your makeup and hair after you’ve had a little food and rest.” One of the other ladies walked over and put a soft, fluffy pink robe around Ruth. Ruth squealed in excitement. This was much better treatment than she ever got at home. “There you go, honey. Now, you can get warm.”