Mr. Pancake's magic show (part two)

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"Mr. Pancake's magic show? What is that?" Ferry wondered. "I never heard of it."

Matilda jumped to her feet, waving her hands as she was talking, "Mr. Pancake's caravan came into town last summer. That evening, almost all the children in town went to see the show. Except for you, of course. You weren't allowed to get out at that time."

"That night was amazing," Ben interfered. "The show started with─"

"Hey, let me tell," Matilda argued. "The show started," she continued, "with the number of some strange dwarfs, the smallest people you could ever imagine. They danced and jumped like the stage was a mattress. And then, they were flying in the air, as if they were held by invisible wires."

Ben didn't lose the chance to interrupt Matilda as well. And Ferry found out that the most beautiful acrobat ladies were next on the stage. They flew in front of the crowd which couldn't stop applauding. And, just like the dwarfs, they seemed to float in the air. Ben had a logical explanation for that ─ the circus must have been using some sort of a system of shadows and lights which created a visual illusion. Hence, the cables that sustained them seemed invisible.

Then, there was the magic show. The magician was a very tall and muscular man, dressed in a grey robe that covered his legs. He had the most beautiful assistant, a young, blonde woman, whose hair seemed to radiate a warm, bright light. The magic show left everyone in a daze. Surrounded by mirrors, the magician transformed his assistant into a witch, then into a queen, then into a brave knight, then into a see-through ghost, and even into a five-year-old little girl.

Ben also remembered it was a full moon that night, and the moonlight was reflected right in the middle of the stage. The most spectacular moment of the show was when the assistant sat on a pedestal in the middle of the stage. At some point, the grey magician started to throw fire arrows at her while she surrounded herself by a bluish, transparent bubble that pushed back the arrows which then melted in the air. The number ended when the two vanishing into thin air.

Then, there was the training number when the strangest animals came on stage. A giant raven, with big, powerful wings, was flying above the public, then going through fire circles, and finally performed a dangerous trapeze number. At the end, it turned into a whirl of smoke.

Next, there was the turn of a huge lizard which proved to be a tap dancer, dancing in two feet.

A strange creature followed; it looked like a rabbit, but if it wasn't for its long ears, you must have thought it was just a woman. Her back legs were so long, the whole tribune was vibrating when she jumped. It even jumped over fifty packs of straws without pulling one down.

The last was a giant wolf, with bristling fur. Its acrobatics were amazing. It could keep the balance upon ten barrels and walk around the arena climbed on those barrels. Then it walked on two feet, smoked a pipe, and danced. At the end of the act, it vanished into a circle of fire.

The circus show ended with the act of Mr. Pancake himself. He started by playing the flute so beautifully, he could move a heart of stone. When he finished playing, he said a magical formula and vanished, leaving a swarm of white butterflies behind. They flew up to the top of the dome, becoming one with the moonlight.

Matilda and Ben both said that the memory of that night was still alive many weeks after. Strangely enough, all the parents who accompanied their children that night didn't seem to remember much about the show the next day. Matilda's father, just like Ben's mother, had vague memories about that night and couldn't even remember one act of the magic show. But then again, that's how grown-ups were, more preoccupied with small things such as going to work, paying the bills or buying groceries.

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