A VISIT TO A CIRCUS
Last Sunday I went to see circus with my family. It was located on the Red Fort ground. The circus tent was brightly illuminated with electric lights. Seats had been arranged in a circular fashion. A big crowd had assembled there.
Exactly at 7 o’clock the show began. We were full of thrill and excitement. First came in seven men dressed in pink, blue, red and a girl riding on horseback. The band was in attendance and all the horses went round in a circle dancing to the tune of music. Then the riders got up and stood aside directing the tricks to be shown by the horses. The girl struck the whip and the horses galloped in a circle, the riders standing on their backs. It was indeed very wonderful.
Then elephants were brought in. They performed funny tricks. One by one they crossed a narrow bridge. They stood up on their hind legs and danced in a row. One of them balanced his forelegs on the back of the next in front of him. They also played football.
Next came three very funny clowns with painted faces. One was dressed like a monkey, the other like a lion and the third like a village girl. We children thought at first that they were animals that could both speak and walk. They made us roar with laughter by their funny tricks. But the most wonderful part was played by lions. It was really a splendid scene to see them do things unimaginable in actual life. There stood the lion-trainer with a strong whip in his hand. There were three lions which were made to stand in a row, and a goat was made to jump from the back of one lion to another’s back. It was really surprising to see all this.
There were athletes too, who held us spell bound with their gymnastic feats. They climbed to the roof of the tent by means of a ladder and then exchanged places in a daredevil manner. We returned home, foil of excitement and with a sense of horror.