Read Online The Tiny Ringmaster by Jennifer Clark - Free Book Online Page B

she was excited. On the other hand, Ruth was doubtful. She wasn’t sure how she was going to pull this off. She couldn't even enjoy her chocolate chip pancakes after all that news. What a waste!
    She wandered around to get a better peek at everything. A little further down the hall there was a lunch room. It looked more like a cafeteria with long tables and plastic orange chairs. A menu was posted outside the door. Lunch today was chicken fried steak. Ruth turned up her nose. She hated chicken fried steak.  Before her eyes, the words on the menu began to change. Now, the menu said spaghetti. Ruth looked around searching for an answer. She had just changed the menu. She quickly stepped away before anyone noticed.
    A loud blast of music rang out from the room at the end of the hall. When she reached the doorway to the room, she hesitated. The music blasted again, so she gathered enough courage to peek her head in. In the corner of the room, Eritol swayed his hands to the music. A miniature circus covered the entire floor. As Ruth peered more closely at the little model circus, she noticed movement, but couldn’t make out what the little models were doing. She must have made a sound because Eritol looked up frightened. The model disappeared. Eritol looked like a deer in the headlights.
    “I'm sorry Eritol… I heard music, and Tryfod and Ginger said that it would be ok to wander, so I did… and I scared you…”
    Eritol smiled palely. “It's just my old heart. Can't take surprises like it used to. Come in, come in!!”
    Ruth wasn't sure if she could walk through the middle of the room where the mini circus had just appeared. Eritol must have sensed her hesitation and laughed.
    “Oh child! It was just a mind trick!” Ruth walked into the room. Eritol pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. “Here, why don't you sit there and watch.” Ruth nodded and sat on the stool. The room wasn’t very large, but it was filled with sunshine. The carpet was bright red, and the walls were white.
    She watched intently as Eritol closed his eyes and with one swoop of his hand, created the apparition again. He went back to work, like a conductor of an orchestra. From this angle, Ruth could tell that movement inside the tiny circus was actually tiny versions of everyone that she had met. She blinked twice and then screamed. The vision went away.
    Eritol had turned as white as the walls. Ruth waited for him to speak.  Eritol opened and closed his mouth a few times while trying to form a coherent thought. “I…uh… well, Ruth… umm… what you just saw…eh… there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Ruth scowled slightly. “What do you mean?”
            Eritol cleared his throat nervously, “I mean ummm, your mind wasn’t playing any tricks on you… but it’s all normal, and I can explain everything.” He was breathing heavily and had to lean up against the wall. After catching his breath, he knelt on the floor next to Ruth. Even at half-mast, he towered over the small child. “Please don’t be frightened, sweet Ruth. I promised Tryfod that I wouldn’t scare you, and I have done exactly that. I’m a terrible, terrible teacher.”
    Ruth stretched to put her small hand on the giant’s shoulder. “It’s ok Eritol… I was just… startled. I… I… I saw a tiny Ginger… What were you just doing with the model circus?”
    Eritol was returning to his normal color. “I was practicing.”
    “Practicing on what? How did you create that thing that you just did?”
    “Ok… The vision that I created was, well, it is a smaller version of our circus. It's my duty to answer questions. So every other hour, I create the vision and check on everyone.”
    Ruth thought about this for a moment. “So you just speak, and they can here you?”
    “Yes, the practice rooms we have are equipped for this.”
    “So how does it work?”
    Eritol looked nervous again. “Well… ummm… after a lot of practice… it just does. It