THE MAGICIAN AND THE STICKS

 Text: ‘Be sure your sin will find you out’. The Big Top had arrived in the village and everyone was agog with excitement. The Big Band led the procession down the street - - - - the Elephants beautifully dressed - - - - riding them, the pretty trapeze girls. 

The clowns gambolled their way along to the delight of the crowds of children that lined the route. Monkeys, Horses, Ponies, a Bear on a Chain, Beautiful French Poodles in white all shampooed for the big day, ll made up a most wonderful procession.

 Surely everything was fine at the Circus Camp . . . . . . .Bit it wasn’t. . . . . .There was sin in the Camp . . . . . . After the show was over that night the Manager returned to his Dressing Room and to his horror, his Wallet with the evening’s takings of £150.00 was missing !!!!!!! 

He sent out a call over the Public Address system and all the staff assembled in the Ciruc Ring. This had never happened before in the history of Smiley Bart’s Circus. Mr. Bart was obviously very, very mad. As he viewed the Star Turns, he wondered who could be the culprit. First he asked the Ariel Acrobats . . . . they were innocent. Then the Tight Rope Walker from Spain, Zamorra, was challenged. Not guilty, was his reply. Then a very attractive lady was having trouble with her doves . . .It was Dinah and she seemed more concerned about her birds than the Manager’s wallet. Freddie and his Footballing Dogs was the next to be interviewed, but he had a first class alibi.

The local ‘vet’ had been in to see Patsy who had tummy trouble. Following these brilliant performers came Coco the Clown, Theobold the Lion Tamer, Margo the Magician, The Cossacks who had a lovely troop of very clever horses, Stavlo nand his Performing Bear, Charlie and his partner and his lovely Chimpanzees, and last on the list came Kagie and his almost human kangaroo. After Mr. Hart had interviewed thyem all he was still completely baffled  .. . . . . No one knew anything about the Wallet and even less about the £150.00 . . . . .

But if you’d have taken another look at Stavlo, you’d have seen shining through his massive beard, a very red face. For in Stavlo’s dressing room, carefully hidden away were the missing wallet and the 150 crisp, green notes. 

Margo the Magician was called and he said would solve the mystery  !!!!!!! Everyone was given a stick by him about twelve inches long. Margo said he would treat  the sticks with magic . . . . 

In the morning everyone was to appear in the Big Top and the wooden stick that had been handed to the thief would have grown !!!!! One by one the Circus Performers filed passed Margo the Magician, and everyone reached out a trembling hand for a magic Stick that would prove innocent or guilty. in addition to the performers, all the labourers, ice-cream sellers, box-office girls, cleaners, electricians, joiners, painters, balloon boys, erectors, stable lads, oh . . . . I forgot the Fat Lady with a Moustache . . . not a single member of Staff was missed. 

STAVLO went along to see that all was well with his Performing bear and then retired for the night to sleep . . . . . At least he though it was to sleep, but he couldn’t get that Magic Stick out of his mind. He tossed and turned, took three sleeping tablets but it was hopeless. It almost seemed that the Magic Stick was a Talking Stick, for he kept hearing the words in his mind . . . . . STAVLO THE CROOK . . . . STAVLO THE CHEAT . . . . STAVLO THE THIEF He shot up in bed, perspiration pouring from his beard . . . .he leaped out and looked at the Stick . . . . Oh dear, it’s grown . . . . Stavlo was positive it had grown in the first hour past midnight . . . . . . What could he do???? 

Margo and Mr. Bart would know in the morning that he had stolen the money         . . . .  Ah! He thought, I’ll get my pen-knife and cut a bit off. There, that’s better, thought Stavlo now it’s the right length . . . .But he still couldn’t sleep . . . . That Voice kept ringing in his ears until he just had to get out of bed again. And sure enough, what was once a little stick seemed now like a telegraph pole . . . . .In his frenzy he hacked off another inch and then another but the more he hacked the longer the stick seemed to grow . . . . .

IT WAS STAVLO’S LONGEST AND UNHAPPIEST NIGHT. HE HADN’T SLEPT A WINK and just as he was dozing off, the voice of Mr. Bart came over the tannoy, ‘Will all the Circus Staff report immediately’.

And Stavlo’s stick was the only one that had ‘grown’, but it had ‘grown small’.  He had been found out.