Mr. Cannelloni's Circus

All of a sudden, they heard the sharp lash of a whip.
The crowd fell silent at once. The ferocious horseman,
Kasimir, had climbed onto a table. He lashed his whip
against his leather boot again.
“Madame Rosita’s plan is good!” he called out. “And,
besides, it is the only plan we have,” He looked at Rosita.
“The Pommer Boys are ready to do whatever it takes!”
“We’re ready to defend our circus!” Chef Andrei cried,
waving his pancake flipper.
The briefing was soon over. Madame Rosita was used to
ordering people around. Over the years, she had taught
hundreds of acrobats, from beginners to masters of the art,
and she was more than familiar with operating in a disciplined
manner. Now the entire circus crowd, from the
biggest to the smallest members, was ordered to take part in
cleaning up the circus—from top to bottom.
Budo handed out tools and gloves. Animal trainers took
Elvira and her calf over to the wagons, to get their help with
hosing down the vehicles. Everything had to be shining
clean. Andrei even polished the oven hatch; it shone so
brightly that he could see his own reflection, for the first
time in years. Nano the monkey was sent out to pick up litter
around the camp. First Nano was unwilling to take up the
task, but then Andrei came up with the idea of giving him
a nut for every handful of litter. After that, the work started
to flow as smoothly as dancing. Rosita polished the windows
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