Hello, everyone! As some of our readers know, earlier this week we celebrated Emily’s life with a “Day of Remembrance” on Tuesday. She had struggled with her health last summer, and left us on the day before my birthday. I had been away for several days to visit family, but she held on until I returned. This week, I realized that although this book series is mostly about getting Gracie to where she could fulfill her dream of dancing ballet on the grandest stage in all of Paris, the entire series rotates (or perhaps “makes a pirouette”) on the remarkable friendship between Emily and Amelia who are the truest heroes in this series.
This week we are sharing the next chapter from Volume Two: Over the Chimney. This chapter is part of the climax in the story of Amelia and her journey from the world of her garden home and into the curious world of Professor Accipiter’s Blue Moon Circus and Sideshow Extravaganza. If you have been reading along, you know that Amelia has been working on a plan—“The Plan”—to free all of the captives and give them a fresh start in their lives.
It is our deepest hope that you will find this chapter satisfying, especially as you remember how fond Amelia has been of Big Willie. You may want to read this previous newsletter. It tells more about the special friendship they shared.
As with Volume One: Into the Garden, we wanted an action-filled climax with a surprise or two that were unexpectedly enjoyable.
As he had done for many Christmas Eves before, Professor Accipiter had his circus employees lined up at the door of his caravan wagon. Then he ceremoniously greeted them and offered them his appreciation with a holiday gift.
Everyone always seemed to receive exactly what they wanted the most, and everyone always wondered how he had known them so well. The Sewer Rat always got a large sampling of imported cheeses. The Lemonade Girl, who was there for her first Christmas with the circus, received a pair of very high-heel shoes and a rabbit skin coat dyed pink to match.
Teeny Clotilda was last in the line. She had planned it that way because she wanted to look through the same side window that Amelia had looked through the night she had been captured. As Teeny Clotilda did, she heard the cabinet opening and closing. She heard a rustling sound and wondered if it was long feathers or rolls of wrapping paper. She saw the cabinet and the desk and a bed, but there seemed to be no presents hidden away anywhere, unless they were in the cabinet.
None of them that The Professor passed out were wrapped up in paper. They only had bows. What had caused the rustling, if not gift paper? And how could so many large gifts have come from the cabinet, even one with its spacious height and width?
The Mayor and Sheriff of the town named Moon and were joined by those of nearby Mathews, Hallieford, and Deltaville. Together, these officials were the first at the Circus ticket booth the evening of the Christmas Extravaganza.
“We need to speak with The Professor about a matter of great urgency,” said the one who seemed to be in charge. “Perhaps even life and death.”
The Lemonade Girl called for The Professor who hurried over, and the men explained, “There is a huge winter storm headed our way. A Nor’easter the likes of which we have never seen here. It could be dangerous for your tents and wagons. It’s been blowing something fierce—and so much snow! We want you to close the show for the safety of the public.”
“Have you lost your senses? I am a businessman. I have employees to feed and pay. And what about the people of the town and countryside? Don’t they deserve some Christmas spirit with this threatening storm bearing down on them? Are you gentlemen anti-Christmas?”
“Certainly not!” they stammered. “We go to church every Sunday and believe in Christmas as much as anyone else, but we have a job to do, and that is keeping people safe.”
“We will brace the tent poles and tighten all the ropes,” said The Professor, “We will even cut the show short and pack up and leave tomorrow. But the show must go on—unless you are willing to pay us not to perform.”
“If any of our people going to or coming from your Circus are hurt by the storm, the responsibility will be yours alone. We will warn them all to stay away.”
“It would make more sense to tell them to bring lots of money to buy food and souvenir blankets,” called The Professor after them as they left. “Especially if we all get snowed in.”
Just as Professor Accipiter was ready to begin the Christmas Eve Extravaganza, The Sewer Rat ran up to him and began to pull on the legs of his pants with both hands.
“Master, sir—,” he said with alarm. “You know that I am your loyal friend, but there is someone here who is not.”
“Who is it? And what is going on? The show is ready to start, and I can almost hear all of those delightful coins landing on the floor of the big Circus ring.”
“It’s Teeny Clotilda. She is trying to pick the lock to your caravan wagon with a hairpin. She wants to know what is in the cabinet that you will not show to anyone. I told her it was just Christmas presents, but she would not believe me.”
The Professor’s face turned fiery red with anger, and he roared his displeasure loud enough for it to be heard over The Clown Band’s music. They began playing their loudest to keep the audience from becoming alarmed.
Big Willy lumbered into the center of the circus ring. He had never been in the circus ring during a show, and he seemed stunned as he stood looking around at the lights and people in the stands who were waiting for the Christmas Eve Extravaganza to begin.
“What are you doing in here?” whispered Professor Accipiter harshly, trying to treat this stray from the script as perfectly ordinary. “Here, you take my hat and get the show started. Just bow towards The Rat, as you’ve seen me do, and he will start the Christmas train.”
As the Professor ran out of the main tent, Big Willy put on the top hat, and the audience began to applaud. He bowed to them and then went over to Amelia’s bamboo perch and unlocked the brass shackle from her leg, and he tied a Christmas ribbon there instead.
But it was not the tangled knot that the Professor had once taught him as a joke. It was the shoestring knot that Amelia had taught him.
He leaned over and whispered into Amelia’s ear, “Now you can do what you are planning to do. You can untie this like a shoe gets untied, and I won’t try to stop you. Peggy told me last night about The Plan when I kissed the top of her head. She said it would be the last time I would ever be able to do that again. I will miss you as much as I will miss her.”
“But if you help with The Plan and the Professor finds out about it, he will beat you mercilessly,” Amelia protested.
“It can’t hurt any more than knowing I could have helped all of you have a better life with freedom but chose not to because of fear,” he said. Then, he took Amelia’s Christmas ribbon and added her and the bamboo perch to the bouquet of balloons as he was supposed to do.
“You are truly wise, Mr. Willy, sir. Someone I love very much told me to never decide anything out of fear.”
“Thank you for everything,” he said before giving her a kiss on the top of her head and taking his place.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls!” Big Willie called out in his most booming voice. “Welcome to our Christmas Extravaganza. Now, Santa, if you would, please—start the train!”
He took off his hat and bowed to the audience and then the train engineer, The Sewer Rat, who was dressed up as Santa Claus.
Amelia took her spot at the top of the bouquet of balloons and spread out her wings as Big Willie did a sweeping bow to the audience and then to the train. Amelia was surprised that Big Willie spoke so eloquently. He sounded like any of the greatest ringmasters in the world. Perhaps learning to tie his shoes made a bigger difference than she ever imagined. Even the people in the audience seemed to notice his command from the center of the circus ring.
The Sewer Rat tooted the train whistle and the train moved forward from under a large scenery Christmas tree and slowly chugged its way around the track set up around the circus ring. As each train car with its bright new coat of paint appeared, the people applauded. Each bird sat on top of a train car and was dressed up like a fancy Christmas present in a beautiful jacket with clear plastic fishing line Amelia had tied each to a short, sturdy limb decorated as another present. The rescuing birds would then be able to grab the limbs with their talons and air lift them to safety one after another in a long and beautiful procession.
The people had never seen such happy birds, and as they appeared, Big Willy called out the name he had given to each bird as it rode from under the Christmas tree. The audience repeating each name back, along with comments.
“Isn’t Peggy so precious?”
“Look at Lolly Dolly’s beautiful bow!”
“I never knew birds could look so nice. Even Elise seems to be smiling back at us!”
The audience sensed that how Big Willy said each name with such love in his booming voice was behind the wonderful expressions on the birds’ faces. They had no idea that for the birds, it felt like a magnificent naming ceremony. For them, having a name was a sign that they would not be forgotten and that their lives, though not ideal, had mattered.
When all the birds and train cars were out around the track, the train came to a stop, and the audience began to callout Willy’s name. Then someone added the title of Ringmaster with it. Others joined in because they had never seen the birds as beautiful or as happy because they were, at last, being seen from the heart of each person in the audience.
The time seemed right. It seemed perfect. Amelia only hoped that her message to be called out into the wild darkness of night would get through to those she was trusting to come.
“Susanne,” called Amelia. “We need The Spirit of Christmas.” She called as loudly as she could in strong and perfect English.
Everyone in the circus bleachers gazed down in amazed silence. They were unsure what they had heard, but Amelia knew her secret was out. Everyone heard it.
Hushed murmuring whispers began to spread throughout the audience, and so Big Willy spoke up.
“Were you not promised a Christmas Extravaganza? You had not expected to hear a chicken speak, but she did. But there is more.”
“Susanne,” called Amelia.
Then at last she heard the thunderous beating of dozens of pairs of wings. When the audience heard it, all eyes turned to the tent’s entrance.
The Raven With Blue Eyes with The Squadron of Crows flew into the circus tent and began circling, just as they had once circled in a field at Lefty’s farm, only that night they circled to the applause of Big Willy’s audience.
Big Willy announced as if narrating a story, “And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
“And good will toward our feathered friends,” called a voice from the stands.
As if on cue, Susanne grabbed up The Sewer Rat and carried him to The Clown Band and dropped him into the tuba. The audience thought that this was quite funny.
“Lousy fake Santa,” called a heckler from high up in the bleachers as Susanne joined the others circling faster and higher inside the circus tent.
The Clown Band began to play Christmas songs instead of those songs designed by The Absence of Love and given to them by The Professor.
“More Christmas Spirit!” called out Big Willy, and the audience began to sing along with the band.
“ÏHÏ-Ÿa(h)-ÅcK!” called The Raven With Blue Eyes as she swooped down and grabbed the limb with the clear plastic fishing line tied to the straps sewn under the ribbons of the beautiful costume worn by Elise, her sister.
“Peace on earth,” announced Big Willy, “and good will towards people and birds.”
One-by-one or two-by-two, like in a conveyor belt, The Crows swooped down and snatched up a bird from the Christmas train and carried it around and above the audience. They flew low enough for anyone, even the littlest children, to hold out a hand for a touch before being carried out of the circus tent to freedom.
“This is better than flying reindeers, Momma,” said one little girl, and no one could disagree.
Finally, The Barn Owls, who were the strongest, lifted the chickens and carried them out while the audience joined Big Willie in waving farewell to the last of the birds. The Raven With Blue Eyes circled over Big Willy and called out a message for Amelia to give to him.
“Big Willy, sir, our friend The Raven With Blue Eyes is named Susana, and she said, ‘Tell him to follow us away from this awful place. The birds will need someone to look after them.’ She also said, ‘My eyes have seen how much he loves those birds. He needs to be as free of this evil place too.’ So you’d better go with them.”
“They need you, Ringmaster Willy. Be free!” called the member of The Clown Band who were close enough to hear Amelia’s message from The Raven to Big Willie.
Then as the crowd joined in, they repeated, “Be free!”
“Peace between birds and people.”
“Peace on earth and mercy mild.”
“We will never see another Christmas Eve Extravaganza like this one!”
If you have been following along carefully in this chapter, you know that as it ends, there are only two birds remaining at Professor Accipiter’s Circus: The White Peacock and Amelia. Both will play a major part in Volume Three: Through the Gate. The adventures have not come to an end yet!
There are also a few more unexpected surprises in store for those who have found their freedom in the final chapters of this book.
Until Next Time
If you have any comments—good or bad—please share them, especially if this particular chapter was not as satisfying as you had hoped it would be or if Amelia doesn’t stand out as the hero you had wanted her to be.
Our Best Advice for the Days Ahead: Be grateful for the ones in your own life, like Emily, whose quiet beauty has helped you achieve your goals and dreams!
We will be sending a “Bonus Newsletter” to let you know as soon as Volume One: Into the Garden is available in print!
Thank you for reading!
John, Gracie, Bessie, Blanche, Pearl, Emily, and Amelia
"Are you gentlemen anti-Christmas?" Trump card!