She emerged from the house her hair coiled on the top of her head and decorated with a strip of shining silver from an empty biscuit tin. Thus had she seen a circus lady dressed on one never-to-be-forgotten day. Around her small body was draped a yellow silk shawl of Mrs. Wopps. Her feet were encased in a pair of Ebenezer Wopp’s reddest socks, bound on by bright green ribbon ripped from her winter hat. From her fair hair floated a white aigret made of chicken feathers hastily wired together. Moses needed no aigret as a strand of red hair stood upright from the crown of his head.
“Here Mosey,” said Betty, “is a tin crown. You can fasten it on with this wire. See?”
In a moment the obliging boy’s head was surmounted by an empty tomato can, and under the aegis of “Whacker Brand” he became attendant to the circus manageress. Thus helmeted he stood and gazed at Betty as though the hinges of his jaw were loosening.
“Stir yerself Moses or I’ll hev the zoo ready afore yer tickets are writ.”
Moses began cutting make-believe tickets using the paper and scissors thrust into his hand by the capable manageress of the show.
Presently he raised his head and was confronted by Job the turkey wearing a tiny bright pink hat and a green ribbon round his neck. An antimacassar bearing wide magenta and red crocheted stripes covered his back causing him to strut with peacock pride.
“Don’t Job look jist like Mariar Mifsud goin’ to meetin’,” gurgled Betty.
Next appeared Jethro in a high state of hilarity with a harness made of Moses’ skate-straps and with a tiny doll dressed to represent a monkey bound to his back.
“Jethro barks with his mouth an’ smiles with his tail,” said Betty.
“His tail’s druv in too far fer to waggle much though,” returned Moses eyeing the diminutive stump.