Introduction

Will the operation permit of the shabby circus of Mr Cannelloni be cancelled after a special inspection by the scrupulous government official Maximillian Knapp?

Rosita, the wife of the circus director, discovers new powers within herself and masterminds the audacious Operation Hannibal. They have to get the caravan across the Alps in one night to get to the one thing that can fill up their empty cashbox.

Putting their special skills into play, both the loyal strongman Budo von Bismarck and snakewoman Kleopatra chip in to save the beloved circus. The entire colourful circus crowd takes part in the action, and the performance of One and a Half Basses leaves no one cold.

The Circus of Mr Cannelloni

Characters

Circus director Ernesto Cannelloni

Madam Rosita Cannelloni

Strongman Budo von Bismarck

Chef Andrei and Nano the guenon

Kasimir and the Pommer Boys

Snakewoman Kleopatra and Luxor the cat

The Flying Cosmonauts

Elvira the elephant and her cub

Leopold the lion

Clowns Victor and Hugo

Special inspector Maximillian Knapp

Former human cannonball, midget Valeri

Opera singer Boris Bubka

Assistant Emilio

Mr Cannelloni wakes to a new morning

The circus of Mr Cannelloni was on the verge of bankruptcy. Having endured countless rains and hot blazing days, the colours of the circus tent had started to become faded. The tent had gone through as hard times as director Mr Cannelloni himself. But he never complained. This was what he had always wanted to do for a living, just like his father, grandfather and great grandfather in their times. It was honourable to continue the tradition his family had started as long as one hundred years ago.

Cannelloni felt proud looking at the beautifully framed pictures hanging on the walls of his wagon. The pictures portrayed handsome, moustachioed men with a look of determination in their eyes. It seemed as if their eyes had followed Cannelloni, who was shaving in front of an oval mirror.

The circus director dabbed shaving foam on his chin and manoeuvred the razor with experienced moves. Once in a while he wiped off the extra foam with the towel that was hanging from his waist. The moustache demanded precision.

Cannelloni had had a tufty moustache since a young man. Now that he was approaching retirement age, it had streaks of gray in it that he carefully covered with dark moustache wax. After having curled the ends of his moustache and splashed some after-shave on his cheeks, he was ready to face the new day ahead.

Cannelloni opened the door of his sleeping wagon and stepped outside into the sunshine. Had there been more money in the cashbox of the circus, it would have been a splendid day. But the fact was that this summer season might be the last for the circus. They were lucky to be able to finish the entire European tour this year. Cannelloni’s gut wrenched at the thought of shutting down the circus. Up to this point they had survived by pinching every penny they had. They had economised on every imaginable thing, but running a circus was expensive.

The animals ate tons of food. Elvira the elephant was a true guzzler to whom they had to get box loads of vegetables and bales of hay. Leopold the lion had become old and lost almost all his teeth. They now had to feed him with the softest and most tender steaks that the butcher had. And they didn’t come cheap.

The poodles of Cannelloni’s wife, Madam Rosita, constantly needed new barrettes, pompons and brushes, and they were not purchased from any average stores but fancy little boutiques along the top shopping streets.

– Poodles are sensitive little creatures who must be treated delicately. A certain standard has to be maintained for the sake of the show, madam said emphatically each time Mr Cannelloni brought up the issue of saving money.

Of course, Madam Rosita was right, as always. Mr Cannelloni found it downright impossible to argue against her when she looked at him with her rosy lips pursed together. They had been married as long as thirty five years, and Cannelloni knew quite well that in certain issues there was nothing that could change Rosita’s mind. Even as a young girl she had had an exceptional longing for beauty and an artistic insight. It was precisely this that had caught the attention of young Cannelloni back in the day when he had admiringly watched the performance of this graceful ropedancer high up in the air.

After their children were born, Mrs Cannelloni had taken up teaching acrobatics to the new members of the circus as well as her five magnificent poodles. Rosita’s poodles were famous, particularly Fifi, the pride of the pack, whose black fur was shiny and undulating.

But also Madam Rosita herself was still a stately sight. Albeit Rosita, an avid lover of pastries, had gotten a tad roundish, her posture and the smoothness of her movements were as ever before. Her grandeur was crowned with her high hairdo, which somewhat resembled that of Fifi the poodle. Every now and then Rosita would dress her dogs in spangly tinsel jackets and slipped into a full-length dress of the same fabric herself. In it she resembled a well-fed mermaid without a tail.

Mrs Cannelloni was well aware of her position as the director’s wife and wouldn’t let trivial matters bother her. She had become accustomed to Mr Cannelloni taking care of the daily business of the circus together with his loyal assistants.

Rosita would much rather focus on her grandchildren and her poodles. Besides, she was easily prone to terrible headaches, which could only be relieved by resting in a dimly lit sleeping wagon with the company of a portable television and a box of chocolate. Even now, Mrs Cannelloni was resting in her trailer and would continue to do so at least till noon.

Breakfast at Andrei’s camp kitchen

Mr Cannelloni was walking through the circus camp. He followed the scent of bacon caught by his nose. In the outskirts of the camp, chef Andrei was serving breakfast for the circus crew. His real name was Andrzej, but no one could either pronounce or spell it correctly except for his Polish twin brother Kazimierz, who for clarity’s sake was known as Kasimir.

he brothers were ardent horsemen. Whenever his chef’s duties allowed it, Andrei would gladly go help out in tending to the horses, while Kasimir starred in the tremendous horse number of the circus. In it four black and two white horses with riders on them showed off their skills. It was Kasimir who performed the most daring of the stunts while his chef brother cooked nutritious food for him. Andrei would save all dried up heels of loaves and often bring them to the horses, who used to take walks behind the camp.

Some lightweight tables and chairs had been brought out on the lawn next to Andrei’s camp kitchen. A group of performers of the circus had gathered there to have breakfast. The chatter was lively and multilingual. Many of the performers had been with the circus as long as Mr Cannelloni. They would even spend the winter season together, tending to the equipment and animals of the circus.

Like migratory birds, some of the performers joined the others as the summer season began. The chatter of different languages resembled a buoyant flock of birds that had again arrived with the summer and enlivened Cannelloni’s shabby circus.

Aside from Mr Cannelloni’s own family, the circus crew included Polish horse masters the Pommer Boys, a Russian trapeze group the Flying Cosmonauts, French clowns Victor and Hugo, an Egyptian snakewoman Kleopatra, and a German strongman Budo von Bismarck. Besides them, a group of younger gymnasts and dancers also travelled with the circus. They had joined it to improve their circus skills with these more experienced artists and to take the opportunity to travel through the summery Europe.

Every now and again the greasy sausages in Andrei’s grill set the coals on fire. With swift moves he would then skilfully scoop a handful of water from the bucket and sprinkle it on the flames that went out with a hiss. The Pommer Boys needed a heavy breakfast because jumping on and off of horses in full speed took a lot of energy. In fact, Andrei’s brother Kasimir often used to say that he couldn’t pull out those audacious stunts if it wasn’t for his chef brother who fed him well. Hearing this would bring a content smile to Andrei’s face and he would straighten out his high chef’s hat.

Of course, others had their breakfasts, too. Clowns Victor and Hugo were sitting together on the outermost bench, eating stuffed baguettes and drinking coffee with milk, sunk deep in their thoughts. Without their clown make-up and silly costumes they looked thin and sad, but when performing they were energetic and fussy, making the audiences squirm with laughter. Especially children were always excited to see them tripping over their long shoes and failing in almost everything they did. Despite the bright sun that now shed its light on the yard, it couldn’t warm the clowns as much as the spotlights of the circus tent.

Snakewoman Kleopatra had withdrawn onto a blanket a little apart from the others. She had already had a light yoghurt breakfast and was now stretching her muscles in the warmth of the sun. Inch by inch she bent herse...