by MJ Walker
“You can keep the leopard in exchange for that panther there,” the Ring Master said, holding his whip up at the jaguar, who hissed.
Then he saw her long claws and the hungry look in her eyes. The old leopard had told the jaguar all about this drunken man dressed in a silly coat and hat, and she didn’t like him. She saw the whip in his hand and knew she was faster. So did the Ring Master.
Doris then made the decision for them all. She blew her lungs and stampeded her feet, making the iron bridge sway.
Jim the Strongman didn’t stay to argue. He deferred to Doris’s great strength, her new found will. He’d always liked the elephant. He wished her well. He nodded to the old leopard, saluting him. He turned his back on the Ring Master and the circus life forever. He took Charity’s hand and they walked towards the docks, seeking some barrels to lift, fortunes to tell and a ship to sail. Charity shouted back at the Ring Master, calling him a fool, a man with no future.
The Ring Master panicked. He unfurled his whip. But Doris was already upon him. She dipped her shoulder and knocked him to the floor, breaking a rib and spilling his hat, the only time in her life she had hurt a human being. She walked on to the bridge as Bear followed. He reached the Ring Master and placed one huge talon on each shoulder of his red jacket. He leaned in, placing his long nose between the eyes of the Ring Master, making sure the man could see every scar. He pushed down his legs, squeezing the Ring Master’s collarbones, then hopped off, following the elephant. Bessie just flew on by the man on his back, who was cursing in French, struggling to breathe now, his boots coming off his feet.
The old leopard came next. He twitched his ears and licked his lips. But the man on the floor looked aged, wretched. The cat knew the man had no decent life left to live; his circus was gone. He smiled and felt a little younger for it. He waited for the jaguar and, with Edward on her back, they strolled past the human who wanted to chain and collar them and make them dance for money.
Finally, Lloyd Morgan stepped over the Ring Master, followed by his fox-terrier.
“I have learned my lesson. It is time you learned it too,” he said. “Animals should be treated with respect.”
Freedom
The troupe wandered over the iron bridge, past a grey-haired guard who thought he’d seen it all. Only Lloyd Morgan had no idea where they were heading. He watched as his dog jumped the boards, skipping between the anteater, elephant and cat he had once fought.
At the end of the bridge sat two foxes. On seeing the fox-terrier, they stood and snarled, unsure whether to attack or flee. But Tony saw them too. He remembered Bear saying how animals should stick together. He made it to within ten feet of the foxes and sat, ears pointing forward, shaping his body to convey he meant them no harm.
The foxes didn’t trust the dog. They retreated to the edge of Leigh Woods as Doris stepped off the bridge, lightening its load. She pulled at a branch, stripping it of its succulent leaves. Bear joined her as the foxes marvelled at the approaching leopard and jaguar. The animals gathered at the tree line, Bessie perched upon an oak, and looked back at the city, at Tony the terrier and the professor of science who stood alongside his dog.
Professor Conwy Lloyd Morgan studied them one last time. Bear the anteater had lost his spectacles, Doris the elephant her hat and shawl, Edward his little red hat and waistcoat, the old leopard his collar and the jaguar her cage, while Bessie had found her calling as a bird. Each stood naked and free, as they would in the wilds of their ancestral homes.
“In front of the King, you seemed to understand me. Perhaps you will now,” said the professor. “I have made it my life’s work to understand creatures such as you. And yet I feel I do not. I have researched for many years to produce my canon, which dictates how we should think of you. But I fear my canon is flawed. When we humans consider you animals, we shouldn’t rush to make simple judgements. We shouldn’t presume what little you are capable of. We should presume you are capable of great things.
I do not know where you are going, or how you shall live. But I will promise you this. I will work hard to rescind my canon, and ensure it is not unduly quoted. And I will offer whatever protection to you I can. If any man or woman tries to harm you, I shall evoke the protection of the University of Bristol and the King of England. I shall shield you as best I am able.”
Tony stood and barked at the animals ahead, a menagerie no more. Bear doffed his nose at the professor and dog and led his friends into the woods. Down a trail they walked, the sun setting over the tops of the trees.
Skipping ahead, the foxes reached a clearing, in which the red bull had waited, grazing. As the bull saw the circus animals approach, he let the grass fall from his mouth. Bear called the animals close. He felt ready to sleep. He was tired not of life, but as an anteater should be. He had some last words to share before the night took them.
“It is up to us now. We must decide how we want to live.”
“You are welcome to stay with us in the woods,” said the bull. “But I need a guarantee the cats will not harm us.”
“We will only take what we need,” said the leopard. “We will leave you cows alone and any deer that pass through these trees. When we need to eat, we will go out on to the hills, and hunt the proper way. We’ll only seek out the old and infirm.”
“What about the dogs?” said the younger fox. “Can you help protect us against the dogs?”
“There is a pack of dogs run by the humans,” explained Bear to the cats. “They hunt the foxes and try to kill them.”
“I’ve met those dogs,” said the leopard.
“I can easily take a dog,” said the jaguar.
“There’s a lot of them,” said the leopard.
“Then we shall scare them off. We shall mark the edge of these woods with our scent. They won’t know how many cats are living wild in here. And if it comes to a fight...”
“Then we will protect you,” said the leopard to the foxes, finishing her words. “You might not see us, but we will be here, sitting on a branch in a tree, or in the grass, protecting you.”
“There is a natural order that cannot be helped,” agreed Bear to them all. “And not all animals can get along. But we can restrain ourselves, respect each other. We can do what the humans cannot, and only take what is necessary.”
“What would you like to do Doris?” chirped Bessie. “What would you like to do?”
“I think I would like to swim back to India, to my family,” said Doris. “I can’t forget my cousins and I’d like to see them again. But I don’t think that will be possible. So I would like to live here with the cows.”
“We can show you the best browse,” said the bull.
“And I can excavate a watering hole near the fort,” said Doris, pleased with herself.
“And you Bessie? What would you like to do?” asked Bear.
“I will fly,” was all she said, feeling no need to repeat herself.
“What will you do Bear?” Doris asked.
“First, I don’t think I want to be called Bear any more. There is no need,” he said. “As for what I will do? I don’t know. I would like to taste some honey. But there is one thing I will do no more. I will no longer run.”
All the animals burst into laughter.
One by one they set off deeper into the woods. None thought to ask Edward the monkey how he might like to live. But it didn’t matter. The wild man of the circus took it upon himself to count up all the fruit trees in the forest. He’d evaluate the size of their yearly crop and make plans for which to harvest and when. He’d sit down with Bear and help him do the same for all the ant nests and termite mounds in the forest, thinking that on special days they might forage for grubs together.
And when the days were quiet and there were no jobs to do, the little pin monkey decided he might teach himself how to write.
He already knew what he would write about. He would jot down the story of the circus animals that everyone thought were stupid, who couldn’t th
ink for themselves.
He’d recite their adventure and how they escaped the humans that kept them captive.
How, like all animals, they were cleverer than humans thought.
How they could feel and think, scheme and plan.
He would tell the story of how animals had hopes and dreams and of how a few had won and deserved their freedom.
Also by
MJ Walker
A Blue Monkey
As a young boy visiting the Bronx Zoo, Robert Alexander glimpses a very special monkey; a blue monkey sitting in the shadows of a cage, a blue monkey that appears to cry a tear.
So begins a lifetime quest to rediscover this most enigmatic creature, a primate of such unusual disposition, an animal whose very existence is unproven.
As a mystery turns into an adventure, then evolves into an odyssey, Robert is drawn ever deeper into the exotic hearts of Africa and South America.
A fertile, luscious novel of elegant, captivating prose, A Blue Monkey challenges the very nature of faith and belief.
It is a story full of life’s riches, a novel that builds into a beautiful exploration of the natural world and human psyche.
www.nobella.co.uk
Also by
MJ Walker
The Cloud Seekers
Out of a world where nothing is known, emerges a story where everything is at stake.
Sometime around his sixteenth birthday, a Young man is called to a special occasion. Two Oldie people are to give him something precious; a name, the only name he has ever had. From now on, he will be known as Serge. But Serge is desperate to learn more; about who he is, where he came from? And what happened to the Others?
So begins The Cloud Seekers, a youthful adventure story of innocence and discovery that belies its immense significance.
As Serge begins to piece together the wires, Screens and Terminals broken and scattered around Town, he starts to uncover the truth about the world he lives in, a world only he can put back together.
A world that may yet become our own.
Told with a disarming lightness and energy, The Cloud Seekers is an enthralling, simple tale, full of hidden depth and meaning that makes us think long after the final words are finished. It is truly unique, a futuristic novel that is utterly of the moment.
www.nobella.co.uk
