Freddie Mole

by Alexander McCall Smith

  Turning around, she bent her knees and launched herself off the edge of the platform.

  “There she goes,” said Godfrey. “Swinging nicely, just like…” He suddenly stopped, and Freddie knew immediately that something was wrong.

  “Oh no,” gasped Godfrey. “I forgot to put the net up!”

  Horrified, Freddie looked out over the emptiness. Lisa was swinging energetically on the trapeze, bending her legs to give her more movement.

  “Lisa!” shouted Godfrey. “Don’t let go! Don’t let go!”

  From the other side of the tent, there came a faint voice in reply. “What was that you said?”

  Godfrey cupped his hands to make his voice louder. “I said DON’T LET GO!”

  “Don’t get low?” came the faint—and puzzled—reply.

  “No, DON’T LET GO!”

  Godfrey now turned to Freddie. “Freddie,” he said. “How quickly can you slide down a rope?”

  Freddie realized that this was a real emergency. “Very quickly,” he said. He hoped this was true.

  “Right,” said Godfrey. “I’m going to stay up here and try to attract Lisa’s attention. You slide down this rope as quickly as you can. At the bottom you’ll see a red box with a button. That controls the machine that will wind the safety net into position. Press it the moment you get down. Understand?”

  Freddie nodded. Without any hesitation he seized the rope that Godfrey passed him, wrapped his legs round it, and jumped.

  Down he slid, much faster than he had imagined possible, but slowly enough to land softly when he reached the bottom. Once there, he picked himself up and raced across to the red control box. The button was there—exactly where Godfrey had said it would be—and when he pressed it he heard the welcome sound of machinery unwinding the safety net.

  Up above, Godfrey had managed to get his warning to Lisa, but now that the net was in place, she was free to let go. And she did, tumbling like an angel falling out of the sky.

  Freddie watched from below. He held his breath as Lisa came down, and then let it out in a relieved rush when he saw how the net broke her fall. And then he watched in astonishment as he saw her bounce up, turn an elegant somersault in the air, and then fall back into the net. It all looked so easy and so comfortable. It looked like fun, too.

  “Your turn, Freddie,” called Lisa as she lowered herself from the edge of the safety net.

  Freddie was still standing on the ground, and he looked up at the platform high above him. It seemed an impossible distance to fall and not get hurt, but he had seen it done now, and he was not as frightened as he had been earlier.

  “Yes,” he said. “I’m coming.”

  * * *

  —

  It was such fun that he did it three times, letting go, being bounced up by the net, and then climbing back up the rope ladder to let go once again. At the end of net practice, Godfrey and Lisa gave him several lessons in swinging on the trapeze. After that they showed him how Godfrey could hook his knees over the trapeze and then, while hanging upside down, hold on to Freddie. He would swing across like that and pass Freddie to Lisa, who was swinging towards him on another trapeze. Freddie did not have to do anything in that trick, but had to allow himself to be grasped by the trapeze artists as one might grasp a parcel.

  “See how simple it is?” said Godfrey. “In fact, I think you’re ready to join us in our act tonight.”

  Freddie’s jaw dropped. “In the show? Tonight?”

  “I don’t see why not,” said Godfrey. And then to Lisa he said, “Do you agree, Lisa?”

  Lisa nodded. “Freddie’s a star,” she said. “He’s got it written all over him.” She paused before adding, “Welcome to the show, Freddie.”

  Have you ever tried not to feel nervous? It’s very difficult, isn’t it? You tell yourself you’re not afraid, but that just seems to make it worse. You say to yourself, My hands aren’t shaking, but of course when you look at them they are. And that is exactly how Freddie felt as he waited outside the tent that night with Godfrey and Lisa. All three of them were wear-ing their sparkling trapeze-artist outfits, and all three were listening to the ringmaster’s voice as he addressed the crowd inside.

  “And now, ladies and gentlemen,” he announced in echoing tones. “Now we have the act you have all been waiting for.”

  There was a murmur of excitement from the crowd.

  “Now, ladies and gentlemen, fresh from their tour of the capitals of the world, fresh from their triumph at the International Circus Olympics—we are proud to present…” There was a roll of drums from the band—a low rumble that grew louder and louder until it ended in a clash of cymbals. “Ladies and gentlemen: the Flying Trio—the beautiful and lithe Lisa, star of the high trapeze; the great and fearless Godfrey, superman of the sky-high swings; and introducing the fearless and fantastic Freddie, junior champion of the tent-top!”

  The band struck up raucously. Pom, pom, pom de pom…“That’s the signal,” said Godfrey, digging Freddie gently in the ribs. “That’s our cue.”

  Freddie took a deep breath and followed Godfrey and Lisa as they ran into the tent. As he entered, his ears rang with the applause of the audience. “Look!” people shouted. “There they are!” yelled others.

  The three of them took a deep bow and then began to climb up the rope ladder. Godfrey led the way, with Lisa behind him and Freddie bringing up the rear. As they made their way skywards, the crowd became hushed with anticipation, although there were a few oohs and aahs as people craned their necks to follow them.

  When they reached the platform, Freddie had to force himself to look down. He was aware of the faces of the crowd far below him, and he thought he could make out the figure of the ringmaster standing at the edge of the ring, peering upwards.

  “Right,” said Godfrey as he moved one of the two trapezes into position. “I’m going to start off swinging. You stand at the edge, Freddie, and hold out your arms.

  “When I reach you, I’ll grab you by your wrists and swing back with you. Then Lisa will swing out and I’ll pass you over to her. She’ll take your ankles and swing backwards and forwards five or six times, then swing back to the platform. Understood?”

  He did not give Freddie any time to speak, but launched himself into the void. Lisa then moved Freddie to the edge of the platform and held on to him as Godfrey swung back in their direction.

  Freddie stood quite still, trying not to look down. He saw Godfrey approaching him, hanging on the trapeze by his knees. Then everything happened rather quickly. He felt his wrists being seized in a firm grip, and he felt Lisa push him forwards. And suddenly he was in flight, gripped by Godfrey, his feet pointed downwards, his stomach churning as they made an arc through the air.

  They swung several times, and with each crossing there came gasps of wonder and admiration from the audience below. Freddie had calmed down by now, and felt rather proud of what he was doing. He was even enjoying himself, until he happened to look down and saw something that turned his heart cold with fear.

  “The net!” he gasped. “You’ve forgotten the safety net again!”

  Godfrey glanced down. “Oh?” he said. “Oh, how foolish of me. Well, don’t worry, Freddie. We won’t drop you.”

  “I want to get down,” Freddie wailed.

  “Oh, come on, Freddie,” said Godfrey cheerfully. “Everything’s going to be fine. Look, Lisa’s ready to take you now.”

  Freddie gave a moan as he was swung back to the platform and another moan as Lisa grabbed him and swung out on her trapeze. He was upside-down now, held by his ankles, and he noticed that the ringmaster was doing something down below. It was hard to make out exactly what that was, as he was swinging backwards and forwards so much, but then he realized what it was—the ringmaster was pressing the button on the safety net controls. And yes, there was
the net moving into position.

  It was just as well. Just as the net moved into position, Lisa said, “I’m going to have to sneeze.” And then, as she sneezed, her grip slackened, and Freddie felt himself hanging by only one ankle, and then by none, and then he was falling through the air, head over heels, down towards the ground.

  He felt the safety net yield beneath him. He felt himself bouncing up. He felt himself descending into the net again and bouncing once more. He heard the crowd clap and cheer.

  He rose to his feet. A spotlight was shining on him and he knew what he had to do. He made a deep bow, and a roar of applause arose from the crowd. They thought that this was all planned—that the fall through the air was really a dive. They thought him very brave.

  Freddie became aware that the ringmaster was standing next to him. He bowed to the crowd as well, and they cheered him, just as they had cheered Freddie.

  “Well done, Freddie!” said the ringmaster from the side of his mouth. “Excellent boy! Oh, and by the way, I want you to help with the lions at tomorrow night’s show—the lion tamer’s assistant has gone off to Peru, of all places. So inconsiderate of him! But I told Harry—he’s the lion tamer—that you’d be happy to help.”

  Freddie froze. “Me?” he whispered. “Me?”

  The ringmaster gave another bow to the crowd. He was smiling broadly, his white teeth flashing in the bright light of the ring.

  “Yes, Freddie, you. You’ll be fine, believe me. Nothing to worry about—nothing at all!”

  Freddie did not enjoy his breakfast the next morning. Although the cook had made him a plate of his favorite—bacon and eggs—with an extra helping of mushrooms for good measure, he did not feel like eating. And how could he think of anything other than the dreadful ordeal that lay ahead of him?

  “Not hungry this morning?” asked Lisa, who was sitting on the other side of the table.

  Freddie shook his head. Lisa looked at him kindly. “Not feeling well?”

  Freddie stared down at his plate of untouched breakfast. “No, it’s not that at all. It’s the lions.”

  Lisa frowned. “The lions? What about the lions?”

  Freddie decided to tell her. “The ringmaster told me that I have to help Harry today. He says that Harry’s assistant has gone off to Peru and so I have to take his place. And…and…” His voice faltered. Then he finished. “And I’m so scared.”

  For a moment Lisa said nothing. Then her face broke into a smile. “Oh, my goodness, you don’t need to be scared of lions…or at least, not of those lions.”

  “But I saw them,” protested Freddie. “They are very large and they have great big teeth. And they roar in a very frightening way….”

  Lisa help up a hand to stop him. There was something amusing her.

  “Listen, Freddie,” she said. “It’s perfectly normal to be frightened of lions. But those lions…Well, let me come with you. I’ll have a word with Harry and he’ll let me show you something.”

  Freddie was pleased that Lisa had agreed to come with him. He was still nervous, of course, but he liked Lisa, and having her with him cheered him up a bit.

  As they left the table, Lisa pointed to Freddie’s plate of untouched breakfast. “Those sausages,” she said. “Bring them with you.”

  “But I’m not feeling hungry,” said Freddie. “I don’t want them.”

  “But the lions will,” said Lisa. “Come on, bring them with you.”

  Freddie did as he was told, although he did not like the thought of feeding sausages to lions. How would a lion tell the difference between your fingers and a sausage? Would a lion even bother to tell the difference?

  * * *

  —

  The lions were kept in a large metal cage right on the edge of the circus site. Harry, the lion tamer, was sitting in front of this cage, shaded from the sun by a large umbrella. He was filing his fingernails with a large nail file when they arrived, and he continued to do so as Lisa introduced Freddie.

  “You’re the new boy,” he said, not looking up from his task of filing his nails. “I’ve heard all about you. They say you’re much better than the last boy.” He paused and looked up. “The lions didn’t like him, you know. Oh no, they didn’t take to that boy.”

  Freddie did not know what to say.

  “You heard about my assistant?” Harry continued. “He’s gone off to Peru. Just like that. I’ve got half a mind to go myself, you know.”

  Lisa shook her head. “You can’t go off to Peru, Harry,” she said severely. “Who would look after your lions?”

  Harry made a face. It was a very grumpy face. “Oh, they’d get somebody,” he said. He glanced at Freddie. “Somebody young and keen.”

  Freddie looked down at the ground. He did not want to look after lions. He may have been young, but he was not in the slightest bit keen—not when it came to lions.

  Lisa now suggested that Freddie should be introduced to the lions. “And don’t worry,” she whispered to him. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

  “You go and show him, then,” said Harry. “I don’t care.”

  They went round to the side of the cage. Freddie looked warily through the bars and saw four large lions sleeping together in a sort of heap. As he and Lisa approached the door of the cage, one of the lions opened an eye and looked at them lazily.

  “That one’s Ripper,” said Lisa. “And the one next to him is Growler. Then there’s Roarer and Prowler.”

  The lions were stirring now. Seeing that they had visitors, they were stretching and scratching, shaking their magnificent manes.

  “Give me the sausages,” said Lisa.

  Freddie passed her the sausages, which he had wrapped in a paper napkin. Lisa took them and reached for the handle to the cage door. “Are you coming with me?” she asked.

  “Inside?” asked Freddie, his voice unsteady with fear.

  Lisa did not seem the slightest bit scared. “Of course. Come on.”

  As they entered the cage, the lions took a few steps away from them. Freddie had not expected this, nor had he expected what happened next. Lisa held out the sausages, calling to the lions as she did so. “Come on, boys,” she coaxed. “Nice sausages.”

  Very cautiously, the lions approached her, sniffed at the sausages, and then each took one in its mouth and sat down to chew it. Freddie watched in astonishment.

  “Where are their teeth?” he asked.

  Lisa smiled. “That’s a good question, Freddie,” she said. “You see, these lions are rather old. They used to have all their teeth, but they lost most of them years ago. And as for their claws, they still have them, but they’re dreadfully blunt.”

  “But I saw their teeth!” protested Freddie. “When I saw them in the show, they had great sharp teeth.”

  Lisa shook her head. “False teeth,” she said. “Made of plastic. Harry fits them in each lion just before the performance. They can’t really bite anything with them. And when they don’t have them in, they find it a bit difficult to eat anything that needs to be chewed. Even these sausages are a bit of an effort for them.”

  “But they were very fierce,” went on Freddie. “I heard them roar.”

  “Oh, they roar, all right,” said Lisa. “But they don’t really mean it. They’ve been trained to act fierce in the circus ring, but actually they would never so much as say boo to a goose. They’re very gentle lions, these ones—in spite of their names.”

  Freddie watched as Lisa bent down to pat Growler, just as one might pat a friendly cat. The lion arched his back and began to purr.

  “There,” said Lisa. “You see how friendly he is, Freddie. Why don’t you go and pat Prowler—we don’t want him to feel left out.”

  Freddie approached Prowler gingerly. The lion watched him and then suddenly stepped forward, making Freddie gi
ve a start. But it was only to lick Freddie’s hand, which was what Prowler now did.

  “He likes you,” said Lisa. “That’s the biggest compliment a lion can pay, you know—to lick you like that.”

  Freddie smiled at the thought. He had decided that he liked the lions, and he was pleased to discover that they liked him, too. Over the next half hour they got to know one another even better. Lisa showed him the games the lions liked to play, including fetch-the-ball, lion-tag, and hide-and-seek. Then they left them, as Freddie had to go off and help polish the spotlights.

  “Good luck this evening,” said Lisa.

  “Thank you,” replied Freddie. His fear had gone, and he was looking forward to the evening show, when he would enter the lion’s cage with Harry and his new friends. He had never imagined—never in his wildest dreams—that he would be a lion tamer, but now that it was happening, he was rather proud of himself. “Freddie Mole,” he muttered under his breath. “Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer.” Yes, it sounded rather good, he thought. Not that he was a boastful boy, but if something sounded rather good, one might as well mutter it.

  The tent was full that night. Freddie watched as the crowds streamed in, and then took up a place near the entrance, ready to help Harry with the lions. Harry had lent him a uniform: a splendid pair of khaki jodhpurs—a special sort of riding trousers—a brown tunic top, and gleaming leather boots. “You look quite the lion tamer,” said Lisa admiringly.

  The circus started with the clowns. The crowd loved them, and roared with approval each time one clown threw a custard pie at another clown. Then there were the performing dogs and the dancing horses—both brought prolonged applause and cheers. After that, Lisa and Godfrey did their act, although they did not have Freddie to help them.