The Carnivorous Carnival

villain was pointing at.

The trailer was filled with lions, packed in so tightly that the children couldn't tell just how many there were. The lions were unhappy to be traveling in such tight quarters, and were showing their unhappiness by scratching at the cage with their claws, snapping at one another with their long teeth, and roaring as loudly and as fiercely as they could. Some of Count Olaf's henchmen gathered around, along with several visitors to the carnival, to see what was going on, and Olaf tried to say something to them, but couldn't be heard over the lions' roars. Frowning, the villain removed a whip from his pocket and whipped at the lions through the trailer bars. Like people, animals will become frightened and likely do whatever you say if you whip them enough, and the lions finally quieted down so Olaf could make his announcement.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said, 'boys and girls, freaks and normal people, Caligari Carnival is proud to announce the arrival of these fierce lions, who will be used in a new attraction.'

'That's good news,' said someone in the crowd, 'because the souvenirs in the gift caravan are pretty lousy.'

'It is good news,' Count Olaf agreed with a snarl, and turned to face the Baudelaires. His eyes were shining very brightly, and the siblings shivered in their disguises as he looked at the children and then at the gathering crowd. 'Things are about to get much better around here,' he said, and the Baudelaire orphans knew that this was as fictional as anything they could imagine.

Chapter Five

If you have ever experienced something that feels strangely familiar, as if the exact same thing has happened to you before, then you are experiencing what the French call 'dйjа vu.'

Like most French expressions–'ennui,' which is a fancy term for severe boredom, or 'la petite mort,' which describes a feeling that part of you has died–'' refers to something that is usually not very pleasant, because it is curious to feel as if you have heard or seen something that you have heard or seen before. and experiencing the queasy feeling of dйjа.

'These lions are going to be the most exciting thing at Caligari Carnival!' Olaf announced, as more and more people drew near to see what all the fuss was about. 'As you all know, unless you are incredibly dim-witted, a stubborn mule will move in the proper direction if there is a carrot in front of it, and a stick behind it. It will move toward the carrot, because it wants the reward of food, and away from the stick, because it does not want the punishment of pain. And these lions will do the same.'

'What's going on?' Hugo asked the children, walking out of the caravan with Colette and Kevin close behind.

'Dйjа,' Sunny said bitterly. Even the youngest Baudelaire recognized Count Olaf's cruel speech about the stubborn mule from when the three children had been living in Olaf's house. Back then, the villain had talked about a stubborn mule in order to force Violet to marry him, a plot that thankfully had been foiled at the last minute, but now he was using the very same words to cook up another scheme, and it gave the siblings a queasy feeling to watch it happen.

'These lions,' Count Olaf said, 'will do as I say, because they want to avoid the punishment of this whip!' With a flourish, he flicked his whip at the lions again, who cowered behind the bars, and some of the visitors to the carnival applauded.

'But if the whip is the stick,' asked the bald man, 'what is the carrot?'

'The carrot?' Olaf repeated, and laughed in a particularly nasty way. 'The reward for the lions who obey me will be a delicious meal. Lions are carnivorous, which means they eat meat, and here at Caligari Carnival they'll have the finest meat we have to offer.' He turned and pointed his whip at the entrance to the freaks' caravan, where the Baudelaires were standing with their coworkers. 'The freaks you see here aren't normal people, and so they lead depressing lives,' he announced. 'They'll be happy to exhibit themselves in the name of entertainment.'

'Of course we will,' Colette said. 'We do it every day.'

'Then you won't mind being the most important part of the lion show,' Olaf replied. 'We're not going to feed these lions regular meals, so they'll be very, very hungry by the time the show begins. Each day, instead of a show at the House of Freaks, we'll randomly choose one freak and watch the lions devour them.'

Everyone cheered again, except for Hugo, Colette, Kevin, and the three siblings, who all stood in horrified silence.

'That will be exciting!' said the man with pimples on his face. 'Just think–violence and sloppy eating combined in one fabulous show!'

'I couldn't agree more!' said a woman who was standing nearby. 'It was hilarious watching that two-headed freak eat, but it'll be even more hilarious watching the two-headed freak get eaten!

'I'd prefer to watch the hunchback get eaten,' said someone else in the crowd. 'He's so funny! He doesn't even have a regular back!'

'The fun starts tomorrow afternoon!' Count Olaf cried. 'See you then!'

'I can't wait,' said the woman, as the crowd began to disperse, a word which here means 'walk off to purchase souvenirs or leave the carnival.' 'I'm going to tell all my friends.'

'I'm going to call that reporter at The Daily Punctilio,' the man with pimples said, heading toward the phone booth. 'This carnival is about to get very popular, and maybe they'll write an article about it.'

'You were right, boss,' said the hook-handed man. 'Things are about to get much better here.'

'Of course he was right, please,' Madame Lulu said. 'He is brilliant man, and brave man, and generous man. He is brilliant for thinking of the lion show, please. He is brave man for hitting lions with whip, please. And he is generous man for giving lions to Lulu.'

'He gave those lions to you?' asked a sinister voice. 'They were presents?'

Now that most of the carnival visitors had departed, the Baudelaires could see Esmй Squalor step forward from the doorway of another caravan and walk toward Count Olaf and Madame Lulu. As she passed the lions' trailer, she ran her enormous fingernails along the bars, and the lions whimpered in fear. 'So you gave Madame Lulu some lions,' she said. 'What did you get me?'

Count Olaf scratched his head with one scraggly hand, and looked a little embarrassed. 'Nothing,' he admitted. 'But you can share my whip, if you'd like.'

Madame Lulu leaned over and gave Olaf a kiss on the cheek. 'He gave lions to me, please, because I did such wonderful fortune-telling.'

'You should have seen it, Esmй,' Olaf said.

'Lulu and I entered the fortune-telling tent and turned out all the lights, and the crystal ball began to hum its magical hum. Then, magical lightning crackled above us, and Madame Lulu told me to concentrate as hard as I could. While I closed my eyes, she gazed into her crystal ball and told me that one of the Baudelaire parents is alive and hiding in the Mortmain Mountains. As a reward, I gave her these lions.'

'So Madame Lulu needs a carrot, too, eh?' the hook-handed man said with a laugh.

'First thing tomorrow morning,' Olaf continued, 'Madame Lulu will consult her crystal ball again, and tell me where the Baudelaires are.'

Esmй glared at Lulu. 'And what sort of gift will you give then, Olaf?'

'Be reasonable, my dear,' Count Olaf said to his girlfriend. 'The lions will make Caligari Carnival much more popular, so Madame Lulu can devote her time to fortune-telling and give us the information we need to finally steal the Baudelaire fortune.'

'I hate to criticize,' Hugo said hesitantly, 'but is there any way we can make the carnival more popular without feeding us to the lions? I must confess that I'm a little nervous about that part.'

'You heard the crowd when I told them about the new attraction,' Count Olaf said. 'They couldn't wait to see the lions devour you, and all of us need to do our part to give people what they want. Your part is to return to the freaks' caravan until tomorrow. And the rest of us will do our part and start digging the pit.'

'Pit?' one of the white-faced women asked. 'What do we need a pit for?'