And as he spoke there appeared between the curtains a towering golden figure with flaming curls upon his head and a wide, radiant face. And with him came a great swell of warmth that lapped the ring and spread out in ever-widening circles until it surrounded Jane and Michael and Orion. Half-consciously, made dreamy by that warmth, the children slipped off their overcoats.
Orion sprang to his feet holding his right hand above his head.
'Hail, Sun, hail!' he cried. And from the stars in the tiered seats the cry came echoing—
'Hail!'
The Sun glanced round the wide dark-tented ring and, in answer to the greeting, swung his long gold whip three times about his head. As the lash turned in the air there was a quick, sharp crack. At once the comets sprang up and cantered out, their braided tails swinging wildly, their plumed heads high and erect.
'Here we are again, here we are again!' cried a loud, hoarse voice, and bouncing into the ring came a comical figure with silver-painted face, wide red mouth and huge silvery frills about his neck.
'Saturn — the Clown!' whispered Orion behind his hand to the children.
'When is a door not a door?' demanded the Clown of the audience, turning over and standing on one hand.
'When it's ajar!' answered Jane and Michael loudly.
A disappointed look came over the Clown's face.
'Oh, you know it!' he said, reproachfully. 'That's not fair!'
The Sun cracked his whip.
'All right, all right!' said the Clown. 'I've got another. Why does a hen cross the road?' he asked, sitting down with a bump on the star-dust.
'To get to the other side!' cried Jane and Michael.
The swinging whip caught the Clown round the knees.
'O-o-h! Don't do that! You'll hurt poor Joey. Look at them laughing up there! But I'll fix them! Listen!' He turned a double somersault in the air.
'What kind of jam did the chicken ask for when it came out of the egg. Tell me that!'
'Mar — me — lade!' yelled Michael and Jane.
'Be off with you!' cried the Sun, catching his whip about the Clown's shoulders, and the Clown went bounding round the ring, head over heels, crying—
'Poor old Joey! He's failed again! He's failed again! They know all his best jokes, poor old fellow, poor old — oh, beg pardon, Miss, beg pardon!'
He broke off for he had somersaulted against Pegasus, the Winged Horse, as it entered carrying a bright spangly figure on its back.
'Venus, the Evening Star,' explained Orion.
Breathlessly, Jane and Michael watched the starry figure ride lightly through the ring. Round and round she went, bowing to the Sun as she passed, and presently the Sun, standing in her path, held up a great hoop covered with thin gold paper.
She balanced on her toes for a moment. 'Hup!' said the Sun, and Venus, with the utmost grace, jumped through the hoop and landed again on the back of Pegasus.
'Hurrah!' cried Jane and Michael, and the audience of stars echoed back 'Hurrah!'
'Let me try, let Poor Joey have a go, just a little one to make a cat laugh!' cried the Clown. But Venus only tossed her head and laughed and rode out of the ring.
She had hardly disappeared before the Three Kids came prancing in, looking rather shy and bowing awkwardly to the Sun. Then they stood on their hind legs in a row before him, and in high, thin voices recited the following song—
'Horn and hoof,
Hoof and horn,
Every night
Three Kids are born,
Each with a Twinkly Nose,
Each with a Twinkly Tail.
Blue and black,
Black and blue
Is the evening sky
As the Kids come through,
Each with a Twinkly Nose,
Each with a Twinkly Tail.
Gay and bright
And white as May
The Three Kids drink
At the Milky Way,
Each with a Twinkly Nose,
Each with a Twinkly Tail.
All night long
From Dusk till Dawn
The Three Kids graze
On the starry lawn
Each with a Twinkly Nose,
Each with a Twink-ker-ly T-a-i-l!'
They drew out the last line with a long baa-ing sound and danced out.
'What's next?' asked Michael but there was no need for Orion to reply for the Dragon was already in the ring, his nostrils steaming and his two finny tails tossing up the star-dust. After him came Castor and Pollux carrying between them a large white shining globe faintly figured with a design of mountains and rivers.
'It looks like the Moon!' said Jane.
'Of course it's the Moon!' said Orion.
