Tigers and Camels and Elephants! Oh my!

I had the best time this weekend! I got to see 16 tigers. I saw camels. I even saw elephants that danced! I went to the circus! My mom and dad surprised me with tickets to the circus. I have always read about the circus, and even seen the circus portrayed in movies and on TV. I was so excited, and I couldn't wait. I didn't know what to expect! When we first got to the circus, my mom bought me a snow cone that was almost as big as me!

We took our seats and the lights were dimmed. A spotlight was shown on a man. He was wearing a shiny blue and orange and yellow cloak. He announced to the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages..., Welcome to the circus!" He said his name was Adam and he was the ring master. He said that the ring master's job is to guide the circus and to announce all of the different acts that would be performed throughout the night. He said that during the circus, we would see tightrope walkers that needed extreme balance, intelligent elephants that learned dance routines, and even a man who spun upside down in a wheel! I couldn't wait for the first act! The ring master even waved to me!!





















 Then, all of a sudden, the lights came on, and dancers and clowns came out in the circus ring! They all danced to a song about the circus, and it was such a fun song that I even started to dance!

 The clowns ran around and bounced on balls. They even balanced on unicycles and rode around really fast. I was having so much fun already! The dancers and clowns went back through the exit and the lights went down again. I got a little nervous, because it was really dark, and I couldn't wait to see what was next. Then, the spotlight sparked to life, and it shown on two poles in the middle of the ring with one rope tied between both poles. The ring master announced that the tight rope acrobats were going to attempt something very scary. Everyone in the crowd became quiet. Then, two acrobats stood on the tight rope. Then, another acrobat stood on a pole that each acrobat was holding between them. If that wasn't scary enough, then a girl acrobat stood on top of the other acrobat's shoulders, and this was all while walking across the tight rope! The whole audience clapped and cheered for the acrobats on the tight rope as they walked across! It was incredible to see how these acrobats could balance.

 

After the acrobats were finished on the tight rope, then the ring master came out and announced that some of the smartest animals in the world were coming out to perform for us! I couldn't wait to see what animals were coming out to the ring! Then, the music started playing, and elephants came running out! The elephants were following each other by holding the tail in front of them with their trunks! The elephants were so big! I've seen elephants at the zoo before, but now that I am flat, I thought they were much, much bigger!

 

 The elephants were so funny! The ring master asked the trainer, Ryan, to tell the audience some information about the elephants. The elephant trainer told us about how smart the elephants were. He told us that "an elephant NEVER forgets!" He said that when elephants learn a new trick or dance for the circus, they can perform this for many years! I wish I remember some of my math facts from last year, and now I know who to help me study!

 

 

  The elephants danced to the music, and they even stood on their back legs and waved to the audience! For the grand finale, the elephants all finished dancing together, and stood with their front legs on each other's back! It was like they were all getting piggy back rides! I gave the elephants a standing ovation, because they were my favorite!

    
The elephants had to leave, but I was only sad for a second, because then came the camels! The camels rode around the ring while the clowns danced and waved to the audience. The spotlight was on the clowns and camels and people dancing, but I could start to see a big cage being set up on the other side of the ring. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next! To make sure that the audience wasn't looking at the big cage going up, another spotlight came on and focused on a big pendulum. That is what the ring master called it, but it kind of looked like a big wheel on a stick to me. The acrobat in the pendulum went round and round, and even upside down! The ring master explained that the acrobat was not falling out, because gravity was holding him in place! I wasn't sure who this "gravity" person was, and I definitely couldn't see him. The ring master cleared everything up for me, though. He said that gravity is like the Earth is pulling you and keeping you on the ground, instead of letting you float off into space. Gravity is what was holding this acrobat down in the pendulum as he spun around and around. I thought that this was so cool!

 

 

I was so caught up in the acrobat's performance, that I completely forgot about the cage that was going up on the other side of the ring! The lights dimmed again and all you could hear was the ring master's voice. He asked for the audience to be as quiet as we could be, because 16 of the jungle's most ferocious animals were coming out to the center ring. I was so nervous that I jumped straight into mom's lap! The spotlight came on all of a sudden, and I couldn't believe my eyes! There were 16 tigers in the ring with a cage around them, and a man in the middle! The ring master introduced Tony the tiger tamer! He said that Tony trains with the tigers every week, and the tigers trust him to reward them with treats after doing all of their tricks that they would show us. I couldn't believe my eyes! Tony got the tigers to roll over, sit, stay, and even jump over each other!

The ring master announced that Tony and his tigers would be the grand finale! My mom told me that the finale meant that the circus was almost over, so I knew that the tiger act would have to be really good!  Tony did tricks with all of the tigers, and taught us about the tigers, too. He said that each of the tigers had a name, and the tigers were trained to respond to their name when he called them. He said that tigers were smart animals, but sometimes very dangerous. Tony told us that it took a long time to train the tigers, because the tigers had to gain his trust first. Now, the tigers and Tony are like family. I think that this is a very cool job to have. After Tony talked to us about the tigers and showed us their tricks, he sent the tigers back, except for one. He said that this tiger, named Judy, knew a very special trick to end the show.  He told Judy to sit, and Judy sat. He told Judy to stand up, and she stood up! I was so impressed that a tiger could do this! Then, he said, "Judy here!" a few times, and Judy hopped to her trainer! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A tiger was hopping like a bunny rabbit!

Tony exited the cage with Judy the tiger, and everyone stood up and clapped! The circus ended with the clowns and dancers, and even the camels, coming out to dance and sing and wave goodbye to the audience one last time. I had the best time at the circus, and I learned so much! I hope that everyone gets to see the circus. Since I wanted to show my family where the circus would be coming next, in case they wanted to see it, I looked up the tour schedule online. I found a link, and with my mom's permission, I sent this link to all of my cousins, so that maybe they will get a chance to see the circus, like I did! I learned so much at the circus and had so much fun! Here is the link to the circus tour, in case you want a chance to see the circus, too!

 

Circus Schedule