| Show e a Y r c THE CLOWNS CLOWN'S 1 CHRISTMAS i By Ma Mary Gra Graham Groham lam Bonner 1924 Newspaper Union OR OIt YEARS YEAns he bad had been funny For years he be had pah ed his hie face worn funny clothes and had made jokes He Be had traveled first of all in this country with a road circus Then when the road circus circus cir clr cir cir- cus was going out of business more or less be he joined a road circus abroad And now he was Yer very old But every afternoon and every night for ten months of the year he made Jokes He was In lna a a small circus too so sometimes he had to take other parts The Tho performing fox tox terriers acted with him They were his pets And how v he loved them How could some people be unkind to their pets Not the old clown n. There Thero was the donkey too When he paid too much attention to the thedo do dogs s the donkey came along ane and gave him a n push to tell him that the donkey donkey donkey don don- key too wanted some attention And now he had planned to have a holiday A long holiday hollday He would take a little place and with his donkey donkey donkey don don- key and his fo fox terriers they would rest after their work They would not Join the circus another another another an an- other year They were all old How tired he had become after some of the tIle performances that year He had washed his fa face e In the basin I 1 t i I of cold coid water outside his wagon and bad had not eyes even bothered to get off all the makeup The water was cold It was hard to heat water after the performance wa was over and only a little o of the paint came off only off only a n little look cold ing lag pink water was at the bottom of the basin But the dogs didn't mind They slept on the end or by the side of ot his cot In In his wagon They Jumped In after him each evening and they each kissed him good night They didn't mind paint They were used to It ItOh Oh yes he would take a n long long holiday He would rest on the little he had managed to save It would be enough f fr Jr him and his pets But as the days passed alon along he seemed to feel rested and the pets seemed to have new vigor and strength It was splendid to feel rested rested rested rest rest- ed again A family bud bad Invited him to Christmas dinner dinner and and he had a ac accepted accepted ac- ac and he had asked too If he could come with his donkey and bring I his dogs along They he said would help put on a little show for the children 1 It was all agreed But when Christmas Christinas afternoon came and the Christmas dinner was over and the old clown was beginning his hIs hIs' show for the children he knew then that he could never neer take more than afew n a few months' months holiday from being a clown clow The laughter and the delight and the shrieks and the cries of Joy from I the children were things the old clown I could not get along without f This Christmas had shown him Im that 1 I I I II I Naughty Papa I IL r 1 I I 1 1 v I Mother dots dobs o s Claus love t my 1111 nursemaid too I guess so Thomas Why Well Veli last Christmas I saw Santa Santo holding her o on his bis lap |
