Circus Escapee

The topic of today’s intro is Pranks. Here’s one a WWII vet shared with me, circa1930’s.

A thirteen-year-old boy named Bert was helping his neighbor, Alvin,  build a barn. There was no rural electricity and boards had to be sawn by hand. Alvin cut a board too short. “Hey, Bert, run over to Charlie’s farm and ask him if we can borrow his ‘board-stretcher.’” It was a half-mile walk and when Bert asked Charlie about the stretcher, he feigned looking for them, then said, “I must’ve loaned the to Virgil.” Bert took off for Virgil’s house. It took three stops and several miles afoot before Bert realized he’d been pranked.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us about a prank you’ve been a part of in the comments.

If this is your first Friday Flash Fiction, our hostess, who was expelled twice from Ringling Bros. Clown College,,  is Meriem Menant Wisoff-Fields.  If you’d like to participate in this exercise in madness, head over to her blog for step-by-step instructions. To view the FFF Hollywood Squares Authors Block click here.

Detective Lowry watched the video several times. The perp, who was barely five-feet tall, tip-toed across the backyard. On the return trip, the upper body was leaning back with upturned hands, as if carrying something in empty arms.

“It looks like a midget,” Harvey said. “Do you think this one ran away from the circus?”

“It’s a mime,” Lowry said with disgust. “They all dress alike. Horizontal-striped shirt, beret, and white face paint. Most are harmless, but creepy in their own way.”

“He acts as if he’s carrying something heavy, but there’s nothing there.”

“Maybe we just can’t see it.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The crime you just witnessed happened in Belton, Missouri. Both men mistook the mime to be male, but we know better–don’t we. 🙂

Ozark Hollow Press will be publishing the sordid tale in its entirety later this year. Stay tuned for details.