Avoiding A Painful Tumble A Circus Fairy Tale

…in which two very different people surmount obstacles gracefully.

Morgan tripped down the line, doing his semi-

dance to entertain the people outside the Big Top

who were waiting for the show to begin. In the

circus, everyone has a job, and he was suited for his.

He thought of being a trick rider, and jumping

through a hoop held by Circus Girl, but his

diminished stature prevented him. He could not

safely bounce that way.

She, however, believed in all possibilities,

and because she rode an elephant, everything in her

gaze was equally short, and therefore equally able to

live a life of positive outcomes. Many times she

invited him to try to perform, and many times he

refused, becoming more ashamed of what he could

not help with each invitation. Regardless of the

smooth rhythm and strength of the finest horse, he

knew he would painfully tumble. It was not a choice;

it was the way he was made.

Then one day, as the weather chapped her skin, she

slid off the elephant and tiptoed to the ground below.

In the moment that her slippered feet hit the earth,

she found a new recognition, and at once believed

Morgan to be who he said he was all along, reliant on

taller folk, misshapen, and timid. His eyes, finally,

convincingly, forced her to stop hoping for his

impossible success.

Circus Girl remained confident on the back of

her loyal beast, shining inside the Big Top, and

Morgan remained on the Midway, shiny himself in a

different light. Sometimes he watched her through a

crack, because she was interesting and talented, and

sometimes she commented on his performance as she

strolled along the Midway. It was not necessary for

them to be sad when currents of rushing Circus-goers

moved them in different directions, for they were well

matched to their particular ways of living, and

therefore lived peacefully ever after.

Grey Johnson is from a small town in the

Southeastern United States.

She lives a quiet life with a loud imagination.

You can contact her at greyjohnson6s@gmail.com