Freaks Read Online Free PDF Page A

afternoon’s work hanging sheets from ceilings had turned the dingy little rooms into a series of chambers. The many-colored paper lanterns gave the place an eerie, otherworldly glow.
    Sheba could hear Plumpscuttle in the parlor. Having slept off his long night of travel, he was letting rip with a mighty spiel about the glories of his sideshow. Sheba peeked down the staircase. He was standing on a box, his ginger hair seeming to glow orange and set off by his ruddy cheeks, which were throbbing like two beetroots. He only had a small crowd, but he was giving it his all.
    Behind him, Mama Rat had arranged the contents of her box into a miniature big top. There were tiny trapezes, a tightrope, hoops, and tunnels, all painted in bright lozenges of red and yellow. Waiting in the wings were six huge rats. Sheba now knew they were called Bartholomew, Matthew, Judas, Thaddeus, Simon, and Peter, although, technically, the last two were girls. They’d all been crammed into hand-sewn miniature circus outfits: clowns, acrobats, and even a ringmaster, with yellow teeth, glittering eyes, and thick, scaly tails. As the lookers-on gathered around, they tumbled out into the circus ring and began performing a range of tricks. At the merest nod or wink from Mama Rat, they turned somersaults, did backflips, and balanced atop one another in a teetering pyramid.
    In the partition behind her, Sister Moon soon had a crowd of seven or more. They gasped as she sliced the burning wicks from six candles with a sweep of her long, thin swords, leaving the tallows standing without so much as a wobble. They shouted in delight as she sent ten throwing stars into the tiny bull’s-eye of a target. They screamed as she disappeared into the shadows, then emerged behind them and tapped them on the shoulder. They tutted in disapproval as she removed her mask and they saw she was a girl. Young women should be doing needlework, not swordwork. What was the world coming to?
    Sheba couldn’t gawk for long. The next stop for the punters was her corner of the bedroom. She dashed back and sat patiently on her stool as a column of people filed slowly past. She tried not to listen as they made noises of disgust or horror, and instead concentrated on her own act: being as wolfish as possible. She widened her eyes so they glinted orange in the lantern light, and let her sharp little teeth poke out. But it was a while since she’d had to sit for a customer, and it was hard to listen to their comments after the applause for Mama Rat and Sister Moon: “Poor thing!” “What a sight!” and “Do you think she combs her face?” She’d moved halfway across the country, but her life had changed very little.
    Out in the yard, Sheba could hear gasps of amazement as Gigantus lifted a wooden bench. It happened to have three men sitting on it, and he hoisted it over his head as if it were a sack of feathers. She didn’t hear anyone calling
him
names.
    Behind his colossal shoulders was Monkeyboy’s cage. They had put a sign outside, warning ladies not to approach, for fear of being mortally offended. The few people who had dared to wander over were being liberally insulted and sworn at. He’d told Sheba earlier that he also had a few juicy samples of horse manure to hurl, and he was hoping for someone in an expensive suit that he could ruin. She hadn’t heard any screams of horror yet, so he must not have found the right victim.
    Flossy was also out there somewhere. On display in his pen for people to prod, poke, and stare at. She hoped he was all right. At least Raggety would be near, ready to chomp off the fingers of anyone who got too close.
    During a quiet moment, Sister Moon popped her head around the sheet partition.
    â€œIs your show going well, Sheba?”
    Sheba nodded, smiling back. It was the first time anyone had ever checked on her during a performance. For once she felt like she wasn’t completely on her