Tales of the Riverbank Page #4

But a flea circus, Betty?

How can you have

a circus with fleas?

Fleas. Ugh.

It's enough to make

one want to...

no. No, stop.

Please, signore.

Have you not read the sign?

No scribbling.

No scratching!

Scratching's the death

of a flea circus.

One clumsy scratch,

and a star can be

circus history.

You understand?

This here is one of

my big attractions...

the great nippy.

A song, a scratch,

and a dance on the high wire.

Uh-huh.

But I am always looking

for new talent,

so if you have any

unwanted little companions...

- I beg your pardon!

- Your fleas, signora.

Fleas?! I'm not staying here

to be insulted.

But you must stay for the show.

It will be...

Magnifico!!

There's nothing better

than Al fresco's flea circus,

especially with

the beautiful Betty,

the best fortune teller

I've had since gypsy rose flea

had an unfortunate accident

with her crystal ball.

Rolled right over her.

Oh!

Betty can read paws and claws,

eyes and noses,

sees things in fur

that no one can see.

She sees everyone

coming to Al fresco.

Oh, here it comes.

I can see you buying a ticket

to see things you cannot see.

Ah!

Ladies and gentlemen,

put your paws together, please.

Show your appreciation now

for the incredible fleas.

Ha!

Al:
Lift. Come on, lift!

Lift. Ha!

You know, Betty also said

something very strange.

She says she sees

my fleas becoming so strong,

they could take a boat

over a Mountain.

I don't know what

she means by that.

Coraggio, nippy. Courage.

Hercules, you little big flea.

Come on now. Come on.

Come on! Come on, you can do it!

I know you can do it, my fleas.

Don't let me down!

Don't embarrass me

in front of everybody.

Hercules, you little big flea.

Come on now. Push, Fritz.

Push, Geraldo. Push, conan.

Push!! Push, samson.

That's it. You can do it.

Gosh, this is steep.

Al:
Another log to the front.

Come on. You must

carry on. Come on!

What's the matter

with you, conan?

Up the Mountain!

That's it. One more log,

and you will be there.

We've done it! Ya-ha!

Oh, nippy. Oh, nippy,

you make me so proud, nippy.

Yes, you do.

Ah, well done.

A boat, carried over

a Mountain by fleas.

That is not something

you see every day, is it?

It was just a question

of teamwork.

And what was your part

in the team, g.P.?

Reserve management,

on call, if needed.

Ready to step into the breach.

Anything that doesn't require

any physical effort, you mean.

I didn't notice you carrying

anything, miss much.

I am a lady.

We only have

your word for that.

That is so unnecessary.

How do we get the boat

down to the river again?

Simple. Our strong

little friends here

slowly let out the rope, and we

gently slide down the slope.

Can't we just drive

upriver in the jeep there?

Not enough fuel left.

- Did you put the jeep's brake on, hammy?

- Oh, yes.

Almost certainly.

Possibly.

- What's a brake again?

- Al:
Look out!

Sorry about that.

Nippy! Don't do that!

It's tickling.

Who are you talking to, Betty?

Our friends who helped us.

- You mean the... fleas?

- Yes, of course, the fleas.

Get them out of here!

Oh, I can feel one on me.

For goodness sake,

look what you're doing!

Hammy:
Here we go again!

What's that? Al?

- Oh, no, it's the theatricals.

- Sonia!

Sonia!

Sonia! Are you all right?

- We were coming to rescue you.

- Oh, how sweet, hot rod.

Am I pleased to see you folks.

You just don't know

what we've been through.

I do not wanna hear the words waffle,

marmalade or doughnut ever again.

Oh, we managed to escape

by hiding in the party food.

- What happened?

- Well, I was onstage.

The act was going really great.

Well, doctor, said the cow,

I've been mooing a lot

and eating grass...

Well, said the doctor,

any udder problems?

Hey, do you mind?

This is my best material.

Taxi!

The audience was

with me all the way,

but I managed to shake

them off at the window.

Sonia:
As soon as I was

able to lighten the load,

we slipped away.

They're real evil,

those fat cats.

I just had to escape and

tell the whole wide world,

they aren't making waffles,

marmalade or doughnuts

in that factory anymore.

- No?

- Nothin' sweet at all.

- Not even jelly?

- Jelly? Is that the best you could come up with?

I like jelly.

They're making money...

Dirty money.

And they don't care what

they destroy to make it.

Even the whole riverbank.

They have gotta be stopped.

Exactly. We must

stop the fat cats.

- Yeah, Sonia just said that, g.P.

- I said it again,

but with more

emphasis and panache.

And how are you going to do it?

By using a well-thought out,

properly researched plan, miss much.

And what plan is that exactly?

It's not been well-thought out

or properly researched yet,

but when it is,

I'll let you know.

There's an army in there.

You can't do it by yourselves.

I'd fly somewhere

and get more help,

only my balloons are

kinda low on hot air.

If you want hot air,

g.P.'S your animal.

Thank you, miss much. I shall

ignore the obvious insult

and do what I can

to help the situation.

I suppose I could give them

a bit of a talking to.

Now, balloon,

enough of this slacking.

Off you get,

and blow yourself up.

Come on, we haven't

got all day.

Are you sure, g.P., this

is the way to blow it up?

Yes, hammy, it's just a question

of finding the right words.

You do know how to blow up a

balloon, don't you, honey?

You just open your mouth and...

There you go.

- Well done, lady.

- Botheration.

There you are. Botheration.

- Bother... botheration?

- The right word for blowing up balloons.

- Pathetic.

- Botheration.

- Pathetic.

- Botheration!

- Pathetic!

- Botheration.

Oh, hey, it's working. G.P.!

Hey, boys, easy

with the balloons.

Oh, goodness, g.P. I've never

been up in the air before.

No need to panic, hammy.

Everything's under control.

I'm quite experienced

at this kind of thing.

Now, how do we make it

move forward?

Look for a lever, hammy.

There's always a lever.

Something must work

this spinny propeller thing.

I don't think it's got a lever,

or a spinny propeller, g.P.

This is not like an airplane.

It's more like a lift.

It just goes up, and then,

it goes down again.

- What's the point in that?

- I've no idea.

Unless you can't reach something

on a very high shelf.

I would think the trick is

not to go too high, and definitely

not to come down too quick.

Wise words from

someone so young.

Well done, that hamster.

Then we should let

the air out slowly,

and regroup with the others.

- It sounds like one of those...

- Hello again.

Helicopters! Get away!

Move on!

Is he doing what

I think he's doing?

Take cover. We're under fire!

The earth was a long way

away, and now, it's not.

- Stand by for a crash landing.

- Stand by what?

You boys all right?

Right as rain.

Hammy broke my fall.

Bruises. I've got bruises.

Ouch. It was those ferrets.

Sonia:
Oh, no. We're gonna

have to make a run for it.

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