The next four hours were Liberty’s most enjoyable ever. Jordan rode her around on the unicycle. Vrushenka let her swing on the trapeze.
Maybe I don’t need to go to the Sullivan School, she thought. Here is someplace I can belong. The one thing she didn’t think about was what it might feel like to perform in front of an audience.
When evening came, and Modesto introduced her (as the Amazing Alice) and the spotlight poured onto her, Liberty’s heart practically stopped. Her mouth became cotton and her whole body shook.
Modesto had instructed her to run to the center of the stage and bow to each part of the audience. Instead, she dashed straight to the cage, opened it, and slipped inside.
“The Amazing Alice is eager to see Godwin, the world’s most dangerous lion,” Modesto shouted to the crowd. “She doesn’t even use a whip!”
World’s most dangerous? Liberty thought. He should’ve told me that before.
The audience applauded.
“Hello, Godwin,” Liberty said nervously.
“Did you bring more food?” He’d had a few hot dogs, but his appetite had been whetted rather than satisfied.
“Stories. Remember.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“While I tell you a story, we entertain the audience, right?”
“I suppose.” Godwin yawned.
“What do we do?” The audience was shifting with impatience.
“I roar. You put your head in my mouth.”
Liberty wasn’t sure that was a great plan.
“Now the Amazing Alice will put her head inside Godwin the Terrible’s mouth. Will he snap it off?” Modesto shouted.
Godwin roared and opened his mouth.
With the clown wig, Liberty’s head didn’t really fit. Still, the crowd cheered.
“I’m waiting for my story,” Godwin said.
“What?” Liberty couldn’t quite make out his words. Is it the noise from the crowd? she wondered. The one word she heard was “story.” So she began. “Once upon a time, there was a lion called Godwin. One morning, he woke up to find that something very unusual had happened.”
Godwin paced back and forth. He nudged her arm. The audience applauded. “I can’t hear you very well.”
“Godwin had sprouted wings. There, coming out of his back like two extra shoulders, were triangles covered in gold and silver feathers.” Liberty waved her hands in the air. The crowd clapped again.
Godwin roared his hot-ketchup-and-hot-dog breath into her face. “Louder. I can barely make out the words.”
Liberty froze. She realized that it had been at least a day since she had heard the sound of nature. Was the comprehension cream wearing off? “Imagine his surprise,” Liberty shouted inside to Godwin.
Godwin pawed at the ground and roared.
“Godwin!” She could no longer comprehend him. Nor could he understand her. She began to yell the story out loud. “The first thing Godwin wanted to do was to try out these new wings. So he climbed the tallest mountain—”
Godwin roared again. If she can’t tell me a story, he thought, I’ll have her for dessert. Swinging one massive paw, Godwin knocked Liberty to the other side of the cage. Only her wig was left behind, like a disembodied head.
The crowd gasped. Confused, Godwin picked up the wig and shook it in his mouth.
Dizzily, Liberty scrambled to her feet.
“Move the spotlight! Move the spotlight!” she heard Modesto shout.
But Jordan had abandoned the spotlight and was rushing to the concession stand for hot dogs.
Luckily, cats like to play with their prey before eating it. Dropping the wig, Godwin moved slowly toward Liberty. He swatted her again with his paw. She heard her dress rip, but she remained standing.
Godwin crouched low, ready to pounce.
Liberty looked behind her to see if there was an exit. There wasn’t.
But there was one thing there: the mirror. Quickly, she lifted it and held it up to Godwin’s face.
Godwin straightened up and gazed into the mirror. So dazzled was Godwin by his gorgeous mane, his round, inquisitive eyes, his fabulous whiskers, that he froze on the spot.
The crowd cheered. Cameras flashed around her.
Liberty knew that Godwin’s vanity couldn’t last forever. Holding the mirror in front of her, she began slowly edging around the cage toward the door on the other side. Hypnotically gazing at himself, Godwin followed.
Jordan arrived with a tray of hot dogs and began pelting the lion with the food.
It broke the spell. Godwin began eating the hot dogs. Liberty dropped the mirror and made a dash for the door, which Jordan had opened. She slid out just as Godwin finished the last hot dog.
“Bow!” Modesto called to her. “Bow!”
Liberty bowed.
The crowd went wild with applause.