In Search of Goliathus Hercules (6 page)

Henri’s eyes smarted, and he could feel the tears welling up. Never had he felt so alone. There had been comfort in imagining Mother back in London in their cozy apartment, but now she was setting out into to the unknown. Father had disappeared. Perhaps his mother would too.

But before Henri could sink into the true depths of misery, Dom’s voice brought him back. “They’re here! They’re here! Open the window!”

No sooner had he opened the window and stepped back than Henri heard the remarkable sound of the gentle beating of two thousand butterfly wings. They flooded in through the window, a dazzling kaleidoscope of color. They fluttered about in groups that seemed like breaking waves upon the air. The butterflies were followed by darting dragonflies, which appeared to be carrying out prescribed military-like formations. Their jewel-like colors caught the light, and they glistened like glass ornaments. Next, singing insects—crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas—entered the room. Their movements were less graceful, but their joyous voices sang, “Henri Bell, Henri Bell.” A miscellaneous assortment of wasps, bees, flies, beetles, and mantises brought up the rear. It was clear that some of the latter weren’t very good fliers. They seemed to barely land on the windowsill, and then staggered around for several moments before they moved on to let others in. Henri was touched by the tremendous effort they had made to come to him.

At last, everyone had arrived and found a place on a piece of furniture or upon the wall. Every surface was covered, and individual insects were indistinguishable from one another. They made little movements, a slight flutter of wings or a shifting of feet. The result was that the whole room—walls and furniture—appeared to be breathing like a pair of lungs, in and out, in and out. The room was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. “Say something!” came Dom’s familiar voice.

“Um…thank you very much for coming.”

“Hooray for Henri Bell! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!” chorused the insects.

As the insects cheered, Henri’s mind raced. He was only ten years old, so he didn’t have much public speaking experience. It seemed that he should say something. Something like how he was just doing his duty and he would work hard to right any misunderstandings between humans and the insect world. Wait a minute! He sounded like a politician! Before Henri had time to give it further thought, there was a knock on the door.

“Places, everyone! Evasive action!” cried Dom’s voice.

Suddenly there was a rush of color and a soft brushing against Henri’s cheek. It seemed as if every insect in the room was in the air. It wasn’t possible for them all to exit the window at once.

Then Henri realized they were not leaving. They were adjusting their positions, moving into formations that created patterns upon the wall. They were creating living wallpaper! Anyone who had not entered the room before would assume he had highly colored and geometric wallpaper. It was amazing! It was fantastic camouflage!

When he was certain everyone was in place, Henri went to the door and opened it. There stood Great Aunt Georgie with a very worried look on her face.

“U
h, hello, Great Aunt Georgie,” Henri said awkwardly.

“Henri, I was greatly worried when you did not return to the parlor in a timely manner,” began Great Aunt Georgie. “May I come in?

“Uh…yes.” Henri took a deep breath and opened the door wider to let Great Aunt Georgie pass.

“Really Henri, I do wish you would ask my permission before pasting up fancy papers on your wall. I don’t mind if you make it your own, but it would be polite to ask before doing so.”

“Yes, Great Aunt Georgie. I’m sorry. I’ll take them down today,” and Henri couldn’t help smiling a little.

“Henri, let me come to the point. Today you were very rude to Mrs. Black.”

The smile on Henri’s face disappeared, and he dropped his head. “I’m sorry, Aunt Georgie. It’s just that…she doesn’t seem to like me very much, and…”Thoughts of the harm Mrs. Black had caused the insect world that day churned in his head. Looking up he said, “And really I don’t like her. She’s…she’s evil!”

Great Aunt Georgie did not look surprised, nor did she seem offended. “Henri, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then it is best you say nothing at all.” Great Aunt Georgie gave a deep sigh, and then, appearing to summon all the strength that her frail body could muster, she said, “I am in debt to Mrs. Black for a number of reasons, mainly financial ones. It’s very distasteful to talk about money, and I do not wish to burden you with my problems. You can see the farm is not what it used to be, and then there’s the family home back in England. It’s a lot to keep up, and, well…it is not appropriate that I go into detail, but I implore you, do not anger Mrs. Black, or there may be some unpleasant consequences for both of us.”

These last words were almost a cry, and Henri was afraid and sorry to have caused Great Aunt Georgie such anguish. “Yes, Great Aunt Georgie,” and he rose from his seat and gave her a hug that he hoped would comfort her.

“Thank you, Henri. Now, did you pick up your mail?”

“Yes, I did. There was a postcard from Mother. She’s leaving London. She’s going to search for Father. I wish she had taken me along,” he said sadly, and then quickly added, “Not that I’m not having a good time here with you, but I miss my family.”

“Of course you do. Henri, I know it’s hard not to worry about your father and now your mother too! Well, she’s doing what she thinks is best. In the meantime you and I will have to wait for news, but I’m sure we can find some amusing distractions. By the way, did you see the handbill?”

“Oh, I haven’t read it yet.”

“Mrs. Black gave it to me. The circus has come to town! She thought you might enjoy it. Would you like to go this afternoon?”

“That would be great!” exclaimed Henri. He had imagined he was going to be punished, but instead he was going to the circus!

Once Great Aunt Georgie had left the room, Henri turned back to his very colorfully patterned walls. None of the insects had moved yet. As everyone was quiet, it seemed like a good time to resume his speech.

“Um, as I said before, thank you all very much for coming. I wish I could have done more to help today.” Henri paused, unsure of what more to say. At last he said, “I would like you all to know that the insect world has a friend in Henri Bell. If I can ever be of service, please do not hesitate to call.”

His words brought a tremendous chorus of chirps, high-pitched calls, and a general flapping of wings from the assembled insects. The sound was a bit like a dozen bottle rockets going off in his room, and Henri was relieved that Great Aunt Georgie was hard of hearing.

When the noise died down, Henri heard Dom’s voice. “Unfortunately it’s time for you all to be on your way. I know you would like Henri to recount his courageous act in detail, but he has many urgent matters to attend to. Such is the busy life of our hero, you know!”

There was a collective sigh of disappointment, and gradually the insects alighted from the walls. Henri stood near the window, nodding and waving good-bye as they slowly made their way out. When almost all were gone, Dom rose into the air from his position on the windowsill, alighting on Henri’s nose.

“Don’t do that!” complained Henri. “I’ll go cross-eyed looking at you.”

With a huff, Dom rose again and Henri felt a tickle on his hand. He raised it up and held his hand close to his face to stare into Dom’s huge eyes. “What urgent matter needs my attention?” Henri asked.

“Nothing,” replied Dom. “Do you want to go the circus today?”

“Well, yes,” said Henri.

“They would have kept you here for hours telling and retelling the story. It’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened in our world, but I’m a domesticated housefly, somewhat more worldly than my brethren,” said Dom with pride. “I know the ways of humans. You’re a boy. You want to go to the circus, and you deserve to have some fun. And to be honest, they have work to do. There are larvae to nurture, queens to feed, and colonies to defend. So you see, it was time for them to go home.”

Henri smiled. “Thanks, Dom. You’re a…a…” Henri struggled to find the right words. Finally he said, “You’re a very civilized fly.”

“Why, thank you, Henri!”

A short time later, Great Aunt Georgie and Henri stood at the entrance to the circus grounds. The big top rose beyond them, its red and yellow stripes dominating the view. Around it were smaller tents with banners advertising the amusements held within, such as
World’s Tallest Man
,
Fernando the Fire-Eater
, and, most intriguing,
Human Caterpillar
.

“Now here’s a little pocket money for you, Henri. I know you won’t want to join me. I’m going to have my tea leaves read and perhaps visit the crystal ball reader.” Henri could not believe how excited Great Aunt Georgie sounded, almost like a little girl. “I will meet you at the big top for the three o’clock show. Now, be careful of con men and those games of chance. They’re rigged! Now, off you go, and have fun!”

And with that, Great Aunt Georgie turned and, with surprising speed for someone nearly a hundred years old, headed for the tent with a brightly colored banner reading,
The Future Foretold by Madame Noir.

For no particular reason other than to enjoy his independence, Henri decided to go the opposite way. He passed on the
World’s Strongest Man
and the
Elastic Woman
. Looking closely at the poster for the
Human Caterpillar
, Henri decided the figure looked more like the
Human Sausage
. Finally, Henri came to a tent with a banner announcing
Maestro Antonio’s Amazing Flying Flea Circus
.

The announcer wore a bowler hat and had a very extravagant and neatly trimmed handlebar mustache. He entreated the crowd: “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, to see the world’s smallest circus. Yes, indeed! Those pesky vermin are trainable! See the flying flea on the trapeze! Be amazed at the balance of the lovely Sophia as she stays atop a rolling ball! Think fleas aren’t strong? Well, watch our mightiest, tiniest flea strongman as he pulls ten times his own weight. How much to see this once in a lifetime show? Only five cents! What a bargain! Step right up!”

Henri looked up at the large painted banner that showed fleas being ridden as if they were racehorses or show jumpers. They had men upon their backs! Unless the world’s tiniest man was in the circus too, this was a joke. Still, Henri was intrigued. He paid his five cents and went in.

The tent was dark, except for a center spotlight under which was a glass case surrounded by spectators’ seats. Henri was the first to arrive, so he took a chair directly in front. Inside the case was a miniature three-ring circus. In one ring sat a ball painted yellow with a red star. In another was a tiny, golden Roman-style chariot. In the last ring was a cannon! Above it all hung the trapeze.

Henri sat gazing at the apparatus, wondering how the fleas could possibly perform tricks. Slowly he realized he could hear a dull murmuring. Henri looked around the tent, but other than a rather mangy-looking dog in one corner, no one was there. Henri soon realized the sound was coming from inside the glass case, so he stood up and looked down inside it. He could see some little black specks moving. Of course! Those were the fleas! To the right of the circus case was a large magnifying glass with a horn handle. Henri picked it up and looked through it. Now he could see clearly. There were perhaps four fleas moving about in a disconsolate way. Still another was hanging upside down from the trapeze, and one more was tethered to the chariot.

“I’m starving!” said the flea in the ring with the ball. “I haven’t had a good meal in days.”

“We’re all hungry, and talking about it just makes it worse,” said a flea standing on top of the cannon. “I have a headache after hitting my head on the glass wall three times already today. I’m so tired of the maestro yelling too. I can’t understand a word he says no matter how loud he shouts. Anyway, I know he’s unhappy because he wants me to hit the target.”