There was great excitement in Smyrna, especially among the boys. Barlow's Great American Circus in its triumphal progress from state to state was close at hand, and immense yellow posters announcing its arrival were liberally displayed on fences and barns, while smaller bills were put up in the post office, the hotel, and the principal stores, and distributed from house to house. It was the largest circus that had ever visited Smyrna. At least a dozen elephants marched with ponderous steps in its preliminary procession, while clowns, acrobats, giants, dwarfs, fat women, cannibals, and hairy savages from Tibet and Madagascar were among the strange wonders that were to be seen at each performance for the small sum of fifty cents, children half price.

For weeks the young people had been looking forward to the advent of this marvelous world of curiosities, and the country papers from farther east had given glowing accounts of the great show, which was pronounced greater and more gorgeous than in any previous year. But it may be as well to reproduce, in part, the description given in the posters:

BARLOW'S GREAT NORTH AMERICAN CIRCUS.

Now in its triumphal march across the continent, will

give two grand performances,

AT SMYRNA

on the afternoon and evening of May 18th.

Never in all its history has this

unparalleled show embraced a greater variety of attractions,

or included a larger number of world-famous

acrobats, clowns, bare back riders, rope walkers, trapeze

artists, and star performers,

in addition to a colossal menagerie, comprising

elephants, tigers, lions, leopards,

and other wild animals in great variety.

All this and far more, including a hundred

DARING ACTS,

can be seen for the trifling sum of fifty cents;

children half price.

COME ONE! COME ALL!

Two boys paused to read this notice, pasted with pictures of elephants and circus performers on the high board fence near Stoddard's grocery store. They were Dan Clark and Christopher Watson, called Kit for short.

Writing Prompt

Read the following prompt based on what you just read and organize your ideas into the Narrative Organization Chart

The author provides colorful descriptions of the growing excitement and the upcoming circus.

As the passage ends, two boys read a notice listing a variety of attractions.

Write an original narrative featuring the two boys as characters and the circus as your setting.

Be sure to use details from the text as you tell your story.