Circus Mirandus

Ten-year-old Micah’s great aunt, Gertrudis, is staying with him and his grandfather, Ephraim. She is extremely strict, and Micah resents her controlling presence, especially her rules about how often he is allowed to see his grandfather, who is very sick in the room upstairs. Gertrudis is especially firm on banishing Micah from Ephraim’s room whenever Ephraim mentions anything about magic; she thinks that Ephraim is ridiculous and lacking in good sense, and she doesn’t want Micah to be influenced by him anymore.

Micah hopes that Gertrudis will let the kettle sing for a while when it starts to boil, but she dismisses this as a waste of time.

Micah tries to take the tea tray up to Ephraim, but Gertrudis tells him that he will make a mess and that she doesn’t want him to hear any more silliness.

Micah goes to his room and considers his homework assignment—to make an Incan artifact called a quipu from string. He feels confident that he will be able to do this well, as it is made of string and involves knots, which he and Ephraim are very good at.

Micah sneaks into Ephraim’s room. Ephraim tells Micah that he’s written a letter to an old friend.

Ephraim shows Micah the letter he sent to the Lightbender. Micah is confused. His grandfather had told him stories about the Lightbender and his circus, Circus Mirandus, in the past, but Micah thought Ephraim made Circus Mirandus up. Ephraim tells Micah that Circus Mirandus is real and that the Lightbender’s messenger, a talking parrot, came to take his letter from him.

The “blub glub” noise of Ephraim’s breathing distresses Micah, but he feels excited that his grandfather has asked the Lightbender for a miracle. He assumes that Ephraim will ask the Lightbender to save his life.

Gertrudis arrives and angrily tells Micah to leave. Micah grabs at the letter on the bed before he leaves. Gertrudis reaches for it too, and it rips in half. Outside the closed door of Ephraim’s bedroom, Micah feels frustrated and furious.

Chintzy, the Lightbender’s messenger, returns to the Circus Mirandus tent, cursing the heavy rain. She delivers Ephraim’s message; the Man Who Bends Light (as is his formal title) is shocked that Ephraim is finally requesting his miracle as an old man but is relieved that the message isn’t from someone named Victoria.

Chintzy explains that Ephraim wants to talk to the Lightbender about his miracle; he didn’t tell her what it was. The Lightbender sends Chintzy back, wanting to know the exact nature of Ephraim’s miracle request.

The narrative flashes back to Ephraim’s youth. The 10-year-old Ephraim often skips school to go to the beach. Although it isn’t a beautiful beach, it is the closest Ephraim can get to his father, who is serving overseas in the war. He writes him long letters telling him how much he misses him and how he will continue to neglect his studies unless he comes home.

A hard wind blows Ephraim back into the dunes. He hears music—pipes and drums—and follows the sound.

The narrative returns to the present. Gertrudis doesn’t allow Micah to say farewell to his grandfather before he leaves for school.

Micah gets on the bus and realizes that he forgot to do his project on the Incas that is due the next day. He feels dread, especially about confronting his assignment partner, Jenny Mendoza, who usually gets the best grades in the class.

Micah finds string and tries to discreetly make the project under his desk, but he seems to keep tying knots, which remind him of Grandpa Ephraim.

Micah starts to tell Jenny about forgetting their project, but he feels his face become hot and his eyes fill with tears. He finds himself angrily telling her, “He’s dying.”

Jenny pulls Micah to the classroom’s supply closet so that he can have some privacy if he starts to cry. He tells her more about Ephraim’s sickness and Circus Mirandus and assures her that he’ll get his part of their project finished that night. Jenny tentatively suggests that perhaps the stories of Circus Mirandus are just stories; Micah insists that they are real.

Another student opens the door; Micah and Jenny say that they are having a secret meeting about their project.

Micah hears Gertrudis on the phone to a friend, saying that she’s relieved that Ephraim’s sickness is “almost at an end” and that it will ultimately be better for Micah (83). Furiously, Micah yanks the phone line from the wall and tells Gertrudis that he doesn’t understand why she’s there and that she’s mean. They continue to argue, culminating in Micah yelling that he hates Gertrudis.

Micah retreats to his treehouse. He goes to write a plan but can’t think of ideas. Jenny arrives to help with their project. Micah ties knots as Jenny reads library books about circuses to help Micah understand the mystery of his grandfather’s story.

The narrative flashes back to Ephraim’s youth. Ephraim stumbles across a collection of colorful circus tents arranged in a patch of grass he doesn’t recognize. A boy Ephraim doesn’t recognize enters the circus, providing a spool of thread as payment for entry. Ephraim asks if he can pay with the fish in his boot (he had waded into the ocean), and the circus manager, Mr. Mirandus Head, happily declares that it is enough for Ephraim to enter the circus for a week.

Ephraim explores the circus. He drinks a fruit juice that makes him sing opera. He sees a strong man lift a woman with his pinkie. A fortune teller tells him that he is going to have an unpleasant younger sister. The Amazing Amazonian Bird Woman drops from an incredible height but is caught by a collection of colorful birds.

There is one dark tent that Ephraim is not allowed in. He is told that it belongs to the Man Who Bends Light, who is learning a new routine.

One day, there is a line of children outside the tent, and a sign declaring that there will be shows that day. Ephraim joins the line. The rope over the entrance disappears, and the children go in.