ossed him up in
the air as one would toss a rubber ball. Up, down, then back and forth
between the elder tumblers, flew the little green figure, when he
touched ground always landing upon his toe-tips, and finishing each
trick with a somersault, easy and graceful. The boy seemed made of
thistledown, so light he was, so easily he rebounded from what he
touched. The children in the circle about him stared open-mouthed and
admiring. Oh! they wished, if only they could do those things! They
thought Gigi the most fortunate boy in the world.

But Gigi never smiled. At the end of one trick the Giant growled a
word under his breath, and made a motion at which the boy cringed.
Something had gone not quite right, and trouble threatened. He bit his
lip, and the performance went on as before.

Now Gigi had to do the most difficult trick of all. With the Giant as
the base, and Cecco, the other tumbler, above, Gigi made the top of a
living pyramid that ran, turned, twisted, and capered as the great
strength of the Giant willed. At a signal they managed somehow to
reverse their positions. All stood upon their heads; Gigi, with his
little green legs waving in the air, heard shouts of applause which
always greeted this favorite act. But the sound gave him no pleasure.
He was tired; he was sore from a beating of the previous night, and his
head ached from the blow which had made that ugly mark on his cheek.
Gigi grew dizzy--

II

THE FALL

Suddenly a woman's voice screamed from the crowd:--

"Ah! The Cherub!"

Gigi had fallen from the top of the pyramid. He fell on his shoulder,
and for a moment lay still. But presently he was on his feet, kissing
his hand prettily to the crowd, and trying to pretend that he had
fallen on purpose, as he had been taught. The Giant and Cecco were
also quickly on their feet, and the three bowed, side by side, as a
sign that the show was over.

Cecco hissed a word into Gigi's ear, and he knew what to fear next. He
shuddered and tried to draw aside; but the Giant turned to him, livid
with rage, and with one blow of his heavy hand struck him to the ground.

"So! You spoil us again!" he muttered. "You good-for-nothing! I'll
teach you! Now take the tambourine and gather up the coins from the
crowd. You'll get a beating anyway for this. But if you don't take up
more than we had at the last town, you'll have such a trouncing as you
never yet knew. Now then!"

Dazed and tr