Bears on Wheels: Part 2

A wild animal tamer, Angelina, came to the zoo to get a tiger cub, but she did not like the stripey baby - he was frail and too timid to work for a circus.
The zoo director suggested that Angelina have a look at their “actress” Pusha.
Bears in the circus were not unusual. They were willingly used in circus acts, but at the same time, they were disliked for their unexpected outbursts. In addition, the audience was starting to get sick of the bears. In spite of this, Angelina became interested in Pusha. Angelina came from a long line of tamers and her animal trainer instinct rarely betrayed her.
The zoo director didn’t ask too high a price. The carriage cage for the bear was brought in. The frightened Pusha was separated from her sister for the first time in her life.
At first, the bear rushed about and roared and shook the bars of the cage, and then she huddled up in a corner and covered her head with her paws just like a human being would. While she was being taken to the circus, the cage shook and vibrated for a long time; unfamiliar and fearful odors came through the bars. Finally, Pusha was brought to a noisy and unpleasant place. The bear refused to walk out through the open door, so they pushed her out with hooks. Her new cage was cramped and uncomfortable. The strong smell of other beasts confused Pusha. Loud sounds were like sandpaper on her ears: the neighing of many horses, the roar of the lion, the howling of monkeys, the barking of dogs, and the screech of trumpet music. What about the bears? Yes, very close to Pusha, a brown female bear calmly chewed her carrot, and in the cage opposite, a huge gray-haired male was watching closely. He growled softly, then grunted reassuringly, and Pusha felt a little better.
Angelina hadn't fed the bear for two days. She expected that Pusha would draw in her claws from hunger. Then the fearless Angelina entered the cage with a bowl full of apples and oranges. She wanted to feed the newcomer from the palm of her hand to tame her. Angelina was incredibly surprised when Pusha, yearning for the company of people, first ran to fawn on the woman, and only after having received her portion of attention, did the young bear begin to eat. The bear's behavior moved the experienced animal tamer to tears. She could easily achieve an animal's submission, but rarely met true affection. The bear's thick brown hair glittered pleasantly, and an intelligence was visible in her small eyes. Even Pusha's bearish “grace” fascinated Angelina.
“Well, let's see how you are in the arena, girl," Angelina thought.
Her first entrance into the circus ring shocked Pusha. She had gotten used to being protected by her cage and suddenly she found herself in a huge, empty, and brightly-illuminated space, stinking of dogs and lions. Her companions, Kazbek and Gerda, had already settled in their places, waiting for the orders of their trainer. Somehow, Angelina persuaded Pusha to climb on a pedestal, but at the first loud noise, the bear tried to escape. Kazbek helped Angelina; he blocked Pusha's passage with his massive body and returned her to her stand, carefully pushing her with his nose. Angelina did not force her; Pusha only had to watch her new teammates.
The phlegmatic Gerda reluctantly rode a kick scooter and walked listlessly with an umbrella and twirled it around, imitating a dance. Kazbek, however, worked hard. He got up on his front paws, grunting, caught hoops and rings, and presented Angelina with a basket of flowers. He dutifully spread out on the ground so the trainer could put her little white boot on his scruff. For this, the bear received praise and honey cookies. Pusha could smell something sweet, which made her excited. She wanted cookies too, but Angelina pretended that the new bear did not exist in the arena. The special treat had to be earned.
At the next rehearsal, Pusha allowed her trainer to put a fluffy skirt on her and fasten a hat on her head. Riding a kick scooter was a simple matter for her, and she had learned to dance well at the zoo. Angelina praised her talented student and gave her a tasty treat. After a couple of lessons, Pusha figured out how to diversify her circus act: after she had caught the hoop, she did not shake it off, but began to twist it. That was super funny. The circus attendants began to applaud. A dog trainer named Violetta, who was peeking through the slit in the curtain, turned green with envy.
Angelina kissed the bear on her satisfied-looking muzzle with a full heart. Happy Pusha snorted and began to bow in all four directions, causing another burst of laughter. Hulking Kazbek grumbled and stamped; his eyes glittered happily when he looked at Pusha. Gerda sat indifferently on her pedestal.
Pusha took a long time to get used to loud music, but the caresses and treats really helped. For Pusha's debut, Angelina chose a daytime performance on weekdays since she was afraid of the bear's very sensitive nature. Nevertheless, it went just fine. Pusha was dancing, twisting hoops, waving her paws in greeting and flirting with the audience. She loved the attention of the public. The second and third performances also went without a hitch. On the fourth, an excited spectator threw a huge bouquet to Angelina, which scared the hell out of Pusha and the bear threw up on her stand. Soon the loud people in the circus became normal, and Pusha did not cause any more trouble in the arena.
Adults and children, with whom she was photographed during intermissions, as well as ring attendants, dressers and cleaning ladies -- all of them loved Pusha. The bear did not snap at anyone, and did not try to bite anyone or hit them with her paw. When one day a curious raccoon ran up and climbed into her cage, attracted by the smell of sliced fruit, Pusha did not hurt the little thief. She allowed the circus attendants to cover the raccoon with a net and pull him out.
She memorized the schedule of rehearsals and performances. If for some reason she was not taken out to the arena by the appointed time, she would shake the bars and snort huffily. Angelina visited her star every day. She brought her sweets, personally combed out her hair, talked to her like a best friend, and sometimes took her out to walk around the circus tent at night. Angelina was really attached to the bear.
Soon Gerda was taken away from the circus. Pusha, who had dozed off after lunch, woke up to a terrible roar and saw her partner being dragged with hooks into a carriage. Kazbek tried to attack the people through the bars, hoping to defend Gerda. It was all in vain. People always get what they want.
After that, Angelina did not appear in the circus for several days. She returned pale, tired and irritable. The gloomy Kazbek, in response to Angelina's harshness during the rehearsal, also began to growl and even swung his paw at the woman a couple of times. Pusha, on the other hand, tried to comfort and please her beloved human by rolling in the sawdust and shoving Angelina with her muzzle as if telling her, “Do not lose heart”. Pusha hoped that soon everything would go back to normal. But it did not. The obedient Pusha received more and more attention from her trainer Angelina, but the older bear developed problems. Kazbek became capricious, worked slowly and reluctantly. Sometimes he did not listen to Angelina's commands, and one day he just got up and walked back to his cage right in the middle of the performance. Angelina shouted angrily at the bear and swung a whip at him. The trainer should never beat her animals, but at that moment, she was ready to do so.

To be continued...