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The Young Clown
By Sally Rogow
Anna Lou is a young Jewish girl. She frequently visits a nearby Jewish hospital to entertain the children. Dressed as a clown in a white costume with big red dots, she hops into the children’s ward, juggling balls and singing a silly song.
“My name is Anna Lou. I’m a clown and I’m here to make you laugh,” she told the children in a high voice.. The children sat up in their beds.
One small boy covered in bandages looked at Anna Lou, “You look funny, Why are you a clown?” Anna Lou hopped over to his bedside. “Clowns like to make children laugh. . I came to make you laugh,” she said in a funny voice.
“But I can’t laugh Can’t you see that I’m sick?” he said.
Anne Lou made a funny face. “I bet I can make you laugh,” she said, hopping around his bed.
“I’m not laughing but I like to watch you”, he said. .
“That’s good, but I bet I can make you laugh,” she replied. .
The boy looked at her; Anna Lou held her nose, “I’m a bunny rabbit.”
“No you are not; you are hopping clown” the boy said in a serious voice.
“I can tell you a funny story. A very tall rabbit came hopping to my house. Hello he said, ‘I’m a jack rabbit…..I hop all around the town.’ One day a boy asked me if I ever get tired. No, I told him. I love to hop and I love to sing.” Then she sang a song in a high screech voice.
The boy laughed, “That’s not singing, that’s yelling.”
“But I got you to laugh”, she said and hopped over to the boy in the next bed, In a funny voice she sang,
“Ding dong ding bells..
I can juggle my balls, but I don’t juggle bells.
Juggly, wuggly my balls go flying in the air.
I love to laugh and pretend I’m a giraffe.”
Some times, a rabbit but never a bear.
I’m not a grizzly and my hair is fair.
Anna Lou twirled around and pretended to slide.
“You’ll fall down if you do that,” the little boy said.
“We all fall down sometimes….and then we just pick ourselves up.” she told him.
“But I fell down and I broke my leg,” the boy told her
Anna Lou reached for his hand,” That happens some times , But I can see that you are going to get better fast”
The boy smiled. Anna Lou started to sing again.
“Now look at me.
I’m a bee
I buzz and buzz but I don’t have fuzz
I won’t bite.
And I won’t fight
I just like to fly
High in the sky.”
“But you can’t fly. You don’t have wings,” the boy said.
“But I can pretend. Pretending is fun you, know.” She said in her funny voice.
“I’m going to pretend I’m all better,” the boy said.
“That is a good thing to do. You’ll get better faster that way.”
She hopped over to another bed, singing another silly song
“I’d like to be a dragon,
In a big red wagon.
Hiding inside during the ride,
“You’ll scare people that way,” the boy said.
“No I won’t because I’m only pretending. Everyone will see that I’m a clown.”
“Some people are scared of clowns. They look too funny.” Another boy said, “Clowns bring fun and laughter.”
Many Jewish Hospitals have volunteers who come to cheer the patients. When they come to children’s wards, they help the young patients overcome their fears. Hospital clowns are popular in Israel.
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from the August 2007 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
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