The Rabbit Who Stole the Intermission
An adult rabbit stagehand pockets the circus intermission so a tired friend can rest. When the show cannot find its pause, everyone must learn how to make room for a break without losing the fun.
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How it begins
Rowan Rabbit stole the intermission at seven forty-two.
It fitted neatly into his waistcoat pocket.
The intermission was a small gold ticket with two straight lines on it. Usually it lived beside the stage manager's clock. At eight, someone rang a bell, turned the ticket over, and everybody stopped for twenty minutes.
Tonight Mina needed longer.
She had made three elephants disappear, found two of them, and spent the afternoon looking for the third.
“I'll sit down after the show,” she said.
Rowan looked at her shaking hands.
He took the ticket.
At eight o'clock, the bell rang.
The acrobats bowed.
The audience clapped.
Nobody stopped.
The band began another tune. The acrobats bowed again. A juggler ran on carrying six oranges and the expression of someone who had expected tea.
Backstage, the stage manager turned an empty patch of table.
“Where's the intermission?”
Rowan's pocket became warm.
He reached inside.
The ticket had grown.
It was now the size of a handkerchief and folded itself whenever he tried to pull it out.
Onstage, the juggler ran out of oranges and began juggling his hat.
Mina sat on a packing case.
“Rowan?”
“I may have improved something badly.”
He explained.
She held out her hand.
“Give it here.”
“I can't. It's having a rest.”
The gold ticket tucked itself farther into his pocket.
From behind the curtain came a crash, followed by enthusiastic applause. The audience assumed everything was part of the act. This was becoming dangerous for the furniture.
Mina stood.
“Then we'll have to stop without it.”
“Can we do that?”
She looked at him for a moment.
Then she walked onto the stage, took off her tall hat, and sat in the middle of the ring.
The band stumbled into silence.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said, “I would like a cup of tea.”
For the first time all evening, Rowan's pocket went cool.
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Outline and characters
Develop this idea
Build this as an illustrated chapter book for ages six to nine, using the circus's backstage work for gentle comedy. Make the stolen intermission a tangible magical object with consistent behavior. The tired magician should be an adult who can speak for herself. Rowan's mistake needs consequences without humiliation. The ending can show rest becoming ordinary practice rather than a special reward for performing until exhaustion.
- Rowan pockets the intermission for a tired friend.
- The circus cannot stop between acts.
- Performers improvise while Rowan seeks the pause.
- Mina admits hiding her exhaustion.
- The audience joins an accidental continuous routine.
- Rowan discovers the pause has grown inside his pocket.
- A hurried solution makes every clock disagree.
- The company agrees to stop without permission.
- The returned intermission includes backstage workers.
- The circus adds ordinary breaks to its schedule.
Characters
- Rowan Rabbit, 35. Adult circus stagehand
- Mina Bell, 52. Adult magician needing a break
Series possibilities
- Rowan's backstage inventions help the circus solve problems applause cannot fix.
