So, as per recent thread, am asking about one that isn't in the SFF genre. My mother read this as a child and says she'd like to find it again when she could.
It would have been early '50s when she read it, though no knowing how old the book was at this point. I'm not sure whether it was a book on its own, or a short story within a collection. It was in the USA (California, if that makes any difference).
The plotline: A little circus comes to a boy's town, and he's really pleased and spends the pocket money (I guess that would be 'allowance', since it's in the US) that he's saved up on going to see the circus. Then, shortly after that, a big circus comes along and looks much more exciting and he really wants to buy a ticket, but because of already buying the ticket to the little circus he doesn't have enough money left and doesn't get to see it.
(This made such an impression on my mother that it's actually passed into our family lore; we now have the saying "Do we spend money on this, or is it just the little circus?" Even at the time she thought it was a terribly depressing plot for a child's book. I'm actually not sure why she wants to find it; maybe it's a case of facing childhood trauma!)
Anyway, I know it's a slim chance, but does anyone remember the same story?
It would have been early '50s when she read it, though no knowing how old the book was at this point. I'm not sure whether it was a book on its own, or a short story within a collection. It was in the USA (California, if that makes any difference).
The plotline: A little circus comes to a boy's town, and he's really pleased and spends the pocket money (I guess that would be 'allowance', since it's in the US) that he's saved up on going to see the circus. Then, shortly after that, a big circus comes along and looks much more exciting and he really wants to buy a ticket, but because of already buying the ticket to the little circus he doesn't have enough money left and doesn't get to see it.
(This made such an impression on my mother that it's actually passed into our family lore; we now have the saying "Do we spend money on this, or is it just the little circus?" Even at the time she thought it was a terribly depressing plot for a child's book. I'm actually not sure why she wants to find it; maybe it's a case of facing childhood trauma!)
Anyway, I know it's a slim chance, but does anyone remember the same story?
