Mary Petra rides the carousel

Mary Petra looked up and smiled. Wonderful childhood memories came back to her mind as she looked at the flying carousel. It spun quickly in circles, the passengers in the seats laughed and squealed with delight as they flew higher and higher with increasing speed.

Oh yes, it was like taking to the skies just like a bird. Mary Petra closed her eyes, spread out her arms and spun in circles.

"Would you like a ride? It's free."

She looked around in amazement and spotted the little man in the multi-colored triple-breasted suit. He had put his top hat down on the console that controlled the carousel. Of course, he was standing on a stool so that he could easily reach the levers and buttons.

"Don't you want to get in?"

Invitingly, he pointed to an empty seat hanging on chains from the large, horizontal disk. Well, hadn't the carousel just been moving high and fast? Oh, why ponder. She had probably just been lost in pleasant thoughts and hadn't noticed when it slowed down and came to a standstill.

She almost ran to the vacant chair like a little child. It wasn't easy for her to hold back and walk with measured steps so that her skirts didn't flap around disgracefully.

"Don't forget to fasten your seat belt," Trapp reminded her. He pressed a large yellow button and the journey began.

It went straight up. Mary Petra was carried upwards and outwards with increasing speed. She stretched her arms out to the side and felt light and free. She laughed happily.

Then something alarming happened.

Snap.

The seat under her bottom had given way a bit. Was there something loose?

She looked down, a little worried, but couldn't see anything wrong with the chair because of her flowing black skirts. On the other hand, she could see her feet in the simple black shoes, the white socks and - for heaven's sake - her calves, which were exposed by the high, fluttering hem of her costume.

She tried to cross her legs so as not to risk any more unwanted glimpses, but this proved rather difficult in the frantic, rocking seat.

Crack!

She sank down quite a bit and shrieked in shock. Her backside suddenly seemed to be hanging out in the open. Something was definitely wrong here. Seeking help, she looked around for Mr. Trapp, who was operating the machine. He was standing at the console far below, looking much tinier than expected, and waved at her encouragingly.

"Help - stop - it - is - broken!" she called out to him, word for word, every time she flew past him on the speeding ride.

He nodded and made a calming gesture with one hand while he pushed a lever to the maximum position with the other. But instead of slowing down, the carousel accelerated even more.