The Clown

Just as John was traveling through a little town called Pleasantville. The town was so small you could throw a rock from one end of the town to the other end. John just about missed the town and his long-awaited rare antique to add to his collection. Then all of a sudden he slammed on his brakes. He backed up his car in front of a sign that was dusty and barely hanging on to the wooden post. John got out of his car to read what was on the sign. He dusted off the sign and said, "Wow! I'm glad I stopped in the nick of time or I would have never known about this place.

John got back in his car and traveled down the gravel road in search of this antique store. John must have been traveling down the gravel road for more than thirty minutes. Just as he was about to say forget it, and drive back home, there was a sign that read Pleasantville Antique store.

John pulled into the Antique store and parked his car. He looked up at the sky and got one glimpse as the sun was setting. As he got out of his car the wind was picking up and a storm was on the way. As John opened the door to the antique store it started storming. John called out to see if anyone was in the store. Then an old man shouted out and said, "I'll be with you in just a moment, there are milk and cookies on the table if you're hungry from your long drive."

John went over to the table and poured a glass of milk picked up one of the cookies and said, "Your cookies are wonderful. They're still warm as though you were expecting company."

Finally, the old man came to the front of the store to greet John.

"I'm glad you like my cookies," replied the old man.

"Why don't you have a seat at the table and tell me what you are looking for?" exclaimed the old man.

"You see, I'm somewhat of an odd collector of antiques. I mainly get a rush out of finding something that my fellow antique buddies don't have," answered John.

"Well, I think you came to the right place John," replied the old man.

"How do you know my name? I don't, I just got lucky and guessed the right name," laughed the old man.

John got up from the table looked out the window and said, "It looks like the rain has stopped. I need to get back soon before the rain starts pouring down again."

"Follow me behind the curtain at the back of the store. That's where I keep my rarest and most valued antiques. I'm sure there is something you will like," replied the old man with a smile on his face.

John followed the old man behind the curtain and the old man said, "Since you are looking for something your antique collecting buddies wouldn't dare think to collect, this is what you need to complete your collection."

"This is what I've been looking for, you've got to be kidding me," replied John as he laughed.

"Don't be so quick to think this is some kind of joke," exclaimed the old man.

"A clown costume, I'm not sure this is something I need to complete my collection," answered John.

"This is no ordinary clown costume. This clown costume dates back to the mid-eighteen hundreds. Let me tell you the story about how the clown costume is so rare and worth collecting. A man by the name of Henry Smith loved dressing up like a clown and putting on parties for the children who lived in his town. When Henry returned home from the parties, his wife would badger him about how much of a loser he was, and being a clown doesn't put food on the table. Henry began drinking heavily and would show up drunk at the children’s parties. When the children told their parents that Henry would stagger around at their party and take a drink from an unknown container and ask what he was drinking, Henry would say "It's only water."

When the parents would question Henry about their children seeing him staggering around and drinking from a metal container Henry made up a story that his right leg was partially paralyzed and his metal container was just water he was drinking.

Henry's wife was noticing a change in Henry's behavior. When she confronted him, he just told her to mind her own business. I know you need to get back before more rain sets in so I'll go ahead and shorten the rest of the story. According to the sheriff that captured Henry riding his horse down the dead man's trail in his clown costume the sheriff shot Henry in the shoulder and he fell off his horse. Then the sheriff got off his horse and came over to Henry and said, "For what you have done, I sentence you to be hanged." The sheriff shot Henry in both legs so he wouldn't try to escape. The sheriff went over to a tree next to where Henry's wounded body lay and threw his lasso over a tree branch. He went over and picked up Henry's weak body sat him on his horse next to the tree and slipped the rope around his neck. Then he kicked the horse and the horse took off running. Henry slid off the horse swinging back and forth trying to free himself as the life was being choked out of him from the noose around his neck.

The sheriff said, "It was one thing when you killed your wife, but when you killed your children no trial was needed. I felt the whole town would agree on my sentencing you to death by hanging."

The old man said, "What do you think of the story I just told you."

John replied, "That was some kind of story. It is a sad one, but that makes this clown costume that much more worth having."

"Here, now take it, and run along and put it to good use. But there is one thing about this costume that has another legend behind it," said the old man.

"What's that?" asked John.

"The sheriff and his men cut off Henry's head and buried his body with his costume still on.

Legend has it that some of the town’s people reported seeing a headless clown with a knife in one hand and the other hand a basket full of severed heads. The clown would knock on neighbors’ doors. If someone answers their door the headless clown would cut their head off and the clown would put their head in his basket. The townspeople thought it was the clown’s way of seeking revenge for not having a fair trial for killing his family.