Chapter 6- Topsy Turvy
Now was Matthew's chance to leave the bell tower and attend the Feast of Fools. He had put on a cloak so as to disguise himself. As he went down the cathedral, he heard the people sing:
"Come one! Come all!
Leave your looms and milking stools,
Coop the hens and pen the mules!
Come one! Come all!
Close the churches and the schools!
It's the day for breaking rules!
Come and join the Feast…of…"
Gilbert, the albino in jester clothes, burst out of the crowd, flipping once as he did so.
"FOOLS!" he cackled gleefully.
The tempo of the song increased as Gilbert began to sing:
"Once a year we throw a party here in town.
Once a year we turn all Paris upside down.
Every man's a king and every king's a clown,
Once again it's Topsy-Turvy Day!"
As Matthew walked down the square, he was filled with wonder and terror; this was his first festival. He tried to get somewhere quiet, for a moment, but Gilbert spotted him first.
"It's the day the devil in us gets released.
It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest.
Everything is Topsy Turvy at the Feast of Fools!"
Matthew looked around as he pulled his hood closer around his face. A man, dressed as a dog, was leading another man on a leash. A crab-costumed performer was chasing after a frightened chef. Men were walking on their hands with gloves on their feet. All this time, Matthew was looking for a place to hide.
"Topsy turvy!" the crowd chanted.
"Everything is upsy-daisy!" Gilbert cheerfully sang.
"Topsy turvy!"
Gilbert had gotten bored of Matthew, so he leaped away, giving Matthew time to escape.
"Everybody's acting crazy!
Dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet,
That's the way on Topsy Turvy Day!"
The respite was brief, however, as Matthew got swept up in a line of dancers almost immediately afterwards. He was then jostled out of his line, straight into a dressing tent. He crashed into a basket of masks, startling a girl in a scarlet dress.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. It was Amelia, the American girl that Francois had noticed earlier. She then realized it was an accident and she softened.
"Are you all right?" she asked, bending down to the boy.
"I didn't mean to…I-I-I'm sorry…" Matthew stammered, daring not to rise.
"You ain't hurt, are ya? Here, let's see…"
She reached to pull away the hood that covered his face.
"No, no, no!" the Canadian protested, trying to pull his hood closer.
The American girl's cat meowed with confusion at this poor creature whom she was aiding.
"Hush, Feliciano," the girl reprimanded. She smiled at Matthew.
"There, see, no harm done. Just try to be a little more careful next time."
"I-I-I will," stuttered the flustered Canadian.
Amelia turned to leave, her cat trotting close behind. At the mouth of the tent, she turned to look at Matthew once more.
"Oh, by the way," she said approvingly, "great mask!"
Matthew looked on with a love-struck smile on his face.
Everything was still noisy and bright outside.
"Topsy turvy!" recited the crowd.
Gilbert joined in:
"Beat the drums and blow the trumpets!"
"Topsy turvy!"
"Join the bums and thieves and strumpets,
Streaming in from Chartres to Calais!
Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy,
On the sixth of 'Januervy',
All because it's Topsy Turvy Day!"
Judge Kirkland, along with a handful of guards and Captain Bonnefoy, had reached their seats in the midst of the tumultuous crowd. Gilbert leaped to the stage and sang:
"Come one! Come all!
Hurry, hurry here's your chance,
See the mystery and romance.
Come one! Come all!
See the finest girl in France,
Make an entrance to entrance.
Dance, my fair Ameliaaaaaaaa…"
As his voice crescendoed, Gilbert raised a fist high up in the air. The hand came down with a hissing cry of "DANCE!" With a bang and a puff of red smoke, Gilbert had disappeared. The American girl Amelia, adorned with gold jewelry and swirling skirts, took his place and began to dance. Everyone watching her was enchanted.
Arthur, too, felt something inside him stir as he watched the young American girl dance. He took it for revulsion.
"Just look at that disgusting display," he said to Francois.
To which the French captain replied enthusiastically, "Oui, monsieur!"
Amelia cart-wheeled over to where the English judge sat. She took a silken scarf with an American flag design out from the folds of her dress, playfully wrapping it around the man's neck. The American girl leaned in as if to kiss him, but turned and bounded away at the last second. Kirkland tore the scarf from his neck, growling like an angry bulldog.
At the climax of her performance, Amelia yanked a spear from one of the astonished English guards. She thrust it onto the stage, spinning around and around. She finally came to rest sitting on the stage. Matthew, who had been watching the whole time, received a wink and a smile. He blushed from underneath his cloak; did the girl remember him from the tent?
Gilbert appeared once more onstage alongside Amelia.
"Und now, ladies und gentlemen," he announced, "the piece de resistance!
Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for!
Here it is, you know exactly what's in store!
Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore!
Now's the time we crown the King of Fools!
You all remember last year's king!"
Gilbert waved an arm. A crazy old man, who was being carried on the shoulders of four festival goers, waved idiotically and grinned before shouting, "BANANA!"
"Make a face that's strange or weird or frightening,
Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing!"
When Yong Soo heard this line from his lofty tower home, he took much offense.
"For the face that's oddest will become the King of Fools!
Why?"
"Topsy turvy!"
"Ugly folks, forget your shyness!"
"Topsy turvy!"
"You could soon be called Your Highness!
Put your foulest features on display,
Be the King of Topsy Turvy Day!"
One by one, the contestants climbed up to the stage, as did Matthew. As Amelia pulled the masks off one by one, each contestant tried to make a funny face. The crowd booed and jeered, and Feliciano clawed the unmasked people off the stage and into the muck on the street below. Finally, poor, confused Matthew was the only contestant left onstage. Amelia pulled at what she thought was a mask…and gasped. Everyone in the audience did the same. His violet eyes were unusual to look at.
"It's the bell-ringer from Notre Dame!" someone exclaimed.
They had all heard tales of this legend, but seeing him here and now was unreal to them. Poor Matthew looked like he was about to cry. And Arthur looked ready to swear with fury.
Gilbert, sensing this change in mood, jumped to the stage and called down to the crowd.
"Ladies und gentlemen, don't panic," he implored, "We asked for the oddest face in Paris, und here he is! Matthew Williams, the bell-ringer of Notre Dame!"
His humorous tone lightened everyone's spirits, and they all started to laugh with joy as they carried Matthew on their shoulders. Finally, Gilbert called out, "EV-ERY-BO-DY!"
"Once a year, we throw a party here in town!"
"Hail to the king!"
"Once a year, we turn all Paris upside-down!"
"Oh, what a king!"
"Once a year, the strangest one will wear a crown!"
"Girls, give a kiss!"
A Ukranian girl named Katyusha Braginskaya and a Belarusian girl named Natasha Arlovskaya leaned over to kiss Matthew.
"Once a year on Topsy Turvy Day!"
"We've never had a king like this!"
Two men then bowed to Matthew as they presented him with a red cape, a fake crown, and a plastic scepter. It didn't matter to him that it was a false title; people cheer for him and he grinned merrily. Matthew couldn't remember a time when he had been so happy; not even Kirkland's terrible, wrathful face could dampen his spirits.
Everyone joined Gilbert in singing:
"And it's the day we do the things that we deplore
On the other three hundred and sixty-four.
Once a year we love to drop in,
Where the beer is never stoppin',
For the chance to pop some popinjay,
And pick the king who'll put the 'top' in
Topsy Turvy Day!
Topsy Turvy!
Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy Topsy Turvy Day!"
