C h a p t e r Two
You may or may not have had the experience of knowing whether something is good or bad when you are being told about it. You may be embarrassed by this feeling, be made nervous by it, or sometimes relieved. For example, if you were told that you were going to have crab for dinner for the first time, you would think that it is good. But you might find, after you have eaten it, that you were allergic to crab, and this would be very, very bad, and that would definitely make you nervous about crabs.
Now it was Sunny who was having this experience, as she was only an infant. As a baby, she had loved the carnivals that she had been to with her brother, sister, and parents, and she smiled joyfully as the memories came flooding back.
"Carnival!" Sunny shrieked.
But Violet replied, "No, Sunny, I don't think we're going to be watching many carnivals there." To her and Klaus, Carniville meant nothing less than 'unfortunate'.
"Watch carnivals?" boomed a voice, signifying – a word which here means 'indicating' – the return of Aunt Zenk. "No, you are going to be working at one," she said, with a sly grin.
Now Violet and Klaus looked at one another with pleasure. Maybe this guardian wasn't going to be so bad after all. They just hoped that Count Olaf wouldn't show up…
"Well, what are you standing there, waiting for? Chop, chop, we have work to do!"
The three overwrought orphans – the word 'overwrought' here means 'apprehensive' – picked their luggage up, and climbed into the car, immediately aware of the heavy scent of French perfume.
A few hours later, there was nothing but silence inside the posh automobile. Mr. Poe was staring out of the window, occasionally erupting with brief fits of coughing, although it had lessened slightly with the aid of some cough medicine that his wife had, at long last, persuaded him to take. Violet had her hair tied up in a ribbon, and the gears inside her head were whirring and clanking, today thinking of an invention that would prevent the smell of French perfume reaching one's nose. Sunny was curled up in a ball on Klaus' lap, sleeping. Klaus himself was reading, only mildly interested in one of the many books Mr. Poe had lent him: The Financial History of Mulctuary Money Management. Aunt Zenk was driving the car, also keeping herself to herself, a phrase which here means, 'not saying anything'. Then –
"We're here."
Sunny jolted awake, Violet snapped out of her dream-like state, and Klaus looked up from his book. The all looked out of the window and gasped with awe.
Surrounding them was an open field, with mountain scenery. But instead of the usual goats and sheep that you would normally see in the great outdoors, the field was jam-packed with massive circus tents, tepees and huts, tall poles with lights streaming and flashing and winking at the car and everywhere… and the rest of the night air was lent to the banners.
Big banners, tall banners, short banners, small banners, banners of every colour of the rainbow, glow-in-the-dark banners, banners with stars, banners reading 'welcome', or 'have a nice day', or 'C.P.', or 'I.D.V.', or 'V.F.D.' –
The three Baudelaires gasped again, and looked at each other. Could this be the answer to the mystery of V.F.D.? Slowly, they clambered out of the car, with Aunt Zenk and Mr. Poe.
"You will be staying in zat tent zere, next to ze V.F.D.," informed Aunt Zenk.
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny walked cautiously up to the tent labelled 'I.D.V.', for on closer inspection of the 'V.F.D.' tent, it was quivering slightly. Then, a humungous creature bounded out of the V.F.D. tent, and leapt right at the Baudelaires.