Today is Wednesday.
Pippi disgustedly asked the old lady what she would do with all those nasty little white coins and she asked the lady to keep them and then she could look at her twice in the standing room. As Pippi absolutely refused to accept any change, the lady changed her ticket to one for the grandstand and gave Tommy and Annika grandstand tickets too without their having to pay a single penny. In that way Pippi, Tommy and Annika came to sit on some beautiful red chairs right next to the ring. Tommy and Annika turned around several times to wave to their schoolmates, who were sitting much farther away. Pippi said that it was a remarkable place, looking around in astonishment. But Pippi was not very happy when she saw there was sawdust all over the floor. Tommy explained that all circuses had sawdust on the floor for the horses to run around in. On the platform nearby the circus band suddenly began to play a thundering march. Pippi clapped her hands wildly and jumped up and down with delight. She asked if it costed money to hear. At that moment the curtain in front of the performers' entrance was drawn aside, and the ring master in a black frock coat, with a whip in his hand, came running in, followed by ten white horses with red plumes on their heads.
