De levende ladder

Summary

Annie falls in love with circus clown Pedro, but her father forbids their romance.

It is a fine, sunny day when, together with her family and friends, Annie celebrates her birthday with a picnic outside her father's farmstead. When the circus run by Janus Blanus comes to the neighbouring village, Annie attends a performance. She falls promptly in love with the circus clown, as he does with her. However, her father forbids their romance, as he does not want to have a vagabond as a son-in-law. Annie goes to stay with friends who live in a windmill. She is there alone when a fire breaks out. The local fire-brigade arrives on the scene, but it turns out that the ladders are too short to reach the uppermost balcony of the mill to which the girl has fled to escape the flames. Then the circus acrobats headed by the clown form a living ladder by climbing on each other's shoulders and the clown is able to rescue Annie from the burning mill. When she recovers from the shock, Annie is reunited with the clown. The girl's father, grateful to the man who saved his daughter's life and realizing that the young people truly love each other, finally gives his permission for Annie and the clown to marry.