How did the trainer, William Woodcock, convince Peggy and Anna May to do this? How did he tell them to tumble forward? You can't just ask politely. This is not something elephants do in the wild. It is not easy to teach this move to a human, much less a mammal the size of a dumptruck. The other elephant tricks were expected, but the headstand seemed supernatural.

The son of the circus pioneer Philip Astley joined the family business. At age 10, John could dance a minuet on three horses and so impressed Marie Antoinette that she presented him with a gold medallion. Lord George Sander, who gave himself the title and was Great Britain's equivalent of P. T. Barnum, was also born into a circus family.

Gina Romanos, the teacher of the 13 children who travel with The Big Apple, has a classroom on wheels, a converted Winnebago named the "One-Ring School-house." Past the curtain with the sign, "Performers Only," there is no jungle of dressing rooms and props. Instead, a deserted back lot stands where the motor homes and 18-wheelers were parked.

Her Winnebago contains the distilled essence of an elementary school. There is Elmer's glue, board games, a teaching clock, a green blackboard with big white stamped letters, crayons, scissors, math books, everything except an aquarium.

"The children are thirsty to learn," she says. "They see their parents practicing all day, and they want something to practice. Most are one or two grade levels beyond their age. The older ones teach the younger ones."

The circus children live in an extended family of adults and are sometimes given bit parts in the show. Living on the road, exposed to big crowds and strange cities, they must grow up faster than most of us. On a patch of asphalt in front of the Winnebago, Romanos has sketched out hopscotch squares. "This," she says, "is their playground."