Wagner grew up dozen growth of fleas from a black cockroach and presented to the owner of flea theater. Very much the owner thanked Wagner. All Paris went to look at exotic fleas, there was no small trouble yet: one flea cockroach hit a forehead to mister president of the republic why in his head public affairs of foremost importance were mixed. The seditious flea was killed, and chains put on the others that too highly did not jump. Wagner because of this flea from France was nearly sent. However escaped.
On a full human outgrowth Wagner let only two fleas that is one sterns less than money left. Also these two fleas began to grow before the eyes. He kept them in a cage on a chain, and fed with blood. Every day from slaughters in barrels blood was brought.
You imagine what is a flea if to increase her time in one thousand? There is no animal more terribly! Even the watchmen from a menagerie put to these fleas shivered with horror. And when fleas stretched the feelers and stings through rods of cages, at watchmen of a leg were turned in and they from the room ran away.
And there was misfortune. When length of a flea female was equal to hundred seventy seven centimeters (the male had growth a little less), and muscles and jaws became stronger than lion’s, the flea female jumped out of a cage. Tore chains, gnawed through in a night a back wooden wall and through a hole – прыг! – skipped away.
And it was just on the night of July fourteenth – a national French holiday, capture of the Bastille. This day all Paris on the street. And suddenly such incident! The flea in human height too as if destroyed the Bastille, broke off chains and прыг on the street! And on the street the people since early morning already crowd.
Wagner’s «menagerie» was located on Kyuvye Street, near a zoo. The flea in several jumps crossed all Paris. She jumped one jump through wine warehouses which take the whole quarter, the second jump jumped through Notre Dame de Paris on other side of Seine, then moved back, in two-three jumps reached the Nursing home, jumped over it, the following huge jump flew through the Eiffel Tower. Three hundred meters of height did not make any difficulty for a flea. It flew over a tower two hundred meters higher, and in air nearly faced a flock of the parading airplanes. Yeny Square and Etual Square were the following stages. Having taken seat on the Triumphal arch, she decided to have a rest.
The public with delight welcomed in the beginning emergence of winged «animal». All were sure that it is one of the most remarkable numbers of a street carnival. Perhaps, some inventor decided to give this day to the nation a surprise – the new aircraft like gelikopter with vertical rise and descent. For bigger effect the inventor gave to the device such terrible look. However, knew all Paris about Wagner’s experiences. But nobody assumed that the flea looks so terribly.
Soon, however, the delight of crowd was replaced by horror. A flea, having had a rest on the Triumphal arch, unexpectedly jumped off on the street in a thick of crowd and suddenly, having seized some having fun citizen with the shchupika, stuck a sharp proboscis into the left shoulder. The Parisian desperately cried. The crowd was captured by such horror that all stood several minutes as fossilized, and then took to the heels as if they were picked up by an outflow wave. The flea quietly exhausted grams seven hundred blood and, having taken out a proboscis, jumped on an arch. The Frenchman who turned pale from loss of blood and a fright fell. Fortunately, the flea did not exhaust all blood, and it in veins of the Frenchman was 5740 grams. Loss of two thousand grams would threaten with death. But the flea was satisfied with smaller. Perhaps, so it was easier for it to jump. And she preferred to suck blood less, but is more often.
