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A flood of needle-sharp antlers surged towards Stella as she played her flute. When they got close, she began to struggle free of her ropes but looked concerned. Something was wrong. The crowd gasped, watching in shock as Stella screamed.
Everyone panicked. Some particularly heroic spectators rushed forwards to help, thinking that the ringmaster was about to be crushed under a battering ram of hooves and spikes. Only Toby and the crew at The Freak Show knew the truth.
As the reindeer closed in, something strange happened. They leapt at the last second. Then it became clear that the panic was a charade. As their stampeding legs powered down, they struck firmly on the empty air above Stella’s head and bounded higher. Under their hooves, frost appeared and a waterfall of snowflakes glitt
