THE SAINT AND THE CIRCUS

When a sparrow lands on one end of his pole, a tightrope walker pleads, ""Heaven help me!"" Bumbling Saint Tony happens to be on duty in Heaven's emergency room; he sends a second sparrow for the other end of the pole, but the first sparrow flies over to make friends with the second. The saint adds a pigeon to the other side, but then the sparrows fly away together; he sends a cat to oust the pigeon--and so on through a preposterous series of ever larger animals, only concluded when the saint's replacement arrives. Root captures this comically vertiginous balancing act with some flair; his designs are imaginative, though their execution is a bit sturdy for the frothy, entertaining story.