Chapter 5

In the days that followed, Sapphire began teaching Mina some of the performers’ dance routines. She wouldn’t be able to participate in the big chorus numbers but she could recreate the choreography on whatever surface she was placed on. From her spot on the nightstand, Mina faithfully mimicked Sapphire’s every move, adding her own little flourishes here and there. When the dances became more energetic, she found it hard to keep her footing. Sapphire’s heavy footfalls and boisterous jumps sent shuddering tremors through the whole room. The final kickline of one dance almost knocked Mina straight off the table. In time, however, she adjusted and even began to excel at the dances.

Once she had mastered the basics, Mina and her roommate started to experiment with the act. They took one of Goldie’s suggestions, inspired by Mina’s mishap during her audition. It was decided that the tiny girl would attempt to dance on various parts of her partner’s body. She started in her customary perch within Sapphire’s palm, nimbly prancing about over the long slender fingers or dangling from the thumb like a pole dancer.

Next, the woman took a seat on the bed and allowed Mina to foxtrot across her knee and the wide expanse of her thigh. The little lady attempted to leap from one meaty thigh to the other but ended up tumbling into the gap between them. There, as was so often the case in Sapphire’s presence, Mina found herself trapped between two towering, impenetrable walls of flesh. After this, the redhead made sure to wear fishnet stockings during their practices. The crisscrossing wires made a handy ladder.

When her confidence had built up and the thigh jump was conquered, Mina attempted to dance on Sapphire’s shoulder. This was the trickiest task by far. Most of the woman’s dresses left her shoulders bare and the smooth, curving surface was rather slippery. Sapphire remained seated during these test runs to minimize the length of a potential fall.

“If ya feel yourself slippin’, aim for somewhere soft!” she joked, indicating her prodigious chest. Mina was still a bit frightened of that capacious canyon but knew she would prefer it to a two-hundred-foot drop to her death.

True to her word, Opal had managed to sew Mina a costume. It was re-creation in miniature of the other dancers’ uniforms – silken lace, a plunging bodice, shiny sequins (there was only room for about five of these in total on the tiny dress), a high slit to show off the legs, and a tall feathered headband. It had only taken a few scraps of fabric to create. Opal had used a deep royal purple (Mina’s favorite) with a lining of bright and eye-catching red. The dress was a bit loose, for it was difficult to get accurate measurements of a girl the size of one’s thumb. But Mina appreciated the effort nonetheless.

Sapphire and Opal cooed and fussed when the miniature girl emerged from her privy alcove, having changed into the dress for the first time.

“Awww, just look at ya,” Opal said. “Quite the little heartbreaker.”

Gradually, Mina adjusted to the daily routine of the dance hall. It was not without its stresses. For one thing, sharing meals with the dancers and staff members was quite an intimidating experience. As they had discussed, Mina’s designated spot was on a napkin to Sapphire’s left, spread out like a picnic blanket. High above, her roommate shoveled huge quantities of food into her maw, gulping down mouthfuls several times Mina’s size. Sapphire had not lied about her appetite. The carrot-topped colossus hardly seemed to stop and chew and was frequently going back for seconds. Mina tried not to imagine herself in one of those voracious mouthfuls. Deafening gurgles filled the air around her as Sapphire and the other women guzzled down gallons of beer. 

Now and then, Diamonda made eye contact with Mina from across the table, smirking wickedly. She made a big show of spearing vegetables as big as the tiny girl with her fork and lifting them to her lips to be gobbled up dramatically. Mina would simply avert her eyes and continue to nibble on a strip of beef or a few crumbs of dinner roll.

After a few weeks of rehearsal, it was finally time for Mina to make her debut. Or so Goldie insisted. She was not about to employ one of the world’s wonders only to have her hide away in Sapphire’s boudoir. Dressed in her costume, Mina stood in the center of her roommate’s palm, trying not to shake with stage fright. The duo was waiting in the wings offstage, listening for Goldie’s introduction.

“Nervous?” Sapphire asked as she felt the tiny form trembling in her hand.

“A little. What if I fall? What if they don’t like me? What if they laugh at me? I mean, I must seem ridiculous, right? A dancer the size of a strawberry!”

“You’ll do fine. Just remember what we practiced,” Sapphire insisted. A look of contemplation crossed her face. “Hmmm…”

“What?”

“I was just thinkin’…we should maintain the element of surprise. I’d say this calls for some kinda dramatic unveiling.”

“What do you—eep!”

Without warning, the ginger giantess plucked Mina off her hand and plunged her down into her ample cleavage. With a slight push of Sapphire’s fingers, the tiny girl vanished.

“Hold still in there,” the redhead whispered. “The fellas are gonna love this!”

Out on the stage, Goldie was making her announcement. Mina could barely hear it, muffled as it was through the considerable mass of Sapphire’s breasts.

“All right, boys, we have a special new attraction at the Mine tonight! A wonderment to astonish your eyes and warm your hearts (if not other regions). An act so incredible, it defies the very laws of nature! Here she is, for your diversion and delight, the sweetest and smallest performer in the West—Miss Minnie!”

A tiny head poked out of Sapphire’s décolletage. “Minnie?”

A finger pressed down on Mina’s head, entombing her once again in soft pink flesh. “Your new stage name,” Sapphire said over the applause. “Just go with it!”

The redhead strolled out onto the stage (carefully so as not to jostle her passenger too much). Goldie gave her a look of confusion.

“Where’s our star?” she whispered.

“Close to my heart,” said the dancer with a wink. She patted her bosom softly, sending a tremor through Mina’s world. Goldie caught on and moved aside with a knowing smile.

Sapphire walked downstage and sat down demurely on the edge, smiling at the audience. The crowd of cowpokes, ranchers, and farmers watched her in confusion, muttering amongst themselves.

“Ain’t that Miz Sapphire?”

“Hey, what’s the gag?”

“She shore is sweet but ain’t no part o’ that gal small.”

“Come a little closer, fellas,” Sapphire called. “Don’t be shy! Y’all are gonna wanna see this!”

Several men began to gather at the front of the stage, looking up at the dancer appreciatively from floor level. Slowly and sensuously, Sapphire slipped a hand down into her cleavage, prompting cheers and catcalls from the audience. The hand soon emerged and held aloft a tiny shape. Nearby, the piano man played a quick fanfare yet there was nothing but silence from the crowd. Followed by a rustling and scraping of chairs as several more men tried to move in for a better look.

Sapphire slid off the edge of the stage and into the crowd. She sidled over to a table in the front row, trailing puzzled cowboys in her wake. The redhead lowered her hand and allowed Mina to step onto the tabletop. The assembled men goggled in surprise. Mina glanced up nervously at the enormous figures with their harsh, rugged features, stubbly facial hair, wide-brimmed hats, and stunned expressions. Glasses of beer and whiskey towered around her like transparent trees.

“What in tarnation is that?” one of the men muttered.

“I seent one o’ these in the city once,” another boasted. “It’s some kinda wind-up aw-tom-o-ton.” He seemed very pleased with himself for remembering the word. “They make ‘em with clockwork.”

“All right, Pinky,” Sapphire called to the piano player. “Give us a tune!”

Tinkling, slightly off-key music commenced and Mina launched herself into a dance. A collective gasp passed through the crowd as the living doll began to move. Mina hiked up her skirt and danced around the tabletop. She kicked out her tiny shapely legs, shuffling to and fro and alternating with occasional box steps or grapevines. Gaining confidence, she vaulted over a salt shaker. The men leaned closer in awe and several stragglers from the back of the house began to move in and peer over their comrades’ shoulders. A wide-eyed rancher reached out a tentative finger to touch the miniature dancing apparition. Sapphire slapped the back of his hand.

“You know the rules, Gus!” she scolded. “No touchin’ durin’ the show! And that goes double with Miss Minnie!”

Slightly shaken by Gus’s unwanted attention, Mina moved closer to Sapphire. She did so subtly, never missing a beat of the music. Her friend set her hand palm upward on the table and Mina proceeded to dance right into it. Sapphire lifted her hand and the men continued to stare as the tiny beauty danced within it. The redhead held her arm out straight and Mina began dancing up its considerable length. She had to make sure to keep her balance but she had practiced for this. Before long, she had danced her way up to Sapphire’s shoulder.

By now the men were cheering and hooting and clapping along to the music. Their excitement only increased when Sapphire’s lovely form became the tiny girl’s dance floor. Mina took her steps carefully on the slippery shoulder, grabbing a strand of scarlet hair and using it as her dance partner. Feeling bold, she leapt off the side of the shoulder and swung from Sapphire’s tresses like a tiny jungle queen. The men watched in astonishment (and more than a little jealousy) as the arc of the strand took her tantalizingly close to the redhead’s bosom. Mina’s feet touched down lightly on that magnificent chest, skimming the surface until the hair pulled taut and she began to swing back the other way. In a wild spin, the little lady arced around behind Sapphire’s back.

The men standing closest looked around the woman’s shoulders, trying to find her. To their amazement, Mina was already shimmying up the strand like a rope and was soon scrambling atop Sapphire’s head. At the peak of this female mountain, she resumed her dance. Mina gamboled about on the lady’s scalp while her friend held as still as possible. Sapphire held her breath, trying not to giggle at the feeling of tiny feet tapping atop her head.

As the music began to crescendo, Mina danced forward to the precipice of the woman’s brow. She plopped down suddenly on her rump and pushed off the edge. To the crowd’s delight, the tiny woman slid down Sapphire’s forehead and onto the bridge of her nose. As she approached the end, Mina squeezed her legs tightly around the tip of the nose, stopping her descent. She reached a hand down to grip a nostril for support and dared to lift the other hand in a triumphant gesture.

“Yee-hah!” she cried as the song concluded. 

The crowd went mad. Cowboys and ranchers and sheriff’s deputies hollered and cheered, stamping their feet and pounding the tables. A few stray gunshots went off, fired at the ceiling in excitement, punctuating the wild applause. The room shook and Mina felt her balance abandoning her. Luckily, Sapphire’s hand was at the ready, held open just below her nose. The little dancer let go and took a short tumble into her partner’s palm. She picked herself back up and took a bow as the giantess held her high for all to see.

“Thanks, fellas! Minnie says you’re a great crowd!” Sapphire called. Mina had not in fact said anything but no one would have heard her if she did. “That’s all for now. The little lady has to return to her, uh, dressing room.”

In one smooth motion, Sapphire lowered her hand and slipped the tiny girl back down between her breasts. As Mina disappeared, the men cheered louder and shared a hearty chuckle. Sapphire blew them a kiss and hurried for the door that led backstage.

Mina bounced about in the narrow chasm of flesh but hardly seemed to notice her discomfort. She was still on a natural high from the performance. Once they were in the hidden corridor backstage, she squirmed upward until her head and upper torso popped out of Sapphire’s cleavage.

“That was so much fun!” she squealed.

“Incredible, that’s what it was,” said Sapphire, peering down at her. “What was all that business with swingin’ from my hair and landin’ on my nose? We didn’t practice that!”

“I know!” Mina agreed. “I just sort of let the music take over.”

“Well, be careful when ya try stunts like that. Wouldn’t want ya to fall. I’m a tall drink o’ water and it’s a long way down!”

Mina listened to the still roaring crowd. “I think they liked me.”

“They loved ya! You’re a natural, kid!”

As they made their way down the hall, they saw Diamonda leaning casually against a pillar. Sapphire felt suddenly self-conscious and pulled Mina from the confines of her bosom, returning her to the palm of her hand.

“I was watching from the bar,” Diamonda said. “Nice job.”

“Thank you,” Mina answered.

A sly smile crossed Diamonda’s lips. “Freak shows always draw a crowd.”

Sapphire scowled. “Aw, put a cork in it, Di!” She brushed past the blonde and headed for the dressing room. Diamonda folded her arms across her chest and laughed.

To be continued...