As the night progressed, Nicole and Paola continued to have the most fun that they had ever had in their lives. Both Nicole and Paola had ridden the carousel twice, the roller coaster at least three times and the ferris wheel once.
They had a somewhat friendly scrap with the other boys and girls in the Rough House and had taken part in the mass vandalism of the Model Home, before finally stuffing their faces with cake, ice cream and cotton candy from the various food stalls that catered to the park.
Moments ago they had just now met up with Giovanna who had adventures of her own as well and they were now on their way to a place in the park called: "Windup Way".
Windup Way appeared to be a long and twisty building that served as both a funhouse and a path towards the Pleasure Island circus, which was about to have a show put on.
The kids strode up to Windup Way and entered the building, stepping onto the carpeted and tiled floor which flowed seamlessly with the long and windy halls of the fun house.
They passed walls that had space in between them with small wooden stages that served as the platform for marionettes to put on little shows. Eventually they came to a hall of fun house mirrors with different effects like making you appears taller or shorter, thin or fatter, and younger or older.
As the children laughed at their crazy reflections, Nicole took a cigar out of her pocket and began to light it. As she took a puff of her cigar, she offered one each to Giovanna and Paola.
"Want one?" she asked them. Paola shook her head and said "I think I'll pass and just stick to drinking beer."
"How about you?" Nicole asked Paola. "I'm with Paola," Giovanna replied. "I'll stick with the booze."
"Suit yourselves," Nicole said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Finally the friends came to the end of Windup Way and walked through under the tarp of a brightly colored striped tent and into a big circus ring, which featured trapezes and trampolines as props.
The three girls each took a seat beside each other on the bleachers that surrounded the circus ring and observed at least twenty other kids that had come to see the show as well. Eventually the lights dropped and the show began.
Masked clowns wearing colorful and frivolous outfits streamed in from various openings in the tent and proceeded to the center ring where they took part in both a comedic and acrobatic performance for the children amusement.
"These are the first adults I've seen all night, aside from the Coachman," Giovanna thought as she watched the show unfold in front of her eyes. "But they sure look funny. They almost look like apes with how they're hunched over."
As the audience of boys and girls laughed jovially at the merry antics of the clowns, Nicole turned and was stunned to see that both Paola and Giovanna had sprouted what appeared to be long and furry donkey ears.
She closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief at what she was seeing and then took another look at her friends. Sure enough, they still had donkey ears and now they had both sprouted long brown, black tasseled donkey tails from their butts as well.
"Wow... you girls sure look funny," Nicole said with a laugh. "You look like you're a pair of asses!"
"What?" Paola exclaimed as she raised her hands and pulled at her new donkey ears. "W-what happened to my e-ears?"
She then turned to Nicole and gasped in shock. "N-nicole... you've got them too!!"
Nicole quickly felt her ears and found them to be like that of a donkey's as well. She then turned her head and saw that she too had a donkey's tail that had sprouted out of her backside, ripping a hole through her skirt.
“Ooooh! What’s happening?” Nicole said on the verge of tears.
Giovanna laughed at them and pointed, "The only asses I see are you two! Ha, ha, ha, ha -- HAAAAW! HEE HAAAAAWWW!" After that, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, Giovanna’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sound that had just come from her mouth.
Paola and Nicole both looked at her in shock. Giovanna's laughter had turned into the braying of a donkey!
Suddenly the tent was filled with the sounds of laughter turning into donkeys braying.
Nicole stood up and looked around the room. Everywhere she looked, boys and girls had grown long donkey ears and tails and were now had brown or gray fur rapidly covering their bodies.
"What the heck is going on?!?" Nicole asked as she turned to face her friends and got the shock of her life.
Both Paola and Giovanna now had the head and elongated faces of a donkey complete with a tan muzzle, Paola’s blond hair and Giovanna’s thick pigtails were now long black manes that bristled like a hedgehog on their heads and went down their backs.
"Oh my gosh!" Nicole exclaimed as she staggered back. All the boys and girls in the room were literally turning into donkeys. And the clowns had stopped performing and were advancing slowly towards them.
Swiftly they began to corral the dozens of frightened little donkeys by throwing a rope around their necks.
Terrified, Nicole leapt off the bleachers and ran out of the tent in a panic and into Windup Way once more.
"Wait for me, Nicole!!" Paola shouted as she leapt to her feet.
She had scarcely taken a step before she found herself tumbling off the bleachers and onto the floor of the circus tent. Paola kicked and tried to raise herself, but found that she was being forced to all fours. Within seconds her hands and feet had become black hooves.
“Nicole! Nicole, come back! I can't stand up!!! Please! Pleeeasseeee! HEE-EE-E-ELPP MEEEEEEE..... HAW! HAW! HAW! HAW! HEE HAW! HEE HAW! HEE HAW! HEE HAW!”
Paola had fully transformed into a small and frightened brown furred donkey wearing a blue dress, a ribbon trimmed hat and black shoes!
Nicole ran down the long and twisty halls of Windup Way in a panic. Behind her she could hear the sounds of donkeys braying in terror! She had hated to run out on her friends, but she had to get out of there.
She had just made it to the hall of mirrors, when she found herself tripping on her own two feet and falling to the floor. She struggled to raise herself with her hands and was horrified to discover that her hands had become the hooves of a donkey.
She had fallen next to one of the fun house mirrors and nervously turned to face it. Nicole suddenly recoiled in fright.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!!" Nicole screamed in terror. “My face!
My beautiful face! A-and…and… m-my body?”
Despite the distortions of the mirror, she saw that she had fully transformed into a brown furred donkey complete with four hooves, an elongated tan muzzle and a mane of spiky black hair underneath her beret.
Like her friends and the other kids in the circus tent, Nicole was now a donkey too!
"NO! NO! NOOOO!!!" Nicole cried. "T-this c-can't be happening!! I've... I've got to get out of here!!"
Nicole turned and galloped off as fast as her new hooved legs could carry her. With tears in her eyes, she rushed off towards the entrance of the fun house, only to find that the doors had been closed and locked tight to prevent escape.
Desperately she got up on her hind legs and pawed at the door with her hooves but to no avail. She then turned and got another shock!
Advancing towards her was a shadowy figure with eerie yellow simian eyes.
He had a rope leash in his hands. He was there to corral her and the only thing Nicole could do was cower in terror as the figure got closer and closer...