The carnival is in town, and little Francine is so mesmerized by the clowns that she follows them and gets lost! Finally found, she gets a strict warning from her mother​—never wander off, because people steal children and eat them! Later that night, older sister Marie weaves a haunting bedtime story about the carnival, a ghost train and a clever ogress who keeps the clowns well-fed with their favorite delicacy (children!).

The Junior Players, advanced students in South Coast Repertory's Theatre Conservatory, performed this spooky tale of sibling rivalry, where dreams mixed with reality.