The two meet many difficulties along the way. Tangerine wanders away from Miles and is taken by Ghengis, leaving Miles heartbroken. Luckily, the tiger appears again, and carries Miles and Little for a good portion of the journey. The tiger, after much pestering from Miles, reveals that the Circus Oscuro did have a tiger once: the tiger, Varippuli, was originally part of the circus of a great man called Barty Fumble, and showed him more loyalty than could ever be fathomed. The circus was always a success, until the year the Circus Oscuro appeared and began stealing the crowds. Barty was expecting his first child and knew he could not afford failure. He made a deal with the Great Cortado to combine the two circuses for the summer and then part ways. All was well until Barty's wife died in labour, leaving him heartbroken. He disappeared with his son, leaving Varippuli to the wrath of the evil Cortado. After attempting to starve Varippuli to make him perform once more, Cortado tried to whip the beast, but it got the better of him. Before Varippuli could deliver the final blow, Cortado found his gun and supposedly killed the tiger.