In her younger days, Sunny was the happiest of Budderhors. As the first (and youngest) female ringmaster of the BuddeRing Circus, she worked long hours and spent spare time drawing posters to advertise the family business. All went smoothly until a handsome young man volunteered to train the vicious tigers and clean up after the other beasts. As soon as the two saw each other, they were utterly smitten. Sunny's long hours became longer, and the young man worked far beyond overtime. Months passed before they had the courage to speak to each other, and still years before they confessed their feelings. Sunny drew pictures for the young man, and left them in the tigers' cage to be found later. He wrote her poems, and left them in the center of the BuddeBig Top. Their playful games went on until the young man asked her for her hand in marriage; she delightfully accepted, and their marriage was to be in late August. The young man bought her a priceless ruby heart, heavy as a small bowling ball. Sunny kept it above her bed, on a sturdy shelf. With each day nearer and nearer to their wedding, their love grew stronger and truer. The eve of their wedding day, there was an earthquake. There was hardly any harm done, except that they ruby heart seemed to be too close to the shelf's edge that particular night, and fell upon poor Sunny's head. The gift was shattered, along with her head and the couple's dreams of marriage.
The Budderhor Clan was devastated, especially Sunny's sisters, Peutina and Beatrice. The widowed man refused to eat for days, and was deprived of sleep for weeks. The BuddeRing Circus did not operate for a year and a half. Then the Budderhors decided on a new ringmaster, the later dubbed "Corky" Budderhor. Beatrice, Sunny's twin, later fell in love with the young man. He was later married into the Clan as planned. The man's name: Sebastian.
And so ends the story of Sunny Budderhor, the girl who died of a broken heart.
