Francesco Lentini from birth looked so that the closest people abandoned him.
Nevertheless, ugliness did not make him angry and withdrawn: on the contrary, this man was very cheerful, learned to lead a fulfilling life and was able to achieve success.
Today the name Lentini is known all over the world.
The child that no one needed Francesco was born on May 18, 1889 in Sicily.
The heraldic emblem of this island since the XIII century is the triskelion - the image of three running legs emerging from one point.
Ironically, the boy was born with three lower limbs.
Moreover, they were all of different lengths.
In addition, he had four feet, one of which was located at the knee of one leg and was not fully formed.
The child had sixteen toes in total.
But most surprisingly, he had two male genitals.
It is clear that the parents were horrified when they saw the newborn baby.
Moreover, at the end of the 19th century, superstitions were still alive, according to which an ugly child was considered a product of the devil.
Later, doctors found out that two embryos were connected in the mother's womb: the extra parts of Francesco's body were in fact supposed to belong to his unborn twin.
The operation could not be performed: the boy could remain paralyzed for life or even die.
In the family, Francesco was the fifth child (in total, the Lentini couple had 12 children).
The couple did not want to raise their freak son.
At first, the boy was taken care of by his own aunt, but she could not calmly look at the cripple, as a result, Francesco found himself in an orphanage for disabled children.
"Life is Beautiful!" Seeing around him blind, armless, legless and paralyzed peers, Francesco realized how lucky he was:
after all, nature gave him even a little more than an ordinary person!
“Since then, I have never complained again,” he recalled.
“I thought life was beautiful and I enjoyed it.”
The boy tried to develop his body.
He learned to run, jump, bike and skate, even play football.
At the age of 8, Francesco, along with a group of other Sicilian emigrants, moved to the USA.
Having reached maturity, the young man decided that the best profession for him was a circus artist.
The king of the circus, Francesco, willingly accepted the Ringling brothers into the circus troupe.
Then he performed in the most famous circuses of that time: "Barnum and Bailey", "Coney Island", "The Buffalo Bill Show".
He changed his name to English-speaking Frank, and by the age of 30 he received American citizenship.
Frank Lentini's performances were wildly popular.
His program included a number when he walked around the arena on two legs, and the third was hitting a soccer ball.
He entertained the audience not only with his unusual appearance and tricks, but also with witty jokes.
So, if he was asked how many shoes he buys for himself, the artist replied: "I take two pairs, and I give the fourth shoe to a one-legged friend."
Lentini was appreciated not only by the audience, he was greatly respected by his fellow circus performers, who called him nothing but "king".
Physical defects did not prevent Frank from leading a normal and even active lifestyle.
He rode a horse, drove a car
And the extra limb sometimes gave him an advantage: for example, Lentini often used it instead of a stool.
In addition, Frank Lentini married the beautiful Teresa Murray and became the father of four perfectly healthy children.
The artist was very famous and continued to tour until old age.
He passed away in 1966 in Jacksonville, Florida, in fame and honor, surrounded by loved ones.
The artist was very famous and continued to tour until old age.
He passed away in 1966 in Jacksonville, Florida, in fame and honor, surrounded by loved ones.
Irina Shlionskaya
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Marina Yurieva
