[Ill.u.s.tration: BOB HID THE EAR OF CORN BEHIND A BOX]
Dandy kept his eyes shut just one little minute. Then he opened them and began to peep. He peeped very slyly to see where Bob was hiding the corn. The children shouted with joy! Then Showman Bob came back. The corn was still in his hand. He pretended to be angry. He made Dandy hide his eyes once more.
Again Dandy peeped slyly to see where Bob was hiding the corn. At last Showman Bob took little Dot"s hat and tied it over Dandy"s eyes. How the children did laugh! Dandy looked so funny with a little girl"s hat on.
Then Bob hid the ear of corn behind a box. He called, "Come, Dandy, come!" Dandy shook his head very hard. The hat rolled on the ground.
Then Dandy began going round the show grounds. He stopped and sniffed at everything. "Oh see!" said Peggy, "Dandy is looking with his nose!" Soon Dandy sniffed at the box and found the ear of corn.
"Come, Dandy, come!" called Showman Bob. Dandy came trotting up with the ear of corn in his mouth. But when Bob put out his hand for the corn Dandy kicked up his heels and away he went. He ran round and round like a pony in a circus.
The children clapped their hands and shouted. Dandy went faster and faster. It was very exciting. At last Dandy stopped running. Then Bob led him back to the pen. There the little pony munched the corn happily.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Next it was Peggy"s turn to show Polly. Showman Bob brought out a table.
Then he helped Peggy put Polly"s big cage on it. Peggy lifted the black cloth. There was Polly! She was the greenest, reddest, funniest parrot you ever saw. She winked her eyes, shook her feathers, and called out, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" The children laughed; but they did not get up. So General Polly sang out, "Get busy! Get busy! Get busy!" The children soon knew what they must "get busy" about. Polly began to say in her most coaxing voice, "Polly wants a cracker! Poor Poll! Pretty Poll! Poor Polly wants a cracker!" This sounded so funny that everybody laughed.
Peggy had some crackers in her pocket. She took them out and let the children feed Polly. They poked bits of cracker through the wires of her cage. Polly was not very polite. She pecked and grabbed and talked to herself. But everything she did was so funny that the children enjoyed it.
At last Polly had all the crackers she wanted. Then she grew tired and cross. She began to scream, "Bad boy! Go away! Go away! Go away!" The children ran back to their seats. General Polly was left all alone.
For a time she liked this. She swung on her perch and made queer noises to herself. Then she grew tired. She threw herself on the bottom of the cage and began to moan, "Come quick! Come quick! Polly"s sick! Polly"s sick!" Then Peggy came with the black cloth, and General Polly was taken to her pen.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Next it was little Dot"s turn to show her cat family. She was too shy to play showman as Bob had done. She just came out in front of the children and stood there. s...o...b..ll was in her arms and Fluff and m.u.f.f were on her shoulders. She put s...o...b..ll down. Then she gave her shoulders a shake and Fluff and m.u.f.f scrambled down to the ground.
Next Dot took two red b.a.l.l.s from her pocket. Each ball had a long rubber fastened to it. It would bounce high without rolling away. Dot put a ball near each kitten"s paws. Just as Fluff and m.u.f.f sprang to get the b.a.l.l.s, Dot pulled the rubber. You never saw such surprised kittens! They sat still and looked with wide-open eyes. These were queer b.a.l.l.s indeed that flew up into the air instead of rolling on the floor. This was something new and strange.
The next time Dot bounced the b.a.l.l.s Fluff and m.u.f.f were ready. Up they jumped, with their paws raised, but the b.a.l.l.s sprang out of reach. "The kittens are trying to be living airplanes, too," said Paul.
Next Dot went to the pen and brought something back. She held it up and said shyly, "This is Daddy"s hat. It used to be the kittens" bed. Now it is their plaything."
[Ill.u.s.tration]
When she had said this she threw the hat on the ground. Quick as a wink Fluff was on one side of it and m.u.f.f was on the other. Then they began to paw and pull. Fluff pulled one way. m.u.f.f pulled the other. It was a real pulling match. Some of the children cried, "I think that Fluff will win." Others cried, "Hurrah for m.u.f.f."
Just then a queer noise was heard. Can you guess what it was? It was the brim of Daddy"s hat. It had torn all the way around--_rip, rip, rip_.
Off it came so suddenly that both little kittens rolled over backward.
All the children clapped their hands and laughed aloud. This frightened Fluff and m.u.f.f. They scampered to their mother as fast as their little white feet could carry them. This ended the act of the cat family.
Next it was Betty"s turn to show Arrow. But Arrow"s pen was still empty. Betty whispered to Miss West. Miss West rose and said, "While we are waiting for the next act, let"s sing together." She started a song everyone knew. All the children joined in.
Just as they were singing a second song, something happened. A light speck was seen moving through the air. It came nearer and nearer. At last it circled round the pen, where the grain was scattered. Then it flew slowly to the ground. It was Arrow, the living airplane.
The children crowded about the pen to see. "Look," said one of them.
"There is something around Arrow"s neck!" Betty bent over and looked.
Yes, there _was_ something. She untied it quickly. On a piece of paper was written, "This is Arrow"s gift to the blind man." In the paper was a bright five dollar gold piece.
Betty read aloud what was on the paper. Then she held up the five dollar gold piece. How the children did shout and clap their hands. "Hurrah for Betty"s Uncle Fred!" they cried. "Hurrah for the living airplane!
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" When the last shout had been given, Showman Bob stepped out. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said in his deep showman"s voice, "we thank you for coming to the Pet Show. We know the blind man will thank you too when he gets his new dog. The show will now close with a grand parade!"
Then Bob made a showman"s bow and went behind the schoolhouse. Soon a drum began to beat--_tum, tum, tum_. The parade was coming! First marched Showman Bob beating the drum. Behind him was Betty carrying a big American flag. On her shoulder was Arrow, the living airplane. Next came brave old Hero pulling a little cart. In the cart were s...o...b..ll, Fluff, and m.u.f.f and what was left of Daddy"s hat. Dot marched beside the cart. After them came Dandy. Paul was walking by his side and holding something on his back. It was Polly"s cage with the black cover off.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Pretty Poll was peeping from behind the wires. She looked surprised and a little bit frightened. Suddenly she rolled on her back at the bottom of the cage. The last thing the children heard as the parade pa.s.sed out of sight was, "Come quick! Come quick! Polly"s sick! Polly"s sick!"
I wish the children who read this book could hear about the blind man and his new dog but that is another story.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LUNCH WAS PACKED AND OFF THE CHILDREN WENT]
THE FIVE LITTLE FRIENDS IN VACATION
I
Soon after the Pet Show, school closed for the summer vacation. The children said good-bye to each other and to Miss West.
For weeks everybody had been busy making plans for the summer.
Paul went to the seash.o.r.e and you may be sure brave Hero was taken along.
Bob and his family went to the seash.o.r.e too; and, what was best of all, they took a cottage not far from where Paul lived.
Dandy was sent out to the country.
Betty"s mother said, "I want to have my little girl spend a summer on a farm--a real farm," so they went to Mr. White"s.
See if you can guess who went with them!
No, it wasn"t Arrow. The living airplane was left with Uncle Fred at Grandmother"s. It wasn"t Miss West. She went away on a long trip across the ocean. It was a very nice little person whose name begins with _D_, and it was another very nice little person whose name begins with _P_.
Peggy"s mother went too, but Poll was sent to a bird shop. Little Dot"s mother stayed in the city with Dot"s father and the cat family to keep them from getting lonely.
Dot promised to be a good girl and to do just what the other mothers told her.
It was a bright June afternoon when the three little girls and the two mothers got off the train at a little country station. Mr. White came to meet them. He and Billy, the hired man, piled all the trunks and bags in a wagon. Then Billy climbed up on the high seat and cracked his whip, saying, "Get-up! Get-up!" The horses pulled, the dust flew, and away the wagon went. Then Mr. White packed the mothers and the little girls into his automobile and away they also went to the farm.
The farm was the very nicest place in the whole world. At least that is what the three little girls thought. Everything about it was nice. The rooms were big and cool and low. The wide side porch was a lovely place to eat dinner. The big low attic was splendid for rainy-day play; but the very, very nicest of all the nice things at the farm was Mary White.
Mary was nine years and she had lived on the farm all her life. She knew all the good places to play. She could call every animal on the farm by name. She could make up the most delightful games. What a splendid playmate she was!
First she took the children to the pasture to see the cows. There were three of them, Bonny-Belle, Bess, and b.u.t.tercup.