to him, and clustered around his feet so he could hardly walk without
stepping on them; down from the gable of the barn whirred some pigeons,
which circled about his head and one of them lit on each shoulder, while
another one tumbled off in trying to get a foothold. Bobby laughed,
and, stooping down, stroked the feathers of some of the chickens and
then he reached up and took one of the pigeons in each hand.
"Go, Flash! Go, Rocket," he called, pitching each one of them into the
air as he spoke, and after circling about him they flew back to their
perch under the eaves of the barn while Bobby unhitched Dandy.
No sooner was that surprising pony unhitched than he ran back to the
pump. There was a little water standing in the bucket under the spout,
but Dandy upset this at once, and then turned the bucket right side up
again with his nose. There was a leather loop nailed firmly to the pump
handle and, gripping this with his teeth, Dandy jerked his head up and
down until he had pumped a bucket of water, which he drank with great
relish. Then he trotted into the barn where Bobby presently carried the
goat.
He gave Billy a drink of cool, fresh water and then, after preparing
splints and bandages and getting everything ready, he set the broken
bone in Billy's leg with cool, firm hands. Poor Billy! It hurt him far
worse than it had hurt to break his leg, but after Bobby had put some
ointment on the leg and wrapped it up in soft bandages and had bound the
stiff boards on it to keep it firm while the bone was healing, it felt a
great deal better. Billy's bed was made of some sweet smelling hay
right in front of Dandy's stall, just where a cool breeze could blow
across him, and after Bobby had gone away, Billy closed his eyes in
comfort. Next to being back on Farmer Klausen's farm with his own
mother, this was the nicest place he had ever been in his life.
After a long nap, Billy woke up to find Dandy clattering into his stall.
[Illustration: After a long nap, Billy woke up.]
"Whew, but I'm hot!" said Dandy. "How do you feel?"
"Pretty good," said Billy, "only my leg does throb and hurt."
"No doubt," replied Dandy. "I know when Queen had her leg broken she
told me how it hurt her. You must get around and see Queen and her
babies as soon as you are able, although I expect by that time they will
be in here, tumbling around you. They are the cutest little puppies I
ever saw in my life."
"I shall be glad to," said Billy, "but just now I'm only thinking about
one thing. I'm hungry."
"That's good," laughed Dandy, "you'll get something to eat all right.
Nobody stays hungry around here. Bobby will be here with something to
eat soon. He's the best boy in the world. As soon as you get well
enough, he'll teach you to do tricks."
"Tricks?" said Billy in surprise. "I never heard of them. What are
they?"
"Oh, you'll find out," said Dandy. "I can do a few of them myself. I
can waltz on my hind legs, and stand on my head, and roll a barrel, and
now I'm learning to stand on a globe and roll it backwards and
forwards."
"My, but you are smart!" said Billy. "And does he ever whip you if you
don't do them right?"
Dandy laughed and tossed his head.
"No indeed!" said he. "Bobby never had a whip in his hand. We're all of
us glad to do anything he tells us."
"If you know how, stupid," croaked a new voice, and Billy looked up to
see a tame black crow sitting in the window.
"Stupid yourself, Tarwings," said the pony, but it was in a friendly
tone.
"You must have good times here," said Billy, sighing as he thought of
all the places of trouble he had seen in his travels.
"We do," replied Dandy. "Of course it isn't all play. Now I just came
in from hoeing the corn."
"You mean that Bobby hoed the corn while you pulled the hoe," croaked
the crow. "Don't mind what he says, Mr. Goat. He'll make you think
that he does it all around here," and then, laughing hoarsely, the crow
flapped his wings and flew away.
Dandy laughed heartily.
"He thinks he's a great mischief maker, but nobody gets angry at what he
says. He doesn't mean a bit of harm by it."
Just then Bobby came in with a pail of warm mash for Billy. The goat
hardly knew whether he liked it at the first taste, but as he ate more
of it and felt it warming him up inside, he began to realize how good it
was, and after he had eaten all that Bobby thought it wise for him to
have just then, he lay very contented and lazy while Bobby rubbed
Dandy's smooth coat with a cloth.
Later in the evening a pretty, little red and white cow came into the
barn and turned into her stall beside Dandy's. She was properly
introduced to Billy, and the crow made so much fun of their politeness
that he laughed until he fell out of the window, where he lay on the hay
with his legs sticking up until he was quite through cackling.
"Yes, I heard all about your case," said Tiny, the cow. "King came out
in the pasture to tell me about it. You were very unfortunate, but
after all you were very lucky that you got to come here, where nobody
ever even gets cross."
A sharp yelp behind her heels made Tiny jump half out of her hide, and
then King, laughing at the trick he had played on her, sprang from
behind her and over her stall to inquire about Billy. It seemed strange
to Billy to have a dog come near him without getting ready for a fight,
and he could not get over the surprise of being in a place where
everybody seemed to get along so nicely. He could not understand it at
all until Bobby came in again, and then he reflected that all these
animals were simply trained to the kindness and gentleness that was in
their master. Before he went to sleep that night Billy had some more
mash and a few tender mustard plants to eat, and he slept like a top
until morning.
Those were tiresome days for Billy. He did long to get out and play
with the other animals, but he knew that he must first let his leg heal,
so he stood it as patiently as he could. Bobby came to see him at least
two or three times a day and rebandaged his leg as often as was needed.
The leg healed rapidly, and at last Bobby said one morning:
"Well, old fellow, be good two more days to make sure and we'll let you
out."
Those were the most welcome words that Billy had heard in a long time,
and he licked Bobby's hand for saying them. After Bobby went away he
began to wonder how he should put in those two long, long days, but
before he had time to fret about it he heard a whole chorus of little
yelps, and here came Bobby with King and Queen and half a dozen pretty
baby collies.
"Here, old fellow," said Bobby, "I brought you some playmates. Introduce
them, King, and amuse our friend Billy all you can." Bobby took Dandy
from his stall to hitch him up and go into the village for some lumber,
leaving Billy in good company. Such puppies as those were! They nipped
at him, they pulled his tail, they clawed his beard, they hung on his
horns, they sprawled all over him and came tumbling down on all sides,
little, awkward, white and brown bunches of down. There was no chance
for Billy to get blue or fretful, for those puppies kept him laughing
all the time. Their awkward antics would have made anyone laugh. For
the two whole days that Billy had to stay bandaged up for safety's sake,
those puppies kept him amused, and when on the third day his splints
were taken off and he was allowed to walk out-doors with only a cloth
bandage wrapped around his leg, the puppies scampered out after him.
Billy blinked his eyes when he got out-doors again.
My, what a fresh, pretty, green world this was, to be sure! How good it
was to be alive! How good it was to be in such a fine home as this!
*CHAPTER XII*
*BILLY EARNS HIS NAME*
The first day Billy was allowed to walk around for only an hour. The
second day he was allowed out for two hours, and by the end of that week
he was turned loose without a bandage of any sort on his leg, as well as
ever. And how he did enjoy his freedom! He had all the chickens to get
acquainted with, including the two little black bantam roosters, Spunk
and Saucebox, who would jump up on Bobby's finger and crow whenever they
were told to do so. A dozen pigeons he had to meet, and four dogs--a
pair of pointers, Ponto and Patty, and a pair of greyhounds, Hurricane
and Lightning,--none of which had been in the barn to see him while he
was sick.
It was while he was meeting all these new friends that he felt something
suddenly swoop on his head, just between his horns, while something
sharp dug into his hair. The other animals to whom he had been talking
began to laugh and a hoarse voice from between his horns joined in the
merriment. Then Billy knew that Tarwings was taking one of his
surprising ways of saying good morning.
"Of all the animals here you're the only one that hasn't given me a
ride," said Tarwings, "and now I think I'll take it. Get up!" He
grabbed his beak into the hair on Billy's forehead and spread his
jet-black wings.
"Oho!" said Billy, "I'll give you a ride you won't like." So he started
forward, but all at once lay down and rolled over. Tarwings was too
quick for him, however, for as Billy went over he flew up in the air a
foot or two, and as Billy came back on his feet there was the crow
again, holding tight with beak and talons, and laughing more than ever.
The pony and the cow were both loose in the barnyard and they enjoyed
the joke on Billy as much as the dogs or the chickens or pigeons. Billy
was the only one in the barnyard who did not seem to see the fun. His
next attempt to get rid of Tarwings was to run straight at the fence and
butt it, but once more the crow was too quick, and Billy only got a hard
bump for his pains, while the crow settled down on his head again.
"You're the best of all," laughed the crow. "You put so much more
spirit and spunk into your work. I believe I'll ride with you always
after this."
"All right," said Billy, "this time I'll give you a good ride." So
Billy began to go in a circle around and around the barnyard. All the
time he had his eye on a thick clump of gooseberry bushes over in one
corner, and as he ran he gradually widened the circle until one trip was
right close up to those bushes. On the next circle, just as he came to
them, he suddenly wheeled and dived head first in among them, and this
time he caught Jimmy Tarwings. The sharp branches scraped the crow off
of Billy's back and mussed up his feathers till he looked as if he had
been in a cyclone. The thorns scarcely bothered Billy's tough hide and
he quickly made his way out of the bushes, to join his particular
friends, Dandy and King. This time it was Billy's laugh.
"Caw, caw!" cried the crow presently, limping out from the bushes. He
was a sorry looking sight, but the other animals did not have much pity
on him, for he was such a mischief and it was fun to see him caught at
his own game, so they simply capered around and laughed at him. Bobby,
who had just come out in time to see Billy plunge into the gooseberry
bushes, also stopped to laugh, but when the crow flew to him he quit at
once, and smoothing down the feathers, examined Tarwing carefully to see
whether he had any serious hurt.
"Serves you right, old fellow," said he, holding the bird close up to
his cheek. "If you will indulge in rough play, you may expect to get
hurt now and then. Come here, Dandy!"
Dandy came running to him and Bobby quickly hitched him up. Bobby was a
busy boy and a thrifty one. He had bought an acre of ground just behind
the barnyard on credit a long time ago, and had paid for it out of the
proceeds of the garden truck which he had raised on it. He sold eggs
and chickens in the village and raised squab which he sent to the
near-by city. Besides this he sometimes used Dandy and his wagon for
light hauling, turning an honest penny wherever he could. As Mr.
Sanders ran the mill in the village and was doing very nicely in a
business way, Bobby was free to keep all his money for himself and to do
with it as he pleased, for he had long ago proved that he could be
trusted with money. To-day he had a little hauling to do and he drove
Dandy out to the road with a cheery good-bye to his happy barnyard
family.
Bobby left the barnyard gate slightly ajar and he had no more than gone
when Billy, as full of curiosity as ever, managed to swing the gate and
push it wide open, then he darted out followed by all the chickens,
which immediately scattered to the flower beds and vegetable garden to
scratch and eat the tender leaves.
Mrs. Sanders had just hung out her clothes. Nice white linen always had
struck Billy as being a fine thing to chew on. He liked it almost as
well as boys and girls do chewing gum. Of course when he saw some
hanging down for his especial benefit, it was no more than polite for
him to walk up and take a nibble.
Just as he reached up for it, however, Jimmy Tarwings swooped down on
Billy's back to give him a scratch with his talons and a nip with his
bill, and Billy, not expecting it, of course gave a jump and his head
ran right through the neck of one of Mr. Sander's undershirts, where he
stuck. Of course Billy struggled to get away and of course Jimmy
Tarwings, seeing that Billy was fastened, jumped on his back again and
began to claw him with his sharp nails.
[Illustration: Jimmy Tarwings swooped down on Billy's back.]
"Get up!" croaked Jimmy. "I'm ready for another ride now. Get up,
goat!"
Billy ran backwards but the undershirt stuck on his horns and he could
not get it off over his head. He ran forward and it stuck on his
shoulders. One of the clothes-props came down and the line sank still
lower, so that he had a better chance to struggle, which he did.
Another clothes-prop came down and now a great many of the nice, white
clothes lay dragging on the ground. Billy, goaded on by the crow, gave
another terrific lunge, and this time the line came loose at both ends
and the whole string of clothes dragged on the ground after the
galloping goat, while Jimmy Tarwings spread his wings and shrieked with
joy. He was having the ride of his life.
Around the house and past the kitchen Billy tore, scattering chickens
right and left and followed by all the dogs, yelping and barking and
thinking it the greatest fun that had happened in a long time. Around
to the front of the house went the queer procession and straight through
Mrs. Sanders' pet geranium bed, all scarlet with beautiful blossoms that
Billy's samples of wet clothing mashed down flat.
Mrs. Sanders was just opening the front door to scrub off her porch when
she saw her clothes making such a queer trip. Of course she ran out,
but just as she stooped to catch the line a flapping sheet whipped
around her foot and gave her a jerk that sent her rolling over in the
grass, while the rest of the string of clothes swept on over her, some
of the wet garments dragging right across her face. She was not hurt a
bit and she even had to laugh at what a ridiculous figure she must have
cut if anybody had been looking, but nevertheless she took after Billy
and her clothes again. Billy, by this time, had made a circle which
wiped out a pansy bed and now, frantic to get away from this strange
harness and from his tormentor, the crow, he made a dash for the open
front door. The line of clothes caught on the front step, but now Billy
was going so fast that the undershirt tore and let him kick himself
free. Moreover, as it passed on over his back it caught Jimmy Tarwings,
and for the second time that morning swept him from Billy's back. This
time he was in a worse fix than before, for the wet garment, in
springing back, rolled him up in a tight wad and thumped him back on the
steps.
Billy dashed straight on toward an open door across the room. He was so
confused that he did not see exactly where he was going and did not
dodge the center table quite in time. He ran against one leg of it, and
over the table went with a crash, throwing a big lamp over and spilling
it on the sofa, drenching it with oil and breaking a lot of choice china
bric-a-brac that Mrs. Sanders had collected.
Out through the kitchen Billy hurried with the dogs, Mrs. Sanders right
after him. The kitchen door was closed but the window was open, so
Billy gave a jump through it, and here he made more trouble, for on a
low, wide shelf, just outside the kitchen window, Mrs. Sanders had
placed some pies which she had just taken from the oven. Billy landed
on this shelf and upset it, throwing all the pies upside down on the
ground, while the dogs came pouring out of the window in such haste that
some of them turned somersaults when they reached the gravel. Even the
collie puppies had toddled behind on this chase, and now they could be
heard yelping in the kitchen and wishing that they would hurry and grow
up so that they too could jump through windows. Billy began to think it
was time for him to get away from there, so he whirled again for the
front of the house, ran with all his might down to the gate and jumped
square over it into the road outside.
"Fine!" said a cheery voice that Billy recognized at once. "That was a
great jump. I guess I'll have to make a high jumper out of you."
Billy stopped, ashamed of himself. For a minute he had been wanting to
run away from this kind friend of his, but all at once he made up his
mind to stay right where he was and take a whipping if he had to have
it, and, as all the dogs piled out of the gate after him and set up a
yelping and capering around Bobby and Dandy, Billy stood among them, his
head hanging down, feeling very cheap. Bobby, who had forgotten
something and come back for it, was a little puzzled, until he looked up
to the house and saw his mother sitting on the front porch holding up
her line of draggled, dirty clothes, while Tiny, the cow, was calmly
eating up her nasturtium bed, unnoticed. Then Bobby understood.
"You're a bad goat," he said to Billy, shaking his finger at him. "I
have been puzzling what to name you, but now I know," and by some
strange accident he landed on the very name that Billy's mother had
given him long before. "I'm going," he said, "to call you Billy
Mischief."
Billy had to behave himself splendidly to make the Sanders family forget
that morning's mischief, but at last Mrs. Sanders remembered that she
had seen Jimmy Tarwings on Billy's back when he was running with the
clothes fast to his neck, and so they blamed it on the crow. They were
used to blaming mischief on that busy bird, so that a little more or
less did not matter much to him.
And now Billy's education began. Every day, for an hour or so, Bobby
taught tricks to the pets. The first time Billy saw this he scarcely
knew his new friends, they were so different and so much in earnest.
First of all, Bobby, who had been training his animals for a long time,
placed a row of boxes in front of the barn.
"Dandy!" he cried, and the pony ran quickly to the big box in the center
and stood upon it. "King! Queen!" Bobby cried, and the two dogs jumped
upon the boxes, one each side of the pony. "Ponto! Patty!" and the next
box on each side was filled. "Curly! Spot! Hurricane! Lightning!" and
the next four boxes, two on each side, were occupied.
This disposed of all the dogs except the six little collie puppies, and
Bobby next called the names of these, one at a time. Of course the
puppies did not know what to do, but as soon as Bobby had called the
name of one of them he set that one up on its box so that it would soon
learn to know where it belonged.
"Jimmy!" called Bobby, and down from the barn fluttered Jimmy Tarwings
and sat on the pony's head. Then Bobby gave a peculiar low thrilling
whistle, and with a whirl and a rush the pigeons came circling and
fluttering down, each one landing on a head of one of the dogs. "Spunk!
Saucebox!" Bobby called, and the two bantams jumped up, one on each of
his outstretched hands. Two of the pigeons settled down on each of
Bobby's shoulders and one on top of his head. The two bantam roosters
started to crow as loud as they could and that was the signal for the
pony and all the dogs except the puppies to stand up on their hind feet,
while the crow and the pigeons fluttered their wings. "Down!" said
Bobby, and they all settled back upon their haunches. Bobby dropped his
arms and the bantam roosters fluttered to the ground.
Next Bobby brought out a barrel and called Dandy. The pony came running
and with a little jump landed right on top of the barrel, rolling it
forwards and backwards, without Bobby helping him in any way or even
coming near him. Then Bobby took a mouth harp from his pocket and began
to play a lively little waltz tune, upon which Dandy jumped on top of a
little platform that Bobby had built and standing on his hind feet,
began to waltz.
"On your head, now, Dandy," called Bobby, and the pony, after much
struggling, managed to stand on his head for a moment. This was a new
trick that Bobby had been nearly a year in teaching him, but now he was
almost able to do it without trouble although it was very, very
difficult. This was not all of the tricks that Dandy could do, for he
could spell his own name and Bobby's and some others by pawing printed
cards around, and could pick out colors when told to do so, and could
answer questions by nodding his head, and count up simple figures by
pawing with his foot, but his master did not ask him to do all these
tricks this time. Bobby was as considerate of his animals as if they
were human friends.
Bobby next called King and Queen and they came with a rush, jumping upon
the platform and sitting with their fore legs up, happy and eager.
Bobby put the empty barrel, which was open at both ends and scraped
smooth inside, on the platform. Then King and Queen got one on each
side of it and rolled it backward and forward, then they both jumped on
top of it, one facing one way and the other the other, and rolled it,
King walking backwards and Queen walking forwards. When it was at the
very edge of the platform King walked forwards and Queen walked
backwards and rolled it the other way. Then, at Bobby's command, they
stopped it in the middle of the platform where King stood toward one end
of it, tilting the other end up while Queen pushed that end so that it
stood upright. Then King and Queen jumped into it, both at once from
opposite directions, tilting the barrel over and coming out side by
side, a very difficult trick and one that had taken Bobby a long while
to teach them. Then he threw them a light rubber ball, and King, taking
it in his teeth, would toss it and Queen would catch it. Then she would
toss it back. They were ready to do still more tricks, but Bobby never
put them through all that they knew at one time, not wishing to tire
them.
"Ponto and Patty!" he called, and the two pointers took the places of
the collies. They stood on rolling globes, turned somersaults and
jumped straight up in the air to catch a piece of red leather that Bobby
had hung from a light, horizontal bar which he kept putting higher and
higher for them. They did other tricks, and then the greyhounds did
some very wonderful high jumping. The terriers waltzed and turned back
springs and walked a tight rope. The pigeons, at Bobby's command,
wheeled in the air, two by two, by four's, in single file, and in fact
went through a regular drill just above Bobby's head.
It was a finer performance than those usually seen in traveling shows.
Bobby had taught all these pets of his just for his own amusement and
they seemed to enjoy it just as much as he did, and after each one had
done his part, Bobby always had some little delicacy for him; a lump of
sugar for the pony, little pieces of meat for the dogs, some special
seed for the pigeons, and he had a pat on the head and a loving word for
all of them.
"All over!" he cried at last, and the patient animals ran scampering
from their boxes. "Now, Billy Mischief," said Bobby, turning to our
friend, the goat, "come on, and we'll learn a stunt or two ourselves."
Billy came willingly enough when his name was called and when Bobby
patted his hands on the boards, Billy jumped upon the platform.
"Shake hands," said Bobby.
Of course Billy did not know what this meant, but Bobby caught hold of
one of his fore feet and lifted it up, shaking it gently, then he set it
down and patted Billy on the flanks. "Shake hands," he said again, and
this time he tapped Billy on the leg. Still Billy did not know what to
do, so Bobby once more picked up his foot and shook it, then patted him
on the shoulder. A dozen times Bobby patiently did this, until at last
when he said, "Shake hands!", and tapped Billy gently on the leg, Billy
lifted up his hoof and laid it in Bobby's hand to be shaken.
"Good boy," said Bobby, patting him and, reaching in his pocket, he drew
out some tender lettuce leaves which he had found Billy liked better
than anything else. That was all for that morning.