Mary Jane shook her head.
"Well then you ought to go up to the Zoo," she said positively, "let's all
go." She jumped up and ran over to her mother. "Mother!" she announced,
"Mary Jane's never seen a monkey--never! Can't we take her up to the Zoo
and show 'em to her?"
"Never seen a monkey!" exclaimed Mrs. Holden and she was as surprised as
Betty had been, "are you sure?"
"Yes, Betty's right," said Mrs. Merrill. "Mary Jane has seen a great many
things for a little girl who has just had her sixth birthday. But she
hasn't seen a monkey. Her father and I were saying only last night that we
must take the girls up to the Zoo as soon as possible."
"Let's all go next Saturday," suggested Mrs. Holden, "no, we can't go next
Saturday because the girls and I have some shopping to do. Let's go a week
from Saturday. By that time the restaurant in Lincoln Park will be open.
The way we do," she explained to the Merrills, "is to take our lunch, a
picnic lunch, with us. We start up about eleven, eat over by the lake and
then have the whole afternoon for watching the animals; we eat dinner in
that nice restaurant, before dark, and then come home in the early
evening. Can you all go on that day?"
Mrs. Merrill said she was sure they could, so plans were made right then
and there.
Mary Jane and Alice thought those two weeks, or nearly two weeks, never
would pass. Of course there was the doll cart to play with and Mary Jane
loved it exactly as much as ever. But she did want to see the monkeys, and
the foxes (Betty told her she would love the foxes!) and all the creatures
that Betty seemed to know so much about and which she had never even
seen.
But at last the morning came, warm and sunny and clear and the lunch boxes
were packed, the apartment locked up and everybody started toward Lincoln
Park feeling happy and ready for fun. The fathers couldn't come for lunch,
but really when all the Holden girls and boys were added to the three
Merrills, there was such a crowd that, for the time at least, fathers
weren't so very much missed.
When they reached the park Mary Jane realized, for the first time, how
close it was getting to really truly summer. The sun shone with real
summer warmth, the lake was blue and beautiful and flowers bloomed on
every corner.
"Oh, I'd just like to live in a park all the time," she exclaimed as she
looked around her, "it seems just like home!"
"Yes, it does," said Mrs. Merrill, with a wee bit of a sigh, "I'm afraid I
know some folks who are going to miss their gardens and flower bed this
summer."
"How stupid of me not to have thought of that!" exclaimed Mrs. Holden.
"You know it will be just two weeks now till we go up to the lake for all
the summer. Why didn't I think to have you plant stuff in our back garden?
Then you could have all the garden you liked right there handy--we always
do hate to leave the ground idle."
"Perhaps we might plant something even yet," suggested Mrs. Merrill, much
delighted with the idea, "we'd love to try."
But there was no time for further planning just then--John Holden demanded
his lunch; Betty made a lively second and in a minute or two a clean
grassy place was picked out, the individual lunch boxes were passed out
and then, for a few minutes, everybody was quiet.
"I'm going to feed the black bear," announced Betty, as she paused to pick
out another sandwich, "I'm going to feed him peanuts--I saved up enough
money for two bagsful."
"But aren't you afraid of him?" asked Mary Jane breathlessly.
"Afraid? Pooh!" grunted Betty.
"Never you mind, Mary Jane," said Linn comfortingly, "she was afraid the
first time she saw him and I remember all about it. But now she's learned
that he can't get out the cage."
"Now, Linn, I never--" began Betty.
But John interrupted. "There!" he said, "I'm through. Come on, let's
gather up the boxes and papers and stick 'em in the trash box on the way
to get the peanuts." So the children all helped and in a jiffy the pretty,
grassy spot where they had eaten lunch was as clean and tidy as when they
came. And then away they scampered after the peanuts.
Such an afternoon as it was! Mary Jane tried to remember each thing they
did so she could tell her father when he met them after three o'clock. But
she couldn't remember half what they had done. She knew they saw the
little foxes--such pretty, dainty white and tan colored foxes that played
together like little pet kittens and made her want to hold them in her lap
and pet them. She knew they saw the bears--great big bears and middle
sized bears and little bit o' bears just like in the story book, and she
fed them peanuts which they caught very deftly in their soft cushioned
paws. But all the rest, she really couldn't remember in the right
order--there were kangaroos and buffaloes and a giraffe who stuck his long
neck over the top of a great high fence and made Mary Jane think of
nothing so much as a funny paper picture. And then of course the
monkeys--dozens of them and queer birds with curious colored feathers and
funny bills and feet. Really, she had seen in that one afternoon, more
animals than she had guessed lived in the whole world, oh, many more!
"But have you seen the seals?" asked Mr. Merrill who met them at the bird
house.
No, they hadn't.
"It's almost four o'clock," said Mr. Merrill, looking at his watch, "and
Mr. Holden said they ate at four and we should meet him there, so let's
hurry."
It was a good thing they did hurry for other folks seemed to know, too,
that the seals were fed at four. From all directions, folks could be seen
walking toward the big enclosed pond where the seals were kept. But, by
hurrying, they got there in time to stand close to the iron fence where
they could see the antics of those queerest of animals, the seals.
One would suppose that even the seals knew it was nearly four o'clock,
dinner time, for they were so excited and eager. They barked and swam and
flung themselves around vigorously as though they could hardly stand
waiting for anything. Then, just at four, a man came out of a near-by
building. In his hand he carried a basket of fish--a great, well-filled
basket. He came over to a little platform close by where the Merrill and
Holden children were standing; so they could see everything.
He picked up a big fish, tossed it over into the rocky island in the
middle of the seals' pond and then! such a scrambling as there was till
the middle-sized seal with a few ungainly flops, grabbed the fish and
gulped it down in one bite.
Then he threw another fish and another and another--one after the other so
fast that Mary Jane felt sure the seals must get all mixed up about
catching them. But they didn't. Those seals must have been smarter than
folks had thought for they seemed to know, every time, just about where
the fish was to hit on the rocks and to know, too, just how to get to that
particular spot the quickest. Mary Jane thought it very wonderful.
But one thing worried her. There was one small seal, who for some reason
or other, seemed to be always just a second too late to get a fish. Mary
Jane was sure he had had but one and all the others had had, oh, a lot.
And she couldn't help wishing all the others wouldn't be quite so grabby.
When the man who was feeding the seals got almost to the bottom of his big
basket, he stopped and looked at the crowd of children assembled for the
feeding. And as he looked, he spied Mary Jane's sober little face.
"Don't you like to watch them?" he asked her in surprise.
"Yes, I like to only they're so grabby," she replied promptly, "and he
hasn't had but one." She pointed out the little seal who was a bit too
slow.
"We'll fix that," said the keeper, kindly, "you just watch."
He tossed a great big fish close to the crowd of waiting seals, then,
quick as a flash and before they had had time to get that one, he tossed
another, straight at the little seal who was on the edge of the crowd.
"He got it! He got it!" cried Mary Jane happily, "he got it before they
had a chance!"
"And he's going to get another," said the keeper as he threw another and
still another, straight at the hungry little seal. "There!" he added as he
looked at the now empty basket, "that ought to do him till to-morrow."
Mary Jane thought he looked so comfortable now that surely he had had as
much as he needed for the day.
"Better hurry if we're to see the lions eat," said Mr. Holden, who during
the seals' dining hour had come up behind his little party.
"Lions!" exclaimed Mary Jane.
"Yes, hurry up!" called Betty and she and her brother who were quite
familiar with the park because of many previous visits, ran on toward a
big brick house near by.
Mary Jane wasn't afraid, but all the same she thought it would be more fun
to hold her father's hand and even though they were a bit behind, they got
into the lions' house in time.
Here the dinner was of meat, great big chunks of raw, red meat that the
keepers tossed into the cages. And it was so funny to watch! Just before
the keeper appeared, the lions and tigers and jackals and leopards were
pacing up and down their cages with such weird roars and grunts and growls
that Mary Jane held tightly to her father's hand and didn't go very close
to the iron bars. But when the keepers appeared with the meat there was a
wild scramble, and then silence except for the crunching and smacking of
eating. It certainly was different, oh, very, very different from anything
Mary Jane had ever seen before!
"Let's not wait here any more," suggested Alice, "let's show Dadah the
monkeys."
"Yes, and the foxes--the white ones," said Mary Jane, "they're my
favorites of all."
But before they had had time to show Mr. Merrill every single creature
they had seen, the Holden boys announced that they were hungry and that it
was long past dinner time. And sure enough! Even though it wasn't really
long _past_ dinner time, it _was_ half past five--the time they had agreed
upon for dinner. So a very jolly party seated themselves at a big round
table on a second story porch of the Park restaurant. That was the nicest
place to eat Mary Jane had ever seen--unless perhaps a diner on a train.
For after they gave their order, she discovered that they could look right
down on a small lake where ducks and geese and swans lived. The children
got so interested watching the pretty creatures that for once they didn't
have time to think the waiter was slow!
They stayed there eating and watching the birds, till the sun set back of
the trees. Then, when there wasn't another scrap of cake or teaspoonful of
ice cream left, they gathered up wraps and hats and started for home.
"I know one thing," said sleepy Mary Jane as they waited for the bus that
was to take them to their train. "I know there're a lot more animal folks
in the world than I thought for--oh, a lot more! And I think I'd better
come again to see them all."