A GREAT SUCCESS
It was the day of the “Great Show!” The “ten dollar show,” as some of
Mr. Brown’s business friends called it because of the mistake on the
tickets. The barn had been fixed up with seats, and there was a stage
over which had been erected the trapeze taken from the haymow.
In cages around the barn had been placed various animal pets of the
boys and girls who were chummy with Bunny Brown and his sister Sue.
These were not all trick animals. There was a trained rooster though,
about which I shall tell you. And there were quite a number of white
mice and rats, as well as one alligator, brought by George.
But the main part of the show was to be the tricks done by Patter,
Toby, and Wango, the monkey.
At last all was in readiness, and after many whisperings behind it the
curtain was finally pulled aside. The curtain was made by some old feed
bags sewed together, but it answered very well.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” began George Watson, who had been chosen for
stage manager, “we will now start the great show with a parade, and
after that Bunny Brown will do a lot of tricks.”
“And so will Patter! He’ll do tricks!” cried the voice of Sue from back
of the end folds of the bag curtain. There was laughter in the audience
at this.
“All ready now!” called George, and then out from the side, to the
stage, which Bunker Blue had built, marched Toby with Patter on his
back. And Toby drew a little cart in which sat Wango, dressed up in a
red suit and a cap and a feather.
The people clapped at this, but there was more to come. Bunny, dressed
in a “tramp” suit, followed the monkey cart, and then came Sue, dressed
as a fairy princess. Charlie Star and Harry Bentley, who were to help
with the tricks, came out dressed like twins, and George followed,
carrying Whitefeet on a big sofa cushion. There was more applause at
this sight.
After the procession the show proper began. Bunny, dressed as a tramp,
pretended he was going to take Patter and Toby away, but Sue rushed out
and waved her fairy wand. Then the ragged clothes fell off Bunny, for
they had been put on loosely for this purpose, and he stood up in red
tights, just like a real circus actor. Mr. Stern had suggested this to
the children and they did this new trick almost at the last moment.
Then Bunny put Patter, Toby, and Whitefeet through their tricks. I have
told so much about the tricks all through this book that I will not
take the time to go over them again, as there were no new ones.
But the people in the audience had not seen the tricks before and they
were much pleased with them. After Patter, wearing his different suits,
had sat up and begged, had rolled over, had pretended he was a soldier,
had said his prayers and walked on his front feet, the trapeze was
swung into place.
On the board fastened to the crossbar Patter and Wango swung to and
fro while the audience laughed and clapped. Next Whitefeet was put on
Patter’s back, and the kitten remained there as contentedly as she had
on the cushion when George carried her. Then came the trick of Patter
taking caps from the tank of water.
The stage was now cleared so Patter could do the trick of driving Toby
hitched to the pony cart. The dog sat up, his forepaws through the rope
loops of the reins. And when Bunny on one side called, Patter guided
Toby that way. Then when Sue on the other side called, Patter guided
Toby that way, much to the surprise of the audience who thought the
horse and dog were very smart indeed.
In order not to have too many animal tricks, Charlie and Harry did what
they called “acrobatic stunts.” They turned somersaults holding to each
other’s wrists and ankles, they turned cartwheels, and did other things
that brought them applause.
Sue, too, was allowed to be on the stage alone with Patter, and she
put the dog through some of his best tricks, all of which made a “hit,”
as the paper said afterward.
The show was much enjoyed by all who saw it, and it had a funny, jolly
ending. Sam Cooper tried to do a trick with what was supposed to be
the trained rooster. Only the rooster got wild, or frightened, or
something, and flew off the stage, out into the audience, and lighted
on the bald head of Mr. Gordon, the grocer.
Perched on Mr. Gordon’s head, the rooster uttered a loud crow! And you
should have heard the people laugh.
“But, anyhow, that was a good way to bring the show to an end,” said
George, as he pulled the bag curtain over. “It made ’em all laugh.”
The show was a great success, and quite a large sum was taken in for
the aid of the Home for Crippled Children. Bunny, Sue and their boy and
girl chums who had helped, were much pleased.
[Illustration: PATTER WALKED ON HIS FRONT FEET.
_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue and Their Trick Dog._ _Page 242_]
“Bunny, you have a wonderful trick dog there,” said Mr. Gordon, as he
went out, rubbing his bald head where the rooster had scratched him a
little.
“Indeed he is a valuable dog,” said Mr. Stern, who had witnessed the
show. “If I had had Tanza here----”
“Oh, will you please tell us who Tanza is?” begged Bunny.
“Is she a fairy?” Sue wanted to know.
“No, she was one of some trick dogs I once owned,” said Mr. Stern,
rather sadly. “I earned my living by exhibiting my trick dogs. Tanza
was the best, but she died, and so did all the others. Then I had no
way of making a living and I got hurt and became ill. I thought if I
could find Mr. Denton he might give me a place in his show. But I can’t
locate him, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
This talk took place after the show, when Bunny and Sue were helping to
clear up the barn.
“I could make a place for you on my fish dock,” said Mr. Brown.
“Thank you,” murmured the old man, “but I’m afraid I wouldn’t know how
to do that kind of work. If I only had a trick dog I could go around
as I used to. But I suppose it’s of no use.”
A strange feeling came over Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. They both
had the same idea at the same time. They looked at one another and then
at Patter, who was letting Whitefeet rub up against him.
Bunny went over and whispered something to his father.
“What’s that?” exclaimed Mr. Brown. “You want to give up Patter?”
“Yes,” answered Bunny. “We want to give our trick dog to Mr. Stern so
he can go around and earn a living again. Don’t we, Sue?”
Sue did not answer for a moment, and when she did there was just a
little tear in each eye.
“Don’t we now--don’t we want to give Patter to Mr. Stern?” asked Bunny
again.
“Ye--ye--yes!” burst out Sue, and then, after hugging Patter very hard,
she ran out of the barn. I think you can guess why.
Bunny said afterward that he “squeezed back” his tears as he led
Patter up to Mr. Stern and said:
“Now, Patter, you belong to him and you can do your tricks for him and
help him earn money.”
“Oh, but I can’t take the children’s dog! I wouldn’t dream of it!”
cried the ragged man.
But in the end he was made to do this, since it was the best way
in which he could care for himself, now that he was well from the
automobile accident. He was given some money by the man whose car had
struck him, and with this Mr. Stern bought some new clothes and was
able to fit himself out so he could travel around the country giving
little shows with Patter.
Of course Bunny and Sue felt very sad at first, in giving up their
trick dog, for they had grown to love him very much.
“But,” said Bunny, “maybe we’ll see him again when Mr. Stern gives his
show here.”
“And,” added Sue, “we have to be good an’ make sackkelfices, like we
learned in Sunday school.”
“Sackkelfices!” cried Bunny. “That’s what they do in baseball!”
“’Tis not!” exclaimed Sue. “A sackkelfice is what makes you feel good
inside when you don’t want to do it.”
And perhaps that is what a sacrifice might be called.
At any rate, Mr. Stern took Patter away, though I must admit that the
parting with Bunny and Sue was a tearful one. But then the children had
other pets to console them. And Mr. Stern was able to earn his living
by showing off Patter and his tricks.
And so we have come to the end of the story of the children and their
trick dog, which came to them so strangely, was lost, found, and gone
from them again. But this is not the end of the adventures of Bunny
Brown and his sister Sue, for they have many others in store.
THE END
_This Isn’t All!_
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in
this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and
experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you
will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same
store where you got this book.
_Don’t throw away the Wrapper_
_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have.
But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete
catalog._
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized or underlined text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.