IN WHICH GIRAFFE GIVES A CHALK-TALK AND THE ANIMALS LEARN A NEW GAME
Now when the fourth day had turned to twilight and the animals of
Spangleland had gathered to continue the meeting that had resulted in
the election of Lion as President of Animals and Diggeldy Dan as
Secretary, Zebra announced that he had a matter of much importance to
bring to their attention.
“It has to do with Giraffe and his folks,” began Zebra, as he bobbed his
head and flopped his long, striped ears in the direction of those to
whom he referred. “As all of us are aware, neither Giraffe nor any of
his ancestors have ever been known to speak. When we consider the great
amount of talking many of us ofttimes do without really saying much, I
am sometimes of the opinion that our big-eyed brothers show no little
wisdom by preserving strict silence. Still I feel that Giraffe and his
family should have a voice in our different discussions, if they so
desire, and think it only fair that they be consulted as to their
wishes.”
While Zebra had been speaking, it was noticed that Giraffe had been all
attention and, when Lion from his place in front of all the animals,
asked him if he had anything to say, he nodded most positively.
“Very well, then, Giraffe; we will, indeed, be glad to hear from you,”
said Lion, as he crossed his paws and leaned back in an attitude of
strict attention.
By this time, all the eyes of all the animals were on Giraffe. And so
were those of Diggeldy Dan, who sat astride Hippo, the circus poster
spread out before him, his pen poised in mid-air, ready to jot down any
and all things that might come to pass.
And, as they watched, Giraffe unfolded his long, lanky legs and, for all
the world like two boys on two pairs of tall stilts, made his way from
the rear of the group and walked around to the side of Diggeldy Dan.
Then, bending his mile-long neck, he thrust his nose into the depths of
Dan’s pocket.
“Here, here!” cried the clown, “there are no carrots there!”
“Silence, Dan!” commanded Lion.
Even at this moment, Giraffe removed his nose and there, in the tips of
his lips, was the top which, as you may remember, the clown had drawn
out when he brought forth the bottle of very red ink. Down went the top
on the broad back of Hippo and back went Giraffe’s nose in the pocket of
Dan. And, this time, the searcher’s ears began to wiggle with delight
and his eyes to twinkle with glee. For when his nose next came forth
there, held tight in his mouth, was a piece of bright yellow chalk.
At sight of it a puzzled look crossed the faces of all those who
watched. It was Lion who first caught the thought.
“Why, of course!” he exclaimed, with a wise nod of his head. “Giraffe
proposes to talk with the chalk.”
“With the chalk, to be sure,” agreed Puma, “and I know where there’s a
board. The inner side of the strips that close up my cage are all
painted black. Come on, Elephant, and we’ll get one right now.”
So away the two of them went, and soon Elephant was holding the board
high up in his trunk. And, as he held it in place, Giraffe wrote with
the chalk:
“Very thoughtful of you—Thanks—Heartily agree with all done thus
far—Giraffe.”
And, putting the chalk alongside the top, he made a low swinging bow
with his long spotted neck and hurried off to his place at the rear of
the group, amid the shouts and the cheers of his fellows.
While the animals were cheering or telling one another just what each
had been thinking when Giraffe was rummaging Dan’s pocket, the old
clown’s pen was going “scratch, scratch, scratch” back and forth across
the poster.
“And now, Mr. President,” said Dan, as he finished writing and folded up
the great sheet of paper, “I suggest that we forget business for a time
and engage in a game that I have in mind.”
[Illustration: Away they all went, down through the line. _Page 35._]
“A fine idea,” agreed Lion as, indeed, did all the rest in one voice;
that is, all but Giraffe and his folks. They nodded their approval.
“It’s a game called ‘London Bridge is Falling Down,’” went on Dan. “It
was Giraffe’s long neck and Elephant’s trunk that suggested the thought.
So now, suppose we begin.”
“Yes, let’s begin,” cried the animals, as they trooped into the circle
that ran in front of all the red and gold cages.
“First,” called Dan, “you, Giraffe, and your folks will stand opposite
one another, with your noses touching. There! That’s the way. Now,
Elephant, you and your family will do the same, only raise your trunks
very high and hold them together at the tips—just as if you were shaking
hands way up in the air. That’s it. Fine! Now all the rest of us will go
skipping down the aisle between you.”
So Dan, taking the lead and calling, “Come on, Tiger! Come on, Lion! Hi
there, Hippo,” away they all went, down through the line.
“Now, back again!” shouted Dan, “and this is the song that we’ll sing as
we go:
“London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
Down, down, down!”
“Say! Hold on a minute!” cried Hippo. “I’m too wide! I can’t get
through!”
“I’ll fix that,” shouted Elephant. “Up, now!” he commanded. And at the
words, all of Elephant’s folks stood up on their hind legs and Hippo
passed through without any trouble at all. So the game went on, with all
the animals vowing that they never had had quite so much fun before in
all their lives.
But, by this time, the Petal Watch had begun to close; and, at a word
from Dan and the promise that he would see them again at half-past
twilight on the morrow, the merry band went back to their places. As the
old clown passed out of the menagerie tent, he could still hear the
voices in the distance, humming the song,
“London Bridge is falling down,
Down, down, down!”