celery they wanted, which was more than half of it, as it was
deliciously juicy and tasted fine. They had had no breakfast
except some dusty grass that grew beside the road.
While they ate the farmer whistled low to himself and planned how
he would sell his celery to the grocery man; and then, with the
money, go to the circus, and see the wonderful astrologer that
was neither goat nor man who was advertised to perform. He little
guessed that the "Wonderful Astrologer" was at that moment eating
up his celery and making it doubtful whether he would have any
left or not.
Billy and Betty were still eating when a dog spied them and ran
out from his yard after them. Billy turned and tried to hook him
but the dog was too quick. He dodged, but in trying to escape
from Billy he got too near Betty's heels and she gave him a kick
in the side that sent him rolling over into the dust, yelping,
and before he could get up Billy helped him up by sticking his
horns under him and tossing him over the fence.
[Illustration: THE FARMER STOPPED TO SEE WHAT ALL THE ROW WAS
ABOUT.]
The owner of the dog saw this and ran out calling for the farmer
to stop or he would have him arrested for allowing his goat to
hook his dog. The farmer stopped to see what all the row was
about, and while the owner of the dog was shaking his fist in the
farmer's face, and the farmer was trying to explain that the goat
and mule, as he called Betty, did not belong to him, Billy and
Betty sneaked off and disappeared down a side road and to their
surprise found themselves facing the circus tents.
If they went forward the circus people would catch them, and if
they went back, the angry man and farmer would be after them. As
they stood discussing which way to go, it was decided for them,
for the animal keeper on his horse turned into the lane behind
them and drove them to the circus in double-quick time with his
long whip.
All the way there he scolded them as he tried to crack them with
his whip, and it was no fun being hit with it as it seemed to
take a piece of flesh out each time it struck.
[Illustration]
Betty ran in among the Shetland ponies where she belonged and
Billy dodged into the first tent he saw with the flap open. For a
wonder it turned out to be the one where he belonged, and in less
time than it takes to tell it Billy found himself chained beside
the elephant.
"There, Master Billy, I guess you won't chew yourself loose in a
hurry again, and have me chasing all over the country for you,"
said the animal keeper.
And to make up for his past bad behavior Billy performed better
the next day than he had at any time.
_What Billy Did on Tuesday_
Tuesday turned out to be a dismal, cold, rainy day and Billy was
glad enough to stay quietly in the tent. He thought it would be a
good chance to become better acquainted with the animals in the
cages and he decided to call on them all by beginning at one cage
and visiting each in order until he had completed the circle.
He could not stay where he was, for Nancy, the old maid camel,
made him nervous; she talked so much, and when she was not
talking she chewed her cud like an old maid chews gum.
"How can you stand her?" Billy whispered to the elephant.
"Oh, I have got used to it," said the elephant, "and I don't hear
her half the time, and when she gets _too_ bad I just pull the
flops of my ears down tight to my head, and I can't hear a word.
And then I set my trunk to wobbling and make it nod 'yes' half
the time and 'no' the other, and I find it answers quite well."
"But how do you know when to say 'yes' and when to say 'no'?"
Billy asked.
"I don't mind if I do answer wrong part of the time, and if I get
too much off she stops talking altogether and that pleases me
better, so you see it answers very well."
"But don't you get tired leading such an inactive life?" asked
Billy.
"I used to," answered the elephant, "when I was younger, and
before my mate died. But since she died and I have rheumatism I
don't seem to care much, for without her there would be nothing
to do if I did run away; beside your climate is so cold, and your
forests so skinny and bare looking there would not be any fun
living in them."
"Our forests skinny and bare looking, did you say? You don't know
what you are talking about. I guess our forests are as nice as
yours in India, and not half so full of snakes and chattering
monkeys, to say nothing of the nasty crocodiles and hippopotamuses
that you have in your rivers; and vines growing all over the trees
and from one tree to another, so thickly you can't walk without
making a path for yourself by breaking them down."
"Oh, but that is just what I like," said the elephant, "and the
air is so hot and moist you feel fine, while here you are either
all dried up with heat or shivering with cold."
"Well, every one to his taste, I suppose," and he walked over to
the hyenas' cage to make their acquaintance, out of curiosity, as
he knew little about hyenas.
"My, aren't they homely, sneaky, shifty-eyed looking things!"
thought Billy. "I would not like to meet one alone after dark,
but still I hear they are cowardly and wait until one is dead
before they try to eat him up. I don't think I will make a long
call, for they grin and laugh too much, and their laughter has no
mirth in it. It is just a loud guffaw." So he only stayed a few
minutes and then went on to a beautiful white llama's cage.
"Good morning, Miss Llama," said Billy very politely, for he
wished to get in the good graces of the beautiful Miss Llama whom
he admired very much for her long, silky, white hair and mild,
brown eyes.
"Good morning, Mr. Whiskers," she replied. "How do you find
yourself after our Saturday night's trip?"
"Very well," said Billy, "but I am afraid you must have had a bad
shaking up where the bridge was broken, if you had to go down
that steep embankment to cross the creek."
"You are right; it was steep," said the llama, "and I was nearly
scared to death when I felt the water running into my cage and I
had just given myself up as lost when it commenced to recede, and
I was thrown on my knees by the cage being pulled with a jerk up
the opposite bank. How did you get across?"
"Oh, easily! I just jumped across from one pier of the bridge to
the other," said Billy. "I met a friend of mine and we went off
and had a fine time. How I wish you could get out of that cage,
so you could go with us sometime!"
"You don't wish it more than I do, and it always makes me weep,
when we are driven along the sweet smelling roads, to think that
I can't get out and must be shut in here for life."
"It really is a shame, for you are too pretty to be shut in a
cage. Are you sure you can't break some of those bars some night
and get out?"
"I am sure," said the llama, "for I have tried time and again."
"Well, Billy Whiskers, you are the 'consarnedest' goat I ever
knew, and how in the 'dickens' you managed to break that chain is
more than I can tell," Billy and Miss Llama heard someone say
behind them and looking round they saw the animal keeper.
"So, so; you simply pulled up the stake you were tied to when you
found you could not chew your chain in two, did you? Well, come
along with me; you have been idle long enough, and we are going
to teach you some new tricks."
When Billy heard this his heart sank for he disliked the
ring-master and was afraid they would make him stand on his
hind-legs and walk. Had he only known it, that was the easiest
thing he would have to do. He was led to the performing ring and
there stood the hated ring-master facing a line of animals
standing in a straight line reaching from one side of the ring to
the other. In the middle stood the elephant, with the summer
house, as Billy called it, on his back; next him stood a camel;
next the camel a giraffe; next the giraffe a horse; next the
horse, a zebra, and last a little Shetland pony. On the other
side of the elephant were more animals standing in the same
order.
"What in the world can they want of me," thought Billy, but he
soon found out for they dressed him up as a clown in a white
suit with red spots on it and tied a mask on his face and a
pointed clown's cap on his head. Then they led him to where the
pony stood and made him walk up a step ladder, onto a little
platform, strapped to the pony's back. From this he was made to
walk up another step onto a similar platform on the zebra's back;
here he was made to stop and make a bow and so on until he had
reached the little summer house on the elephant's back. This he
was made to enter and sit upright on a little seat that was
inside while the elephant started forward and walked out of the
ring carrying Billy with him.
[Illustration]
After this he was dressed as a workman, with a pipe in his mouth
and a hod of mortar strapped to his shoulder, and made to walk
part way round the ring on his hind legs. Then he was allowed to
rest and was given a bunch of carrots to eat. While he was
eating these Betty was brought in hitched to a little low wheeled
cart. Then a great Dane dog was brought in hitched to a similar
cart. After that a man pulled in another cart like the other two
and hitched Billy to that. The carts were painted red, white, and
blue and trimmed with flags. Soon three little dogs dressed as
ladies were carried in, put into the carts with the reins over
their necks. Then the goat, burro, and dog were put neck to neck,
ready to start on the race that was to begin when the ring-master
cracked his whip.
At the signal the dog got started ahead, but half way around the
ring Billy passed him; the next time around, the dog was again
ahead, when slow little Betty balked in the middle of the course
and both the goat and dog ran into her upsetting the carts and
spilling out the little lady dog drivers. None of them were hurt
and the little dogs ran around stepping on their silk petticoats
and getting their hats askew, they enjoying the upset by barking
and making all the noise they could.
"Well, boys, you want to do it better at the regular
performance," said the ring-master, as the animals were led from
the ring.
_What Billy Did on Wednesday_
Wednesday, Billy was not tied up and after wandering around the
circus and visiting the different animals and stopping to chat
with Betty, he decided to watch his chance and slip into town.
This was not hard for him to do and he soon found himself on the
main street. At first he walked quietly along looking into the
windows, but presently he saw before him a well-known figure,
that of the ring-master.
"Now is my chance," thought Billy, "to get even with him for
giving me all those cuts with his whip. I'll just give him a butt
and land him in the middle of that mud puddle, and I am going to
do it so hard he will hear his spine crack and I guess he won't
hit me with his whip again very soon."
So Billy started quietly on a run, going on his tiptoes so the
ring-master would not hear him until it was too late to get out
of the way. Just as Billy got to him the man raised his arm to
doff his hat to a pretty girl, and the next thing he knew he was
flying through the air with his hat in his hand. Still holding
his arm extended, he landed in the deep puddle of muddy water in
the middle of the street, while the young lady threw up her hands
and fled.
[Illustration]
It is needless to say that Billy immediately disappeared down a
side street. Here he ran into a livery stable where a dog fight
had been going on in the back yard. Two ferocious bull-dogs, had
fought so wickedly that their jaws had had to be pried apart.
One of the dogs had a chain around its neck and its owner was
going to lead it off when one of the livery men saw Billy and
called out:
"Wait a minute Mr. Pride, here's a Billy goat I bet can lick your
dog. Let us turn them loose in the yard and have another fight."
"Why, man what are you talking about? My dog would make just one
grab at the goat's throat and kill him."
"I am not so sure of that," replied the man, "but I am mighty
sure he will lick your dog if he is the goat I think he is, for I
believe he is the trained goat from the circus."
"Let's have a fight," said the other men that were standing
around. "It will be great sport to see the goat lick the dog that
can whip every other dog in town."
"So you think the goat can lick my dog, do you? I'll bet one or
all of you twenty dollars that he can't."
"It is a go!" said two or three. Then the man that had proposed
the fight said: "It is all well enough to have a little fight for
fun but I hate to see your dog killed, as he may be."
"Oh, don't you worry about my dog. Leave all your worrying for
the goat."
All this time the dog had been pulling at his chain and straining
to get at the goat, while Billy quietly walked around inspecting
things, chewing anything he could find.
"Won't I fix that conceited dog!" said Billy to himself. So he
allowed himself to be driven into the back-yard. Here the men
formed a circle with Billy in the center; then the man unfastened
the chain from the dog's neck. With a rush he went for the goat,
who quickly stood on his hind legs, lowered his head and met the
dog's onslaught with his horns, running one of them into his
chest, which sent the blood spitting out. Then the dog tried to
get behind Billy for another charge but Billy wheeled and met him
again as before and no matter which way the dog tried to approach
him, Billy was always head foremost with his long, pointed horns
sticking straight out to meet him.
The dog was getting more and more furious at each failure and at
last he made a blind plunge at the goat, but, as before, Billy
was too quick for him and this time he sent the dog yelping back
to his master.
"Here! what do you mean by shutting our goat up?" they heard
someone say and turning around they saw one of the men from the
circus who had been sent out to look for Billy as it was nearly
time for the performance to begin.
"We did not shut him up. He walked in of his own accord; but you
should have been here a minute sooner and you would have seen
the prettiest fight you ever saw in your life, between your goat
and the bulliest bull-dog of the town."
"I am sorry I did not see it; but perhaps we can have another
sometime."
"Never!" said the dog's owner very emphatically. "I doubt if he
lives through this."
"Well, good-bye, boys; come and see Billy Whiskers perform in the
circus this afternoon and you will see as good a performance as
fighting, and I'll give all passes who bet on him this time.
"Billy, I would not have given much for your skin after the
ring-master got through with you if it had not been for this
fight; but now I think he will forgive you for the butt you gave
him this morning, since you whipped Mr. Pride's dog for he hates
Mr. Pride because he forbade him calling on his daughter."
[Illustration]
_What Billy Did on Thursday_
Thursday there was no performance as the circus was to break camp
and move to the next town where they were to take the train for a
large city. Here they would meet the rest of the circus which had
been divided up into small bands and sent into the country, like
the one Billy was now with. When they met in the city, all the
companies joined forces.
The elephant told Billy to wait and see what elegant performances
they gave when they were all together. "Why!" he said, "we have
three rings with acting going on in each one at the same time,
and all the performers wear their best clothes and try their best
to outshine each other; beside we have three or four times as
many animal side-tents as we do now.
"When we meet I will introduce you to my chum who is the oldest
and largest elephant in the circus business. He is a fine fellow
and tells a good story, and one could listen for hours to him
telling of his adventures and experiences while in the jungle and
traveling in this country. But it nearly makes him weep when he
tells of how he was once the pet elephant of a Prince of India
and how the Prince would never ride any other but himself when
hunting or riding in the royal processions. 'Only think of the
come-down,' he used to add, 'from having a Prince of the royal
blood on your back to a common circus rider in gaudy skirts! Then
my blankets and trappings were of velvet, studded with real
precious stones. Now they are velveteen with glass to imitate the
precious jewels. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! That I should ever live to
see this day.'"
Here the elephant's conversation was cut short by someone
screaming, "Fire, fire!"
"Where? where?" called Billy who was all excitement in a minute
and he started to run in the direction he heard the voice come
from, but alas for Billy! He forgot he was tied until he came to
the end of his rope and it gave him a quick jerk which sent him
head over heels, breaking the rope.
"Gee whiz! I nearly broke my neck. Blame their old rope!"
[Illustration]
"Fire, fire, fire!" called the voice again, followed by a laugh
and Billy, looking up, saw a green poll-parrot swinging on a rope
overhead, that commenced to call: "April fool, April fool!" as
loud as she could.
"How I do hate parrots and monkeys! I dare you to come down here,
you disagreeable, impertinent, pea-green, old maid of a bird!"
bleated Billy.
He had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when something
struck him on the back and began to pull his hair out by the
roots. It was Miss Polly who had dropped like a torpedo and who
was screeching, pecking and clawing him at a great rate. She was
in a bad humor that day as they had forgotten to feed her her
accustomed crackers and coffee.
As soon as Billy got over his surprise, which was in a second, he
lay down and rolled. This knocked Polly off but the minute he
stopped she flew onto his back again and pecked him until the
blood ran. The second time she lit on his back he thought of a
way to get even. He saw the elephant's tub of water a little way
before him and with two bounds he was by its side and before Miss
Polly was aware of what was up, she found herself doused in the
tub, and when she came up from under the water there was no goat
in sight.
As Billy went out of the tent he ran into the animal keeper who
was just coming in.
"Ho, ho! Master Billy, not so fast. I was coming to look for you,
for we are about to start and you have a way of turning up
missing just when you are most wanted." As he said this he caught
hold of the piece of rope around Billy's neck that Billy had
broken when he took his somersault, and said: "Come along with
me. I am going to put you for once where you can't get out, no
matter how hard you bite, chew or kick."
"I wonder what he is going to do with me," thought Billy.
But he soon found out, for the man led him to a vacant cage that
a wild cat had died in the day before, and made him walk up an
inclined board into it.
"Heavens!" thought Billy, "I'll never get out of here unless I
die and am carried out like the wild cat was, and if I don't die
I know I will go crazy, shut up in a little cooped up place like
this, with only room enough to take one step and not enough to
turn around unless you turn yourself in sections."
"Well, Billy, how do you like being caged?" asked the animal
keeper.
"Yes, you vicious beast, you, how do you like being shut up where
you can't butt and send people flying into mud-puddles and chew
up their wigs, etc.?" asked the ring-master who had joined the
animal keeper.
"Oh, it is you, is it? Well, you just wait until I get out of
here and see where I will butt you next time, and the animal
keeper, too," bleated Billy, but neither of them understood what
he said.
When they left him alone Billy tried every way he could think of
to break out, but he could make no impression on the iron bars,
chew as he would,--in fact, he broke one of his teeth trying.
Then he tried butting out the ends of the cage, but it was of no
use. Next he stood on his hind legs and tried to push the roof
off with his long horns, but to no effect; so he lay down tired
and broken-hearted on the hard bottom of the cage and gave
himself up to the blues.
He was lying there quietly, apparently asleep, when a man brought
him a bundle of hay to eat, a bucket of water to drink and a
pitch-fork of straw to lie on.
Billy did not move when they brought the things, pretending to be
asleep, but he was rudely awakened out of his supposed sleep by
the man sticking the prongs of the pitch-fork into him to make
him get up so he could spread the straw on the bottom of the
cage. He felt too disheartened to eat, especially food which he
detested, but thought he would take a drink as he was very
thirsty, but at one smell of the bucket he turned up his
aristocratic nose for he detected the bucket had not been washed
since it had been used by some of the other animals for he could
smell and see their hairs on the rim; so he lay down more
disgusted than ever. Poor Billy's confinement was going to be
hard for him. He had roamed the fields and towns, master of
himself, too long to take to being shut up easily.
At last Billy fell asleep and only awakened when they hitched the
horses to the wagon-like cage he was in to draw it to the depot.
Just before they started he heard a man say: "Here, you forgot to
put up the sides on that cage with the goat in."
Then the man brought wooden sides and fastened them onto the cage
over the iron bars. This left Billy only a little iron barred
opening near the top, at one side, to get air through.
"I shall surely smother," thought Billy. "Oh, this is horrible! I
feel as if I were buried alive."
At that minute the horses started up and poor Billy went down on
his knees with a sudden jerk.
"How I wish Nanny was here to comfort me," thought Billy. "She
was always so patient and cheerful." How like a man that was for
Billy to forget all about Nanny while he was free and having a
good time, but the minute he was in trouble to think of her and
be willing to have her shut up if he could only see her.
After several hours of hard traveling they stopped, and Billy
knew they must be at the depot for he heard the engines whistling
and the bells ringing, and he was very glad of it for his knees
were all skinned from slipping on the floor from one end of the
cage to the other when they went up or down hill, for it was
impossible to stand, so he had to lay down and make the best of
it.
"I never pitied caged animals before," thought Billy, "but I did
not know what they had to endure or I should."
After a great deal of commotion, swearing and fussing on the part
of the men outside, Billy's cage was at last on board and the
train started.
"Mercy!" thought Billy, "aren't they going to give me a drink of
water or something fresh and cool to eat? Do they expect me to
eat that dried up, tasteless, weedy hay this hot day; and as for
the water, that got upset the first hill we went up. Oh, dear!
and to add to the rest of my troubles I have got a cinder in my
eye, along with this horrible dust that is blowing in that stuffy
little window and I know I am going to be smothered to death. Oh,
if Nanny were only here, to lick this cinder out of my eye! It
smarts so I wish I had hands instead of feet for once in my life
so I could get it out. I wonder if people ever think how
inconvenient it is not to have hands sometimes."
And poor old Billy commenced to cry softly to himself. It was a
good thing he did for he soon cried the cinder out and when his
eye stopped hurting, he got some of his spunk back again and
began to plan some way of getting out of his cage.
At twelve o'clock at night they reached the city and were driven
through the silent streets to a vacant lot where all the circus
bands were to meet. And here I will leave Billy until next
morning.
[Illustration]
_What Billy Did on Friday_
When Billy's little band of circus people joined the others they
found everything in order as they were the last company of the
six traveling bands to join the main one.
There was one huge tent with three rings in it where the
performances would be given; opening into this was another large
one where the animals were exhibited and branching out of this
were three others,--one where the horses and ponies were kept;
another used as the dressing room, and still another where the
circus people took their meals, while scattered around were ten
or a dozen side-shows.
The cage Billy was in had hardly been put in place when the sides
were taken off and he found himself in the large animal tent with
the cages arranged round the edge and his old friend the
elephant tethered just outside with the other elephants from the
different bands, and his elephant friend was talking to his chum,
the elephant he had told Billy about, that told such good
stories. Billy thought he must be telling one now for they were
both laughing, but you might have thought they were trumpeting
had you heard them.