Then he saw a floating-island pudding, with the whites of eggs heaped up high and dotted with candied cherries, floating on the custard underneath. He ate part of this, getting his head covered with eggs. Next he spied several cakes covered with icing which he licked off. Next he saw an ice-cream freezer. Now he had never seen an ice-cream freezer before so he thought it must contain something good if he could only get the top off tosee what was inside. In trying to get it off he upset the whole thing and as the ice rattled out on the floor making a terrible noise, he left everything and ran for the cellar door just in time to escape the cook who had heard the noise and had come down the inside stairs to see what was the matter.
Billy ran around the house and seeing the front door open and no one around, as they were all in the dining room, he went in and up stairs. Here he nosed around smelling things and upsetting things generally, when he came to the bed where the ladies had laid their wraps. On one of the hats he saw a bunch of green leaves; of course, he thought them real until he tried to eat them and the wire stems were in his mouth. Then he tried to eat a beautiful red rose on another hat with no better success so he left them, and was just leaving the room when he saw another goat coming in. He stopped to look at the goat and the other goat stopped to look back. Then he lowered his horns and shook his head, which the other goat did also. Now it made Billy mad to have a goat mock everything he did, so he bleated for him to stop immediately or he would hook him down the front stair. The other goat opened his mouth to bleat but no sound came from it and Billy stared at the new-comer harder than ever but the stranger goat only stared back. Then Billy bleated, "Youget out of here in double quick time or I will have a fight with you!" The goat opened its mouth as before but no sound came from it and it continued to stand in Billy's way and stare right in his face.
This was too much for Billy. He had given him warning to get out of the way and he would not, so now he was going to make him, and he went for the goat intending to butt him out of the door. But instead of his head feeling the soft side of the goat he hit something hard which broke in a thousand pieces cutting his head and making the blood flow down his face. When this happened Billy knew he had been fooled and had butted his own image in a mirror and that there had been no goat there.
The crash brought the ladies from the dining room headed by Mrs. Windlass but when they got to the foot of the stairs to come up, they saw a large white goat standing at the top with blood flowing down his whiskers. The sight of the blood as much as the goat made one lady faint and all the others ran in different directions while Billy scampered down and out of the house.
He was making for the pasture again as fast as he could when he met a big turkey cock which spread his tail and swelled himself out intending to keep Billy from passing, but when Billycame up to him he quietly hooked him on top of the shed where he left him with all the pride knocked out of him and his feathers drooping.
Billy kept right on and was soon in the pasture. When Nanny saw her Billy all bloody she commenced to cry and wanted to know who had shot him. Billy told her he had not been shot and that he had only cut his head a little on a piece of broken glass. This explanation satisfied Nanny and she asked no questions. Naturally Billy did not explain how he had hooked his own image.
Billy walked over to the little stream that flowed through the pasture and let the water run over his head and face and soon all trace of blood was washed away, and when the farmer looked them over that night to find the goat with the bloody face, that his wife had told him had done all the mischief, he could find none, so he took it for granted that some stray goat had come in and done all the damage, and once again Billy got off without being punished for his misdeeds.
day when all the goats were grazing in the pasture, Billy looked up and saw coming toward them the farmer and a large, fat man.
"What can they want?" thought Billy. "I guess I will walk out and meet them and hear what they are talking about."
As he came within hearing distance, he heard the farmer say: "Here he comes now, the one I was telling you about and I don't think you will have any trouble in teaching him anything you want to, for he seems very smart and not afraid of 'Old Nick' himself."
"That is good," said the circus-man, "for a timid goat is no good in a circus where they have to be with all the other animals."
"So," thought Billy, "this is a man from the circus up in town and he is thinking of buying me and making me perform in his circus. Well, I guess not," and he kicked up his heels in their faces and skipped off to the other side of the stream where they could not get him.
"It takes three to make a bargain where there is a goat in the case," said Billy to himself, "and I will give them a good chase if they try to catch me. And should they catch me, I pity the men and animals at the circus when I get there for I shall use my sharp horns to advantage and split a hole in their old tent and come back to Nanny. Now they are looking at Satan, maybe the man will buy him. No, I am afraid he won't for he is shaking his head and pointing at me and here they come. The farmer is holding out his hand as if he had something in it for me to eat. Oh, no, Mr. Farmer, I am too old a goat to be caught with chaff. However, I will stand still on this side of the stream and see what they will do."
And there Billy stood with his head raised waiting for them and he made as fine a picture of a goat as you ever saw, standing on a little green knoll with the silvery stream running at his feet.
The circus-man was delighted with him for he was almosttwice the size of any other goat he had ever seen, and he thought how fine he would look dressed up as a professor with his long, silky beard.
By this time the men were directly opposite Billy and he noticed that the circus-man kept his hands behind him all the time, but presently he drew them forward and in one he held a rope with a long loop in it.
"So, ho," thought Billy, "he expects to tie that rope around my neck, does he? Well, let him cross the stream and catch me first."
But while Billy was thinking this the circus-man was making the rope fly round and round his head in a long circle, and soon with a quick twist, the rope straightened out and the loop fell over Billy's head and settled on his neck while he stood looking at them.
Billy was the most surprised goat you ever saw, for it was the first time he had ever seen a lasso thrown and had he only known it, the circus-man had been a cowboy in his younger days and lassoed many head of cattle. When Billy found he was fairly caught, his pride had a fall, for he had thought himself too smart to be caught, and instead of him leading the men a chase and making them cross the brook toget him, they were pulling him off the bank and through the water, making him follow them.
At first he tried to pull back and get away, but he had to give that up, for the rope tightened round his neck and shut off his breath and he was glad enough to follow where they led.
When Nanny saw what had happened she ran up to Billy bleating as if her heart would break for she was very fond of him, and she was afraid they were going to kill him or take him away forever.
"Don't cry, Nanny. I will get loose and come back to-night, or to-morrow night sure, if I can't get loose to-night; so don't take on so. I know my way back and a circus tent is not a hard thing to get out of."
"But, Billy dear, they may tie you as they have now, and then you can't get loose," said Nanny.
"Oh, yes I can, when they leave me alone, I can chew the rope in two."
"But can't I go with you, Billy? I feel so terribly at being left alone and, think of it, we have not been married two weeks."
"What a pretty face that little Nanny goat has," said the circus-man.
"Yes," answered the farmer, "they both came to the pasture one day and joined my goats and have been here ever since. I never knew where they came from, or whom they belonged to."
"Well, here we are at the barn, you must run back, little Nanny; I can't take you with me to-day, though it does seem a shame to separate you two lovers," said the circus-man.
As Billy went through the bars he halted a second to give Nanny a last good-bye kiss; and with the tears streaming down her face, Nanny stood and watched him until they were out of sight.
The circus-man tied Billy to the back of his buggy and whipping up his horse he started for town. Billy had to run fast to keep up and though he got out of breath, he could not stop unless the horse did. The worst of it was the horse kicked up such a dreadful dust that it nearly blinded Billy as it flew up in his face from under the buggy. At last they came to the outskirts of the town, where the circus tents were pitched, and Billy was untied from the buggy and led inside a large tent where cages of wild animals were arranged around the outer edge, while in the center two elephants and four camels were tethered. When he got inside, the circus-mancalled to one of the men to bring him a strong peg. This he drove into the ground and tethered Billy to it, like all the other animals were fastened. Then he told the man to bring him a bunch of straw for the goat to lie on, and a bundle of hay for him to eat.
"Hay," thought Billy, "after nice tender young grass and turnips! Well, I won't stay here long, that is one sure thing. I wonder if I can understand a word of what these heathen, foreign animals say, but I expect I can read their minds, if I can't understand their tongues for most animals are mind readers and mind is the same the world over, though their thoughts are not the same."
While Billy was thinking this, the circus-man and the other man left the tent and Billy was startled by the elephant sticking his trunk up to Billy's mouth and asking him to speak through it, as he was a little deaf and used his trunk as an ear trumpet. He was just going to introduce himself to the elephant and ask the elephant's name in return, when one of the camels in a weak, weary voice asked the same question he had been going to ask the elephant; so he introduced himself to the camel and she in return presented him to all the other animals that were within hearing distance. She did not introduce him to any ofthe beasts in the cages, as she said the animals that were loose looked down upon the caged ones and seldom spoke to them. The name of one of the camels was Miss Nancy, and she was a regular old maid of a camel, who did nothing but gossip and ask questions.
"Have you ever performed in a circus or traveled with one before?" she asked Billy. When hearing that he had not, she rolled up her eyes, a habit she had, and exclaimed: "Poor uneducated beast, what you have missed, never to have been taught to perform in a circus." This was a calamity in her eyes. She could not remember ever being anywhere else, as she had been born in a circus in this country shortly after her mother had been brought here from Persia.
"I am so glad I was not born in Persia, for had I been I should have had to carry heavy loads and cross the burning desert with very little water to drink. While now, all I have to do is to march in the processions and then stand and look wise while the boys feed me peanuts as they walk into the circus to see the performance. Oh, you will like being with us when you get used to the confinement," she said.
"For mercy sakes! Nancy, do keep still and give some one else a chance to talk," said her mother.
Just then the lion roared and when he roared, all the other animals stopped talking for he was still looked upon as king of the beasts although he was caged. They all stood a little in awe of him for fear he would break through his cage and chew them up, as he threatened to do so many times when they did not stop talking immediately when he roared.
This time he roared to know who the new comer was and if he was an American relative of his, for as Billy had a beard like the lion's, only much longer, the lion thought he must be an American lion.
"Come over here, near my cage, Mr. Beardy, where I can see you," said the lion.
"I can't," said Billy, "my rope is too short."
"Oh, very well," he roared back, "I will see you in the procession, to-morrow, for I hear you are to march back of my cage."
The lion's keeper came in to see what the lion was roaring about and in passing Billy he stopped to get a good look at him, and presently he was joined by another man, who Billy found out took the part of the clown and who was expected to walk by Billy's side in the procession while a monkey rode his back.
"You are a pretty fine looking goat, old fellow, and I expect we will become great friends. Here is a lump of sugar to begin our friendship with, or do you prefer tobacco?" said the clown.
"He seems like a nice man," thought Billy, "but I never thought to see the day when I would march in a procession with a monkey on my back and a clown at my side, and I don't know whether I will allow him to ride or not, but I guess I will behave for awhile and see what life is like under a circus tent."
The next day dawned bright and fair and there was great commotion throughout the circus, getting ready for the eleven o'clock procession that was to march through the streets. Early in the morning, Billy was led into the sawdust ring, and a peculiar saddle like a little platform was strapped to his back. This the monkey was to dance on, dressed as a ballet girl, with yellow, spangled skirts, a satin bodice and a blue cap with a feather in it on his head.
When Billy first saw the monkey in this dress walking on his hind legs toward him to get on his back, he had a good mind to toss him up to the top of the tent, he felt so disgusted; but his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to wait and see what they expected him to do next. He soonfound out. They wanted him to trot around the ring, and not jump when the ring master cracked his long lashed whip at him, while the monkey danced on his back and jumped through paper rings, as the lady circus riders do.
"This is very easy," thought Billy, "I don't mind this in the least, only I don't want to go around too many times one way for it makes me dizzy."
"That will do for this morning, Billy, you are a good goat," said the man. Just then the monkey jumped off Billy's back, and as he ran past him, he gave Billy's beard a pull. Like a shot Billy was after him and had the monkey not run up a pole, Billy would have killed him. From that time on, Billy and the monkey, whose name was Jocko, hated each other and an outward peace was only kept up when someone was around to keep them apart.
The monkey would climb a pole or sit on top of a wagon, or anything high that was handy, so Billy could not reach him and then call him names and sauce him until Billy pawed the earth with rage, which made the monkey laugh. The only one that could get even with the monkey's tongue was the parrot, and she and the monkey would sit and sauce each other by the hour.
Billy was about cooled down from his fuss with the monkey, when he heard a bugle call and the elephant told him that it was the signal for the procession to start. While Billy had been put through his paces in the circus ring, the elephants had been decked out in scarlet blankets embroidered with gold and funny little summer houses, as Billy thought, strapped to their backs, in which ladies were to ride. The camels had also been fixed up, and from four to six horses, with waving plumes on their heads, had been hitched to each circus wagon.
At another signal from the bugle, they all started to move, led by the men and women performers, dressed in their best spangled velvet suits. Then came what Billy thought to be the best thing in the procession, a golden chariot drawn by twelve Shetland ponies, each pony ridden by a little boy postilion, in scarlet velvet; while in the chariot sat a beautiful, little, golden-haired girl, dressed as a queen, with a diamond crown on her head.
It fairly took Billy's breath away, he thought it all so beautiful, and he started to follow.
"All right, Jim, let him go there if he wants to. He probably thinks the ponies are goats and will behave better than if put with the lions."
"What an idiot that man is!" thought Billy, "to think I don't know a pony from a goat."
It was a good thing they let him march there for he was so taken up with watching the ponies in front of him that he forgot to be mad at Jocko, who was going through all sorts of antics on his back and swinging on Billy's horns. Everything was going smoothly when Billy saw Mike O'Hara coming out of the crowd; he came up to the clown that was walking beside him and said: "Look here, that is my goat!"
"Well, I guess not, you must be crazy."
"I'll prove it to you," said Mike. "Do you see that black spot on his forehead and that he has one black hoof and all the others are white?"
"That don't prove anything," said the clown. "You just noticed that as we were walking along, and now you come up here and try to claim our goat."
"I'll give you another proof," said Mike. "He will come when I call him."
"All right, call him, and I bet he won't follow you," said the clown.
Mike held out his hand and called him by name, but Billy did not turn an inch though he knew he belonged to Mike. He didnot propose to go with him and be made to pull milk carts. He preferred to stay where he was as he liked the excitement of a circus life.
When Billy did not go to Mike, it made the clown laugh and he said: "There, I told you so. The goat never saw you before."
"Yes, he has," said Mike, "but it is just like his cussedness to pretend he don't know me."
"Go along, I can't bother talking to you any more," said the clown, as all this time Mike had been walking beside the clown as they marched.
"Well, you need not talk to me any more," said Mike, "but I am going to have my goat." And with that he caught hold of Billy's horns and was going to lead him away.
"Here, take your hands off that goat, you are stopping the procession!" But Mike held on and the clown gave him a hit in the ribs. Mike struck back and a policeman, who was standing in the crowd, ran out and arrested Mike for disorderly conduct and for stopping the procession. This was the second time that Mike had been arrested on Billy's account.
When the procession returned to the tents, all the animals and horses were fed and allowed to rest so as to be freshfor the afternoon's performance. Billy had been resting only a short time, when a couple of men came toward him, one carrying a table and the other a long black gown of some kind.
"What in the world are they going to do now," thought Billy.
When they came up to him, the man that was carrying the table put it down and then brought a high backed arm chair and set it up close to the table. Then the men came up to Billy and one of them said: "Now, old fellow, we are going to make a professor out of you," and with that they both took hold of him and made him stand on his hind legs while they put the black gown on him and a black skull cap on his head, and a pair of spectacles on his nose,—the latter they had to tie on. Then a man got on each side of him and supported him to the table where they made him sit in the chair. They put his forehoofs on the table and a large book before him and a pen behind his ears. When they had him all fixed, you never saw such a wise looking professor in your life as he made, with his long, white beard. The men were so delighted with his appearance and the way he behaved when dressed up, that they called all the rest of the circus peopleto come and look. Of course they laughed and praised and petted Billy, until he was nearly bursting with conceit and they all agreed that it would tickle the children most to death to see how solemn and straight a goat could sit in a chair.
"Now Billy, we will take these things off and let you rest for your back must be tired as you are not used to sitting up, but you will get used to it and it won't make you tired after awhile. Come here, and I will give you this nice red apple for being such a good goat. You behaved so nicely that I think we will venture to show you off at the performance this afternoon."
This they did and he got more encores and whistles and clapping of hands than anything else that was shown that afternoon, more even than the ponies. Before they brought him in, the Ring Master came in and said: "Now ladies and gentlemen, I am about to introduce to you the oldest and most wonderful astrologer now living. He will read to you, from a mystic book, the fate of the world and whether it is to be destroyed by fire or water."
When he had finished speaking, four men drew a platform in, on which Billy was seated in his chair at the table. Butthe strangest part of it all was, that when everything was still and the crowd were all watching him, he commenced to read and turn the pages of the book, and he spoke so plainly that everyone could understand and hear. This surely was wonderful, and the children could not make up their minds whether it was a man with goat's horns, for his long horns stuck out through two holes on either side of his cap, or a goat with a man's voice; and when the Ring Master told the children that the professor had just dropped from the sign of the Zodiac called Capricorn, which is represented in all the almanacs by a goat, they thought he must be telling the truth. He did not tell them that hidden under the platform was a man that did the talking, and when the leaves of the bookturned, that he was pulling a string which made them turn over, but everyone thought the goat was doing it himself.
After the performance was over, all the children as they passed fed Billy peanuts, candy, pop-corn and apples as he stood by the elephant.
Billy had behaved like a lamb for days and gone through all his performances without a hitch,—in fact he had become the pet of the circus, and allowed to roam about at will and was never tied not even at night. So this night after all had settled down and gone to bed, Billy, feeling wakeful, thought he would move around a little and take a peep into the other tents. First he stuck his nose into a little tent where they sold pop-corn, peanuts, lemonade etc., during the performances.
"Now is my chance," thought Billy, "to eat all the pop-corn I want, for I never have gotten enough to satisfy me at any one time, but how can I get it out of that glass case. It looks so easy to get at and smells so good, I must have some, even if I have to break the glass to get at it."
He stood licking the glass for a little while; then his greed getting the better of him, he backed off and gave the glass a quick hard knock with his horns. It broke and flew in all directions and let the pop-corn roll out in a perfect stream. Billystopped to listen a minute to see if the noise of the breaking glass had brought anyone to see what was the matter, and when no one came, he commenced to eat the salted and buttered corn, and he ate until for once in his life he could say he had had enough. But, oh my! what a thirst it had given him, and he did not know where to get a drink unless he went and stole it out of the elephant's tub of water, but he did not like to go there as the elephant's keeper slept near his charge and he might catch him and tie him up.
Billy was just leaving the tent when he ran into a large tin water cooler. It took but a minute to push the top off with his nose and then he began to drink. But what was the matter with the water? It had turned sour and had round pieces of yellow, sour stuff floating in it; it was his first taste of lemonade, consequently he did not know what he was drinking.
In his disgust at finding no water, he revenged himself by upsetting the water cooler and spilling all the lemonade. Then he walked out and going into the first tent he came to, he found himself in the room of the leading lady who was fast asleep on a cot. At the end of the tent he saw a small table with a looking-glass hanging above it, but when Billy saw his reflection in it, he did not make the mistake of thinking it was anothergoat like he had once before. He walked up to the table and seeing a stick of red stuff that looked like candy, he ate it, but it turned out to be a stick of red paint that the leading lady used to paint her lips. After tasting her powder, and upsetting her bottle of perfumery, and chewing her blonde wig, thinking it some kind of yellow grass, he walked out without awakening her.
Next he went into a tent that had pictures of snakes of all kinds painted on it. This was the tent occupied by the snake charmers, but Billy knew nothing about large snakes, only little inoffensive garter snakes, so he went in and commenced nosing around in the baskets he saw setting there with blankets in them to see what was under the blankets.
In the first one, he felt something cold and slippery and not to his taste, so he let it alone, thinking it a piece of garden hose; but when he stuck his nose in the next basket something long and slim and pliable stuck its head out and wound itself around his body drawing itself tighter and tighter, until Billy found himself staggering for want of breath. When he was nearly squeezed to death he made a death-like groan which awoke the Indian snake charmer who was asleep in one corner of the tent on a pile of rugs. The man took in thesituation at a glance, and came to Billy's rescue, making the snake uncoil itself by playing on a kind of bagpipe, a queer, weird, monotonous piece of music. This charmed the snake and it uncoiled itself from Billy and, swaying its body, crawled toward the snake charmer.
The second that Billy felt its coils slip from his body, he took a long breath and ran from the tent not even stopping to wiggle his head in thanks for his preservation. Once outside, he made his way back to his own tent where he lay down on his pile of straw to snatch a little sleep before daylight, as unconcerned as if nothing had happened.
nextday after Billy's midnight prowl which was Saturday, there was great commotion among the circus people, for the leading lady accused her rival, the brunette, of coming into her dressing room while she slept and destroying her blonde wig; while the pop-corn man said thieves had been at his stand and broken his glass case and eaten his pop-corn, beside they had spilled all his lemonade that he had intended using the next day; the night watchman was going to be discharged for not attending to his business; then the Indian snake charmer came along and told them the thief had visited his tent but his snakes had frightened him away.
"And he was a big fellow I can tell you. I did not dare tackle him."
"Oh my!" said the leading lady, "and to think he was in my tent and I slept through it all."
"There, I told you I did not touch your old straw colored wig!" said the brunette.
And they all said, "Do tell us all about it, what time of the night did he come, and which way did he go when he ran away?"
"All right," said the snake charmer, with a twinkle in his eye the others did not see, "sit down and I will tell you all about it,—how I was awakened by a groan, and saw standing in the middle of my tent, a huge fellow, with a long, white beard and white, agonized face; for you must know that my boa-constrictor was squeezing him to death."
"Oh, how awful! Weren't you frightened?" said the leading-lady.
"No, because I knew he could not touch me while the snake was coiled around him. At first I thought I would let the boa kill him, but he looked so awful with his eyes sticking out of his head, as the snake squeezed him tighter and tighter, that I felt sorry for him; so I began to play the music I always play when I want the snakes to come to me, and the boa stopped squeezing the goat and came to me."
"Goat, did you say? You mean burglar."
"No, I mean goat, orburglarif you would rather call him so, for your thief was nothing more or less than Billy Whiskers."
"You mean, horrid man to fool us so!" they all said.
And the snake charmer got up and hurried out of the tent for he saw blood in the eye of the champion boxer and he thought he had better get out before the man took hold of him.
Saturday was to be the last day of the circus in Smithville and immediately after the evening performance they were to break camp and move in the night, and be on the road all day Sunday traveling to the next town, where they were booked to give a performance on Monday morning.
Now all this meant quick work and rapid travel, as they could not go by train, there being no railroad to this town, so they had to have their circus horses and wagons move them.
When Billy heard them talking about moving, he thought it would be great fun and looked forward to it with pleasure. But he little knew what was before him.
During the morning performance Billy behaved all right, but in the afternoon he was so excited and anxious to be off that he behaved very badly. He ran around the ring so fast that when the monkey jumped through the paper hoops expecting to land on Billy's back, he was beyond him and the monkey landed on the ground and had to run to catch up. This made the ring-master angry and he hit Billy a sharp cut with his whip, but instead of making him behave better he got worse and worse. He would stand still and shake himself until he nearly made the monkey's bones crack; and when the ring-master hit him, he stood on his hind legs and the monkey had to cling to his horns to keep from falling off. When Billy found he could not throw the monkey, he ran for the pole in the center of the ring that supported the tent, and tried to butt him off but the monkey was too quick for him and dodged every time. At last Billy tried rolling with him, but this the ring-master could not allow as it would ruin the saddle strapped to his back. He gave him a few good cuts with the whip that stung like everything and this turned Billy's wrath from the monkey to him, and like a shot he was up and after the ring-master. He planted his horns in the middle of the ring-master's back and ran him to the edge of the ring where he gave him a butt that sent him flying to the other tent.
Billy was punished for this and told he should have no supper, and he understood what they said although they did not suppose he did.
"All right," he thought, "no supper, no performance, for I won't behave and take my part unless I am fed. But I will find something to eat even if they won't feed me, for a goat can eat almost anything from tin cans to apples."
The man who had tied Billy had scarcely gotten out of sight when he commenced to chew his rope in two and when it dropped apart, Billy walked over and commenced to eat the elephant's food. This the elephant did not like. He told Billy to stop and go eat his own supper, but Billy would not, neither would he take the trouble to explain to the elephant that he hadn't any supper and was expected to go supperless. Now if he had only told the elephant, who had alwaysbeen a good friend of his, he would gladly have given him half of his supper; but Billy was in a contrary mood and would say nothing, but kept on eating. This provoked the elephant, so he quietly wound his trunk around Mr. Billy and lifting him from the ground, set him on top of the lion's cage that was standing near. Billy was more surprised when he found himself standing on top of the lion's cage than he had ever been in his life, but only for a minute for he jumped down and disappeared through a tear in the canvas of the tent. As he ran away he heard all the animals laughing, though you might have called it the lion's roar and the hyena's call, and above all the racket he heard the head animal keeper asking what all this racket was about; and although they all tried to tell him by each giving his particular call, he was too stupid to understand animal talk, so lost all the fun of the joke.
When Billy came through the side of the tent, he found himself near the tent where the horses and ponies were kept. Smelling corn and oats, he walked in, and while talking to his particular friends, the Shetland ponies, he helped himself to their supper.
While in this tent he became acquainted with a little Mexican Burroetta that was destined to become his closest companion and friend in the future. The Burroetta was just his height, of a mouse color, with a white streak down its spine and four white stockinged feet, but the most peculiar thing about its looks was its exceedingly long ears,—ears that were as long as Billy's horns. It was the cutest, smartest little creature you ever saw, and had most beautiful, large, liquid eyes. It looked as mild as a dove, but was quite deceiving for it was as full of the "old scratch" as Billy himself. It must have been this kindred spirit that drew them together from the first.
That night the people had come to the circus; looked at the animals and passed into the performing tent; several of the things on the programme had been gone through with and it was Billy's turn to perform next and still Billy had not been found.
Every man and woman on the place had been looking for him, but though they had hunted everywhere and inquired of every one if he had seen a large, white goat with long whiskers, no one had seen him and they were about to substitute something else for his performance when one of the men, coming into the ponies' tent for something, saw Billy lying down by the little Burroetta.
"Here Billy, you rascal, come along with me. We have been looking everywhere for you."
And Billy was led off and made to go through his performance. But to-night he was cross and still angry with the ring-master. So when about through with his imitation of the professor, he leaned over and took a mouthful of the leaves of the book and chewed them up. Then he stood up in his chair with his gown and spectacles on, and before anyone could stop him he had jumped down and ran out of the tent, with the spectacles still on his nose and his gown trailing after him.
The excitement and confusion this caused in the circus knew no bounds. And when the children discovered that the astrologer was nothing more or less than an ordinary goat, and that his voice had come from a man, who was a ventriloquist, hid under the platform, their disgust was complete and it broke up the circus performance for that night.
Billy chewed, wriggled and pulled at his gown until he tore it off and then he kicked up his heels and disappeared in the darkness outside; and he was careful to keep in the shadows away from the light, so no one could see him, for he had sense enough to know that he had done wrong and would be punished if caught.
illy,after running out of the circus, stood in the shadow of a shed under a large tree. From his hiding place he could perceive all that was going on at the circus as it was bright moonlight, beside all the workmen had lights fastened in their caps so they could see without the bother of carrying a lantern around.
First Billy saw them hitch the draft-horses to the animal wagons and vehicles they had for carrying baggage. Then the big tent closed as if it were an umbrella, and it was rolled up and put in a wagon made purposely for hauling it; then all the riding horses with the men and women performers on their backs, started the procession. Next came the cages filled with animals and last the baggage vans and feed wagons.
After they were well on their way Billy trotted on behind keeping well in the shadows. They had been crawling silentlyalong the highways like a huge snake for a long while when all of a sudden the long line came to a sudden halt.
There was great noise and confusion ahead and, of course, Billy's curiosity called him to the front immediately to see what was the matter. In passing the wagons which had been left by their drivers to go forward and find out the cause of the sudden stop, Billy accidentally ran into his friend, Senorita Burroetta, which means Miss Baby Buro, as his friend was called.
"How are you, Betty?" For in their short acquaintance Billy had shortened her name to that. "I did not know you with that pack on your back. Aren't you tired carrying that heavy load?"
"Yes," answered Betty, "and the girth pinches me. They did not get it on straight and every time I step it hurts me awfully."
"Here let me see if I can't fix it," said Billy.
"Oh never mind, I can stand it, for it isn't the first time they have buckled a piece of skin in; beside you could not unbuckle it with your teeth or feet."
"No, but I can chew the girth in two if you don't mind being pinched a little more while I am doing it," said Billy.
So Billy commenced to chew the girth which he could get at easily where it stuck out from Betty's side to pass over the load on her back; and we know better than Betty that Billywas good at chewing rope and straps in two. Soon the girth began to give and Betty swelled herself out and the girth split in two and let the load on her back slip to the ground.
Then the goat and Burro ran ahead to see what all the scolding and loud talking were about. When they got there, they found the elephant had broken down a little bridge that crossed the narrow stream and there was no way to get the wagons over. The elephant, before crossing, had put his forefoot out to try the strength of the bridge and with a little shake the bridge had collapsed and dropped into the water. Had he stepped on it without trying it, he would most likely have been killed for it surely would have gone down with him on it.
The only way now to get across was for the wagons to drive down the steep embankment, through the water and up the other side. This they proceeded to do, but Billy and Betty jumped the space. Then they scampered on ahead after the horseback riders who had gone before.
As they ran they could hear the lion's roar and the hyena's laugh when their cages were driven into the water, and the water rose on them, while the elephants kept up such a trumpeting that it awoke all the country folks who were nearenough to hear it, and they thought the Day of Judgment had come and it was Gabriel's trumpet they heard.
A poor, ignorant Swedish family that lived on the bank of the stream by the bridge were awakened by the noise but were afraid to get up and look out of the window to see what all the commotion was about.
At last the brave husband by coaxing and threatening succeeded in getting his wife out of bed. As she had never been to a circus in her life or seen anything but the picture of wild animals, she was nearly frightened to death at what she saw passing in the moonlight, and ran back to bed and put her head under the covers and would not speak a word, though her husband threatened to kick her out of bed. Poor woman, she could not tell him what she saw, for she did not know the name of the animals.
At last her husband got up courage enough to go to the window and look out as his wife had, but he stayed less time than she did for just as he got there the lions gave a mighty roar and all the animals followed suit, for the lions' cage was passing through the water and they did not like the cold water crawling up their legs and of course they thought they were going to be drowned; while the Swedish workmanthought he was going to be chewed up alive, and flew back to bed with teeth chattering and held on to his wife for protection; and had a lion really come after them he would probably have thrown his wife at the lion's head for him to eat, while he made good his escape.
All this time Billy and Betty were trotting along side by side gossiping about people in the circus, and all the time it became lighter and lighter as it was getting nearer sunrise.
About five o'clock they saw, away in the blue distance, a tall church steeple and they knew they must be nearing the town where the circus was to be held.
As they came nearer they could hear the sound of the church bell ring out on the stillness, calling the people to early morning mass, and soon they could see the people going to church, and the mothers take their children by the hand and pull them into the church as they did not want them to see anything so wicked as a circus procession on Sunday morning.
Billy noticing this, said, "Let us give the children a treat. When the people are all in the church we will walk in and see what it looks like inside."
The two mischief-makers hung around out of sight, until the people had stopped going in, then they walked boldly into thevestibule. Here they saw a marble basin filled with clear, cool-looking water. They stopped and drank it, not knowing it was the holy water the Catholics cross themselves with before entering church.
The church aisle was separated from the vestibule only by two green baize doors. These Billy and Betty pushed open with their noses and while the organ was playing and the priests were kneeling, Billy and Betty walked the whole length of the middle aisle, side by side, as if they were a bridal couple. When they arrived at the altar, Billy stopped and commenced to eat some roses that were in a vase on the altar steps.
The congregation sat stupefied with horror to see these animals in church and directly behind the kneeling priest and choir boys. The music made Betty lonesome and she threw up her head and let out such a loud, mule-like bray that it frightened the kneeling priest and he jumped up as if shot for he thought he had heard Balaam's ass bray; but when he turned and saw standing behind him a live burro and a goat, his astonishment knew no bounds and he stood gazing at them with open mouth, while the choir boys laughed and giggled and thought it a good joke.
Soon the ushers and deacons came to their senses enough to come forward and try to drive the beasts out. But when Billysaw them coming he ran up the altar steps into the pulpit, and Betty ran through the first door she saw open, which proved not to be the outer door but one which led into the room where the choir boys dressed.
When Betty appeared there, the boys laughed and screamed and drove her out into the church again, and kicking up her heels she ran out of the church, braying for Billy. When Billy saw her go he ran down the altar steps, upsetting a near-sighted deacon who was coming up to help drive him out, and bleating to Betty that he was coming he rushed through the door.
They trotted along side by side down the street until they came to a beautiful place surrounded by a tall, iron fence. Through the fence they could see a large, brick residence with a cupola on top. On one side of the house was the flower garden, while on the other a fruit patch and vegetable garden. And oh, how good the fresh, green lettuce and beet tops looked to these tired, hungry travelers.
"Let us go in and help ourselves," said Billy.
"We can't get through the fence," said Betty, "and it is too high to jump."
"You remind me of Nanny, for she was always finding objections and obstacles to everything I wanted to do."
"Well, who in the world is Nanny? I should like to know," said Betty.
"Why haven't I told you about her?" asked Billy.
"No, you have not, Billy Whiskers, and I should like to know right away."
"Well, I will tell you, Senorita Burroetta, and you need not be so cross about it either. She is my wife and a sweeter, dearer little wife no goat ever had before!"
Betty stopped stock still in the road and glared at Billy for a second, before she could speak from astonishment. Then she said: "Billy Whiskers you are a gay deceiver and you know you never told me you were married and I am sure I always thought you were a bachelor."
"I am very sorry if it makes any difference to you, but I never told you because we have been so busy talking of other things and I have not had a chance."
"Oh, very well then," said Betty, "I will forgive you if you did not mean to keep it from me."
So the two made up and commenced to look for a gate or way to get into the garden. At last they saw where an iron bar or two of the fence had been broken, making quite a good-sized hole and through this they squeezed themselvesand were soon having a feast off of Deacon Jones's prize cabbages, lettuce and beets, while the family, including the Deacon, were at church.
They were still eating when they heard the iron gates shut with a clang and looking up they saw the Deacon coming toward them, swinging his cane in frantic anger, showing that he had already forgotten his Sunday-school lesson: "Let not your angry passions rise."