CHAPTER VIITINKLE DOES SOME TRICKS
For a few seconds Tinkle stood looking at Dido, the dancing bear, not knowing what to do or say. Some ponies would have been afraid of a bear. They would have snorted, stood on their hind legs, and maybe have run away. But Tinkle had never seen a bear before, no one had ever told him about them, and he really did not know enough to be afraid. Besides, Dido seemed such a funny, good-natured and happy bear that I believe no one would have been afraid of him.
“So you are Dido, the dancing bear, are you?” asked Tinkle. “And you say you are in a book. What does that mean?”
“I’ll tell you,” went on Dido, while his master, the man who blew such jolly tunes on the brass horn, was picking up some apples that had fallen from a roadside tree. He let Dido walk on ahead, without even a string tied to him, for he knew that Dido would not run away.
“You see, it’s this way,” went on the dancing bear. “Years ago I used to live in the woodswith my father and mother, sisters and brothers.”
“I never lived in the woods,” said Tinkle, “but I lived in a big, green field.”
“That was nice,” murmured Dido. “I have been in the fields, too. Well, one day I was caught by a man, who took me away. At first I did not like it, but the man was good to me and taught me to do tricks.”
“What are tricks?” asked the pony, for he could speak all animal languages as well as understand them.
“Tricks are—well, I’ll show you in a minute,” went on Dido. “The man was good to me, as I said, and taught me tricks. Then I was sold to a circus and I had lots of good times with Tum Tum, the jolly elephant and Mappo the merry monkey. They are in books, too.”
“What are books?” asked Tinkle. “Are they good, like sugar; and do you eat them?”
“Oh, no!” laughed Dido. “Books are funny things, like blocks of wood; only you can open them, like a door, you know, and inside are funny black marks on paper that is white, like the snow. Boys and girls, and men and women, open these funny things called books and look at them for ever and ever so long.”
“Why do they do that?” asked Tinkle.
“Well, I don’t really know,” said Dido. “But after they have looked at the books, turning overthe white things with the black marks on, called leaves, the boys and girls laugh.”
“Why?” Tinkle demanded.
“Because of the funny things printed on them,” answered Dido. “You see in my book are set down all the things I did. And the things Mappo did and the things Tum Tum did are in their books. Some of the things were funny, and that is what makes the boys and girls laugh. Tum Tum’s book is enough to make any one laugh. He is a very jolly elephant.”
“Is it fashionable to be in a book?” asked Tinkle. “I have quite a stylish pony cart here, as you can see, so if being in a book is—”
“Ofcourseit’s fashionable to be in a book!” exclaimed Dido. “You should see the funny pictures ofmeinmybook.”
And I might say, right here, that the books that Dido spoke of really exist, besides others about different animals. And this book is about Tinkle, as you can see for yourself. Maybe the little pony will be quite surprised when he finds what has been set down about him.
“Toot! Toot! Toot!” blew the horn again, and the man who owned Dido, having picked up all the apples he wanted, came walking along the road. Dido had been in a circus for some time, but now he was out again, traveling around the country doing tricks.
“Ah, you have met a friend, I see, Dido!” remarked the man, who had little gold rings in his ears. “A little pony, eh? Well, where there is a pony there must be children, and I think they will like to see your tricks, Dido. Come, we’ll get ready for them.”
The man blew another merry tune on his horn, and just then George and Mabel came running out of the house, ready to go driving in the pony cart.
“Oh, see the bear!” cried Mabel.
“And look at what he is doing!” added George. For, just then the man told Dido to turn a somersault, and this the bear did.
“That’s one of my tricks,” said Dido to Tinkle, though of course George and Mabel did not know the two animals were speaking to one another, for they talked in a low whisper.
“Oh, so that’s a trick, is it?” asked Tinkle in surprise.
“Yes, and I can do others. Wait, I’m going to do some more,” went on Dido.
“Come now, Dido! Show the little boy and girl how you play soldier!” called the man and he tossed a stick to the bear. Dido clasped it in his paws, held it over one shoulder just as though it were a gun and marched around in a ring standing up stiff and straight like a soldier on parade.
“Oh, that’s great!” cried George.
“Is he a trained bear, Mister?” asked Mabel.
“Oh, yes he is a good trained bear,” answered the man. “I have taught him to do many tricks. Now stand on your head, Dido,” and Dido stood on his head without so much as blinking his eye. Only he could not stand that way very long because he was quite a fat and heavy bear now. But he did very well.
“Can he do any more tricks?” asked George, and by this time Patrick, the coachman, Mary the cook, and Mrs. Farley had come out to watch Dido.
“I will have him climb a pole,” said the man, pointing to a telegraph pole in front of the Farley home. “Up you go, Dido!” he called, and the bear walked slowly over to the smooth pole. He stuck his sharp claws into the soft wood, and up and up he climbed until he was nearly at the top. Then he climbed down again while Mabel and George clapped their hands and laughed.
“He is a fine bear,” said George. “I wonder if he would eat sugar as Tinkle, my pony, does?”
“Try him and see,” answered the man, with a laugh.
“Won’t he bite?” asked Mabel, as George took some lumps of sugar from his pocket.
“Oh, no. Dido never bites,” answered his master. “He is a very gentle bear.”
George held a lump of sugar on his hand. Up Dido walked to the little boy.
“Don’t dare bite him!” said Tinkle to Dido, speaking in animal talk, of course.
“Oh, no fear!” exclaimed Dido. “I wouldn’t bite him for the world. Just watch!” Then Dido put out his big red tongue to which the lump of sugar stuck, just like a postage stamp, and, in another second, it had slid down Dido’s red throat.
“Oh, wasn’t that cute?” cried Mabel.
Then Dido did more tricks, and after Mrs. Farley had given the man some money he and Dido walked on down the road.
“Good-by, children!” called the man.
“Good-by,” answered George and Mabel, waving their hands.
“Good-by, Tinkle!” called Dido. “Perhaps some day I may see you again.”
“I hope so,” called back the pony. “I want to hear more about being in a book and about Tum Tum and Mappo.”
“They are in the circus now, I think,” said Dido. “If you ever go to the circus you may meet them.”
“I don’t believe I ever shall,” said Tinkle. But you just wait and see what happens.
“Well, go for your drive now, children,” said Mrs. Farley. “And don’t let Tinkle run away with you.”
“We won’t,” answered George, laughingly. And as he and Mabel drove away, Patrick not going with them this time, George said: “I wish I could teach Tinkle some tricks.”
“Oh, wouldn’t that be great!” exclaimed Mabel. “I once saw a trick pony in a show. He could bow and tell how old he was by pawing on the ground with his hoof.”
“Then I’m going to teach Tinkle some tricks,” said George. “And when he learns them we’ll take him around the country and show him off and earn money.”
“Oh, how nice!” cried Mabel, clapping her hands.
When George and Mabel got back from their drive George spoke to his father about teaching Tinkle to do some tricks.
“I hardly think you can,” said Mr. Farley. “But you may try. Better ask Patrick about it, though. He knows a lot about horses and ponies.”
“Teach Tinkle tricks, is it?” asked Patrick when George spoke to the coachman about it. “Well, maybe you can. He’s young yet. You can’t teach an old pony tricks any more than you can teach an old dog. We’ll try some day.”
A few days after this Patrick called George out to the stable yard where Tinkle was standing.
“What are you going to do?” asked George.
“Teach Tinkle his first trick,” was the answer. “He is going to learn how to jump over a stick.” Patrick put two boxes, about two feet high, on the ground and laid a stick across them. He led the pony close to the stick and stood there beside him.
“Now, Master George, you stand on the other side of the stick, and hold out these lumps of sugar,” said Patrick. “We will see what Tinkle will do.”
George held out the sugar a few feet away from Tinkle’s nose. Tinkle could smell it, and he wanted it very much.
“Go get it!” called Patrick, letting loose the halter strap he had been holding. “Go get the sugar, Tinkle.”
Instead of jumping across the stick, as they wanted him to do, Tinkle walked right against it and knocked it off the boxes.
“That won’t do!” cried Patrick. “Don’t give him the sugar, Master George, until he jumps over the stick.”
So George held the sugar behind his back, and Tinkle was quite disappointed at not getting it.
“I wonder what they want me to do, and why they put that stick in front of me?” thought thelittle pony. Patrick placed the stick back on the boxes, and this time he nailed it fast so the pony could not easily knock it off. Then the coachman held the pony as before and George put the lumps of sugar out on his hand again.
Once more Tinkle walked forward to get them, but this time he could not knock the stick down with his legs. He shoved the boxes aside, though, and again Patrick led him back.
“Jump over the stick, Tinkle! Jump over the stick and I’ll give you the sugar!” called George. And then, after two or three more times, Tinkle understood. He found that stick always in his way when he wanted to get the sweet sugar, and finally he thought of the fence he had once jumped over.
“I guess that’s what they want me to do now!” he said. And with a jump, over the stick he went. Tinkle had done his first trick!