The Circus Comes to Town

lephant Buy

regarded Jerry for a lo

d Danny at a disadvantage, wanted

e repeated, without s

nt's trunk and Jerry knew from the earnestness of his voice

," repli

reason," Ch

closer to the fence, the elephant's beaver-l

erry replied

d bring you home like father di

away," was all t

ris, in a tone that showed admiration for a boy no

Jerry, "but I'

Danny, "an' you can be the el'fu

e el'funt this t

ll have to be cut down an' made over for you. It's a little too big for me an' it's awfully hard wor

reasonable to him. He hesitated and Danny,

I was to blame when I'm not at all. I never even once thought o

Jerry a

something to you when I ain

Jerry began but was interrup

s, when I've had a chance to mak

He rose and turned slowly away from the fence and tried to imitate Darn Darner's off-hand style of le

Jerry,"

n't go!" plead

s circus," said Danny quickly, "a

fence. "The one with t

he oth

en," Jerry

Danny hurriedly promised, "an' a li

ied Jerry, in a ton

wed quickly and respond

l," said Jerry; "an' the broken top

my toy pistol

objected, "an' a pistol ain'

found in the weed

now how to

at you want. I bought it with the money I got

ur white rabbit," Jerry barg

ected. "'Tain't as if I could

un away," pursued Jerry, pressing home his advanta

ply at once and

top an' your shiny

in' to mother a-tal

rry assu

eart, hope to

an' spit," repeated Jerry, su

n't raise my finger to feed it, not if it was starvin' to death. I'd got kinda s

udience," Jerry promised,

't suspect nothin'. An', Chris, don't you dare ever tell, nor you, Nora, nor you,

," his brother and

ut to the circus ground and climbed upon an old barrel which Danny and Chris had turned upside down for a seat. He kicked

ers back to the woodshed and led them forth in parade to the strains of "I Went to t

ile the voice of Danny Mullarkey announced, "Ladies and gents, I'm pleased to make you acquainted with

walked forward on the rope, Nora, or, as the circus-master called her, Flo

ossession of the white rabb

uth of the green elephant. "Hey, you kids! Get the boards for the fence," he called

inches high, which Chris and Celia Jane held for him, and then half rose on his hind legs and leaped over the fence, palm-leaf-fan-ears flopping and brown trunk and blue tail wob

e fence again. He seemed to develop a very passion for wheeing

f the jumping elephant, but by dint of the frequent repetition of the jumping he began to become disappoint

after Danny had jumped for the t

hant to jump unless he could clear the tight rope, two feet from th

th a "cracker" at the end, and Celia Jane was dancing gracefully about the ring, her tail switching and he

he asked, in the gruff voice which he adopted

"We're playin' circus," he answered with a feeble, placatin

circus? Chris can't

sometimes," C

rn offered, clambering over the

and giving it a sudden jerk. It didn't crack at first, but soon he got the knack of it and cra

ces." That time he tried to crack the whip too near Ce

It ain't no fair makin' it crack so close an' I won't play no more." H

ip must be a little too long, or I wouldn't have sized up the d

proudly, "an' I jump the fen

ing his eyes up to the sky. "A

'funt," pro

r laughed

y it's a el'funt,

agination," was Darn's

asked Danny. "I bet you

d Darn. "Ask me what's right wit

ture of the el'funt-al

like that as I d

ack on Darn and th

s leg for, hangin' dow

l'funt's tail," Danny

ble up with the paroxysms of mirth. "An el'funt's tail! Oh, my gorry!" and again he rocked back and forth,

tory? Hain't you ever seen a picture of an e

t?" Danny asked in

d, like a rope," Jer

t is," was D

so!" excla

," asked Danny, aggrieved, "whe

all the explanation

al history, Danny, and learn how the four-fo

nts' tails are small a

o dumb-head an

rotested Chris and at the

n't no du

feet double up and he jumped down f

bow there's got more sense than both of you put to

ehow knew one thing Danny didn't about el'f

Chris bein' a dumb-head," threatened Dann

t back about Danny's bei

such thing,"

lenged Danny, all his

didn't want to," and Darn doubled up his fists and

ted and quickly divested hi

hris followed his own advice and Darn, seeing himself attacked from two sides, one of

heads! Dumb-heads! Oh, Chris, you blue-eyed beauty

s, incensed at that most horrible of epithets-for hi

d! Blue-eyed beauty!" chanted Darn, thrusting his face bet

d to the fence, whereat Darn took to his heels, shouting, "

he alley he tur

an el'funt's tai

the three boys surveyed the elep

lay any more

ole circus, anyw

could not 'maginary the old green wrapper and the stuffed bro