Nero, the Circus Lion: His Many Adventures

jungle trap, was very much surprised at what Don, the runaway dog told him. At fi

his cage, saw Don running about and none of the r

e isn't a circus animal at all.

n to know Dido, t

n read all about me, and how I ran away, if you wa

But I can't read, and I don't

e little boy in the house where I live goes to school, and he has books. Some

an wrote about how I ran away, got locked in a freight car, how I went to a stran

l, and some of the sweet, sticky stuff was still on the bear's paws. Dido wanted to get all of it off.

l know, and was now living in a nice home. "And when I was down at the butcher shop this morning and saw the circus wagon

This lion chap is named Nero. He has

ero," barked Don. "I alw

ice. "I think I shall like you, too, Don, though I don

some wild dogs in the jungle, but Nero never saw any, and the nearest he ever came to noticing animals like a dog were the black-backed jackals.

ent before the show began. Don had simply slipped under the side of the tent to get in. If any of the circus men saw him they did not mind, for dog

r tent, next door, and it was there that the men and women performers would do their tricks-riding on

happen, for this was his first day of real life in the circus. Al

e elephants, horses, and camels wore such bright and gail

thers and mothers, all of whom had come to the circus. They moved from cage to cage, stopping to toss popcorn balls to Dido, th

the boys and girls would stop and lo

fierce! I wouldn't wan

ome one else

! Maybe he does tricks! When I gro

d girls, and he was not nearly as wild as he had been when he lived in the jungle. Nero

oys and girls-went out of the animal

ey gone?" aske

aying and where the performance is going on. Yo

or?" as

ught to do them, just as I was taught to dance-so we can make fu

into the larger tent, next to the one where the animals

crowd, as nicely as you did them in the barn at Bridgeport. Don't grow excited. You know I'm

went inside. As soon as he did several of the boys an

ouldn't go into the cage of a

tame, and that the jungle beast liked

icks, Nero!" sa

though of course he only touched the man's cheek with his cold, damp nose, just as, sometimes, your dog puts his nose against your cheek to show

cus crowd, "I will do the best trick of all. I will have Nero, my pet

some little boy in the cr

do that! He might b

t that, even Nero's

now, old fellow, for the last and best trick of all!" cried the man, an

trained in this trick. I didn't say anything about it

ied the trainer, and Nero open

e, as they saw his big, red ton

r, and into the lion's

d then all the crowd cried out, and clapped their hands and

as he pulled his head from Nero's mouth, and bowed

ow you shall have a nice piece of meat, a sweet bone to gnaw, and

o open his mouth and let the man put in his head, but it tickled the lion's tongue a little, so that Ne

e?" asked Nero of Dido, the dancing bear

hey always clap and stamp their feet when anything pleases them

They liked the tricks of Dido, the dancin

gons of the other animals were kept, and Nero was given something goo

about from place to place, and soon became used to doing his tricks, having

ar Nero's cage were some boys, and I am sorry to say they were not all kind boys, though perhaps the

o one of the elephants and see what a

s of fun," said

to fool animals when you know so much more t

, of course, know what they were saying. But he could smell the rotten apple. Often, i

r elephants," thought Nero, as he saw the boy hold ou

at he thought was something good, but Ne

st the bars of his cage, and, reaching out a paw, with its long, sharp

boy was so frightened that he gave a howl and dropped the rotten apple and

hildren screamed and men shouted, Nero's keeper and some of the other animal men

nt