<h2 id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br/> <small>TINKLE DOES SOME TRICKS</small></h2>
<p class="cap">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.</p>
<p>“So you are Dido, the dancing bear, are you?”
asked Tinkle. “And you say you are in a book.
What does that mean?”</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“You see, it’s this way,” went on the dancing
bear. “Years ago I used to live in the woods<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_66"></SPAN>[66]</span>
with my father and mother, sisters and brothers.”</p>
<p>“I never lived in the woods,” said Tinkle, “but
I lived in a big, green field.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“What are tricks?” asked the pony, for he
could speak all animal languages as well as understand
them.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“What are books?” asked Tinkle. “Are they
good, like sugar; and do you eat them?”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“Why do they do that?” asked Tinkle.</p>
<p>“Well, I don’t really know,” said Dido. “But
after they have looked at the books, turning over<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_67"></SPAN>[67]</span>
the white things with the black marks on, called
leaves, the boys and girls laugh.”</p>
<p>“Why?” Tinkle demanded.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“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—”</p>
<p>“Of <em>course</em> it’s fashionable to be in a book!”
exclaimed Dido. “You should see the funny
pictures of <em>me</em> in <em>my</em> book.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_68"></SPAN>[68]</span></p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“Oh, see the bear!” cried Mabel.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“Oh, so that’s a trick, is it?” asked Tinkle in
surprise.</p>
<p>“Yes, and I can do others. Wait, I’m going
to do some more,” went on Dido.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_69"></SPAN>[69]</span></p>
<p>“Oh, that’s great!” cried George.</p>
<p>“Is he a trained bear, Mister?” asked Mabel.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“He is a fine bear,” said George. “I wonder
if he would eat sugar as Tinkle, my pony,
does?”</p>
<p>“Try him and see,” answered the man, with a
laugh.</p>
<p>“Won’t he bite?” asked Mabel, as George took
some lumps of sugar from his pocket.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_70"></SPAN>[70]</span></p>
<p>“Oh, no. Dido never bites,” answered his
master. “He is a very gentle bear.”</p>
<p>George held a lump of sugar on his hand.
Up Dido walked to the little boy.</p>
<p>“Don’t dare bite him!” said Tinkle to Dido,
speaking in animal talk, of course.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“Oh, wasn’t that cute?” cried Mabel.</p>
<p>Then Dido did more tricks, and after Mrs.
Farley had given the man some money he and
Dido walked on down the road.</p>
<p>“Good-by, children!” called the man.</p>
<p>“Good-by,” answered George and Mabel,
waving their hands.</p>
<p>“Good-by, Tinkle!” called Dido. “Perhaps
some day I may see you again.”</p>
<p>“I hope so,” called back the pony. “I want
to hear more about being in a book and about
Tum Tum and Mappo.”</p>
<p>“They are in the circus now, I think,” said
Dido. “If you ever go to the circus you may
meet them.”</p>
<p>“I don’t believe I ever shall,” said Tinkle.
But you just wait and see what happens.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_71"></SPAN>[71]</span></p>
<p>“Well, go for your drive now, children,” said
Mrs. Farley. “And don’t let Tinkle run away
with you.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“Oh, how nice!” cried Mabel, clapping her
hands.</p>
<p>When George and Mabel got back from their
drive George spoke to his father about teaching
Tinkle to do some tricks.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_72"></SPAN>[72]</span></p>
<p>A few days after this Patrick called George
out to the stable yard where Tinkle was standing.</p>
<p>“What are you going to do?” asked George.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>George held out the sugar a few feet away
from Tinkle’s nose. Tinkle could smell it, and
he wanted it very much.</p>
<p>“Go get it!” called Patrick, letting loose the
halter strap he had been holding. “Go get the
sugar, Tinkle.”</p>
<p>Instead of jumping across the stick, as they
wanted him to do, Tinkle walked right against
it and knocked it off the boxes.</p>
<p>“That won’t do!” cried Patrick. “Don’t give
him the sugar, Master George, until he jumps
over the stick.”</p>
<p>So George held the sugar behind his back, and
Tinkle was quite disappointed at not getting it.</p>
<p>“I wonder what they want me to do, and why
they put that stick in front of me?” thought the<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_73"></SPAN>[73]</span>
little 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“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!</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_74"></SPAN>[74]</span></p>
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