ess toward the trees. "I'll find a good place
to hide in and stay there all night."

It did not take Nero long to find a hiding place. It was a sort of cave
down in between two big rocks in the woods; and it was almost as good as
the cave in which he had lived in the jungle with his father and mother
and Chet and Boo.

"I wish my brother and sister were here now," thought Nero to himself,
as he snuggled down on a bed of dry leaves between the rocks. The leaves
were dry because one rock stretched over them, like a roof. "And if
Switchie were here he and I could have some fun to-morrow, going about
this new jungle," thought the lion boy.

But Switchie, the lion cub with whom Nero used to play, was far off in
Africa, so our circus friend had to stay by himself. He curled up on the
leaves, listened to the swish and patter of the rain, and soon he fell
asleep.

Now while Nero was hiding thus in the cave he had found, the circus men
were anxious to find the lion. They got ropes and lanterns, and had a
new, empty cage made ready, so that, in case Nero were found, he could
be given a new home. Then, while Nero's trainer and some men to help him
hunt for the lion stayed behind, the rest of the circus went on to where
it was to give a show the next day. No matter what happens, the circus
must go on, if there is any of it left to travel. Accidents often
happened like this one--cages getting stuck in the mud and animals
sometimes getting away.

But I'm not going to tell you, just now, about the circus men who stayed
behind to hunt Nero. They did not find the lion very easily. This story
is mostly about Nero, so we shall now see what happened to him.

All night long Nero slept in the cave. It lightened and thundered, but
he did not mind that. Nor did he mind the rain, for though he had been
wet, he liked it, and in the cave under the rock no more water could
splash on him.

When Nero awoke the sun was shining through the leaves and branches of
the trees and down in through the tangle of bushes in front of the cave
where Nero had hidden. The lion rolled over, stretched out his heavy
paws with their big, curved claws, and opened his mouth and yawned, just
as you have often seen your dog or cat yawn after a sleep.

"Well," said Nero to himself, "I guess I'll look around this jungle and
see if I can find any breakfast. I'm hungry, and that nice trainer man
isn't here to give me anything to eat. I'll have to hunt for it myself,