ouse over there with a little boy and
girl who are very kind to me. Wouldn't you like to come over and see
them?"

"Thank you, no. Not just now," Nero answered. "I'm not much used to
being around houses, though I like boys and girls, for I see many of
them in the circus, and they like to watch me do my tricks. But I have
just run away, and I want to go about by myself a bit more. The men from
the circus may try to catch me, you know."

"Don't you want them to?" asked Blackie.

"Well, not right away," answered the lion. "I want to have some fun by
myself first."

"Well, I must be going," said Blackie after a bit, when she had talked a
little further with Nero. "If ever you're around my house, stop in and
see me. It's right over there, across the hill," and she pointed to it
with her paw.

"I will, thank you," said Nero, switching his tail from side to side.
Then Blackie said goodbye to him, and the cat walked on through the
woods, back toward the house where she lived.

For two or three days Nero wandered about in the woods, and, all this
while, the circus men were hunting everywhere for him. But they could
not find him, for the lion kept well hidden in the woods. And of course,
though Blackie knew he was there, she could not speak man-talk to tell
about him. So Nero remained free and had a good time.

But one day the circus lion felt lonesome. He had met none of his
friends in the woods, and had not seen Blackie again, though he had
looked for her. Nero did meet a little animal who seemed quite friendly.
This was Slicko, the jumping squirrel, and Slicko had a nice talk with
the lion.

"I know what I'll do," said Nero to himself one day. "I'll go over to
that house where Blackie lives and see her."

So Nero started over the hill to go to the house that Blackie had
pointed out as the one in which she lived. And a very strange thing
happened to the circus lion there.

As it happened, when Nero slunk out of the woods, which were near
Blackie's house, no one saw him. In fact none of the family was at home,
having gone visiting for the day. Blackie wasn't at home, either, having
gone down in the cow pasture to hunt grasshoppers, so there was no one
in the house. But Nero did not know that. He went sniffing and snuffing
around, thinking perhaps he could find something to eat, but nothing had
been left out for lions, as Blackie's folks did not know one was roaming
about so near them.

Nero walked softly up to the