kitchen door of the house. The door was
partly open, and this was strange, if the lion had only known it, for
folks don't usually go away and leave doors open behind them. And from
the open door came the smell of something good. It was the smell of
meat, and, in fact, was a boiled ham, which Blackie's mistress had left
in a pot on the stove.

Now the reason the door of the farmhouse was open was because it had
been broken open by a tramp! This tramp, coming to the house to ask for
something to eat and seeing that no one was at home, had broken open the
door. He was going to get something to eat, and then take whatever else
he wanted. And that's why the door was open when Nero walked up to it.
The tramp was in the kitchen, cutting himself some pieces from the cold,
boiled ham.

"My, that smells good!" thought Nero, as he sniffed the meat. "I guess
I'll go in and see if I can't get some."

So Nero, not, of course, knowing anything about the tramp, but wanting
only to get some meat and, perhaps, see his friend Blackie, pushed the
kitchen door open with his nose and walked in.

And then, all of a sudden, that bad, ragged tramp, who had come in to
steal, looked up from the table where he was sitting, eating ham, and
saw the lion.

"Oh, my! Oh, my goodness me!" cried the tramp, and he was so surprised
and frightened that he just slumped down in his chair and didn't dare
move. The piece of meat he had been eating dropped from his hand to the
floor, and Nero picked it up and ate it, licking his jaws for more.

"Oh, this is terrible!" gasped the tramp. "I didn't know this farmer
kept a trained lion as a watchdog. I knew he had a black cat, but not a
lion. Oh, what am I to do?"

Of course Nero didn't in the least know what the man was talking about.
But the lion smelled the meat and he wanted some more; so he sat down in
front of the kitchen door and looked at the ragged man.

"I don't know who you are," said Nero to himself, "and you are
certainly not as nice as my circus trainer.

"But you have some more meat there," Nero thought on, for he could still
smell the ham on the table. "I think you might give me a bit more. That
little piece was hardly enough."

And so Nero sat there looking at the tramp, who was too frightened to
move. He couldn't get out of the door, because the lion was in the way,
and he didn't dare turn his back, to go over to open a window and jump
out, for fear the lion would spring on him.

"Oh