o his surprise, he found himself in very much
the same sort of place. But this new cage was larger, and the bars were
of iron instead of wood.

Looking through them Nero could see many other just such cages. He
sniffed, and he smelled the smell of many wild animals which he knew. He
smelled lions, buffaloes, and elephants.

Nero looked around him. He was in a big wooden building, and over to one
side were some elephants. At first Nero could not believe it. He rubbed
his eyes with his paw and looked again.

Yes, surely enough, they were elephants. They were swaying slowly to and
fro, as elephants always sway, and they were stuffing hay into their
mouths with their curling trunks.

"Oh, am I back in the jungle?" asked Nero aloud, speaking in animal
talk.

"The jungle? No, I should say not!" cried a big jolly-looking elephant.
"This isn't the jungle."

"Then what is it?" asked Nero.

"It's a circus," said the elephant. "This is a circus, and we are glad
to have you with us, jungle lion. My name is Tum Tum, what is yours?"

"Nero," was the answer. "And so this is a circus!" went on the lion.
"Well, well! I never thought I'd be here!"

CHAPTER VII

NERO LEARNS SOME TRICKS

Nero thought the circus a very queer place indeed. It was as queer to
him as the wild jungle would be to you if you saw it for the first time.
But strange as it was, the circus, where he now found himself, seemed
much nicer to Nero than being cooped up in the dark ship or in the
freight car.

For there were many wild animals in the circus--other lions, tigers,
elephants, camels, giraffes, several cages of monkeys, some wolves, a
bear or two, and others that Nero did not see until later. And there was
also a queer, wild-animal smell, which Nero liked very much. It was
almost like the smell of the jungle, and it made him homesick when he
thought of the deep tangle of green vines, the thick trees and the
silent pools of water.

"We are glad to have you in our circus," said the elephant, who had
called himself Tum Tum, speaking to Nero. "Of course it isn't very
lively now, but wait until we get out on the road, giving a show every
day in a new place, and traveling about! Then you'll like it!"

"Doesn't the circus stay here every day?" asked Nero, as he looked
across to another lion in a cage. Nero hoped this lion would speak to
him, but the big fellow seemed to be asleep.

"The circus stay here? I should say not!" cried Tum Tum, spe