aking
through his long trunk. "Why, this is only the winter barn, where we
stay when the weather is cold. We don't have any shows in winter. The
people don't come in to see us, and we don't do any of our tricks. It is
only when the show goes on the road in summer, with the big white tent,
all covered with gay flags, and the bands playing music, that we have
the good times. Here we just rest, eat, and sometimes learn new tricks."

"Tricks!" exclaimed Nero. "Tricks? Are they something good to eat?"

"Tricks good to eat!" laughed Tum Tum in his jolly voice. "No indeed!
Tricks are things you do. But often, after we do ours well, the trainer
gives us good things to eat."

"I fell into a big hole in the jungle once," said Nero. "Is that a
trick?"

"Not exactly," answered Tum Tum. "Here, I'll show you what a trick is.
This is only one of my easy ones, though," and then suddenly the big
elephant stood on his hind legs, waving his trunk in the air.

"Oh, so that's a trick," said Nero. "Well, I could do that."

But when he tried to stand up on his hind legs in his cage he could not.
He had not learned how to balance himself.

"So you do tricks in a circus, do you?" went on Nero. "That reminds me.
In the jungle I heard some monkeys speak of a circus, and also of a chap
named Mappo. Is he here?"

"He used to be," said Tum Tum. "Mappo was one of our merriest monkeys.
We all liked him, but he went to live with some people. I don't know
where he is now. But he was in this circus. And to think of your meeting
some of his friends in the jungle! Tell me, did you see any of mine?"

"Well, I met lots of elephants," answered Nero, "but I didn't have much
time to stop and talk with them. I met a rhinoceros, though, and he said
something about Chunky, a happy hippo, who used to live in the jungle
near him."

"Oh, Chunky is here, in this very circus!" cried Tum Tum. "But he stays
in a water-tank, so we don't very often see him. He'll be glad to know
you met his rhinoceros friend. I'll tell him the first time I get a
chance. But, speaking of tricks, there's a chap over there who does some
fine ones," and Tum Tum pointed with his trunk to a cage in which was a
shaggy, black animal.

"Who is it?" asked Nero.

"Dido, the dancing bear," answered the elephant. "He dances on a
platform, which is strapped to my back out in the circus rings; he jumps
through a hoop of blazing fire; and he turns somersaults."

"I turned some somersaults