lock
procession that was to march through the streets. Early in the
morning, Billy was led into the sawdust ring, and a peculiar
saddle like a little platform was strapped to his back. This the
monkey was to dance on, dressed as a ballet girl, with yellow,
spangled skirts, a satin bodice and a blue cap with a feather in
it on his head.

When Billy first saw the monkey in this dress walking on his hind
legs toward him to get on his back, he had a good mind to toss
him up to the top of the tent, he felt so disgusted; but his
curiosity got the better of him and he decided to wait and see
what they expected him to do next. He soon found out. They
wanted him to trot around the ring, and not jump when the ring
master cracked his long lashed whip at him, while the monkey
danced on his back and jumped through paper rings, as the lady
circus riders do.

"This is very easy," thought Billy, "I don't mind this in the
least, only I don't want to go around too many times one way for
it makes me dizzy."

"That will do for this morning, Billy, you are a good goat," said
the man. Just then the monkey jumped off Billy's back, and as he
ran past him, he gave Billy's beard a pull. Like a shot Billy was
after him and had the monkey not run up a pole, Billy would have
killed him. From that time on, Billy and the monkey, whose name
was Jocko, hated each other and an outward peace was only kept up
when someone was around to keep them apart.

The monkey would climb a pole or sit on top of a wagon, or
anything high that was handy, so Billy could not reach him and
then call him names and sauce him until Billy pawed the earth
with rage, which made the monkey laugh. The only one that could
get even with the monkey's tongue was the parrot, and she and the
monkey would sit and sauce each other by the hour.

Billy was about cooled down from his fuss with the monkey, when
he heard a bugle call and the elephant told him that it was the
signal for the procession to start. While Billy had been put
through his paces in the circus ring, the elephants had been
decked out in scarlet blankets embroidered with gold and funny
little summer houses, as Billy thought, strapped to their backs,
in which ladies were to ride. The camels had also been fixed up,
and from four to six horses, with waving plumes on their heads,
had been hitched to each circus wagon.

At another signal from the bugle, they all started to move, led by
the men and women performers,