was very large, and had such beautiful wings it might easily
be mistaken for some strange bird.

"We will try to keep them alive," said Harry, "and perhaps we can get
ma's big glass globe to put them in. She has one she used to put wax
flowers under."

"And, oh say!" exclaimed Bert, "couldn't we have an aquarium with
snakes and turtles and toads in?"

"Fine!" declared Harry. "We've got a big glass tank I used to have gold
fish in. We'll get the other fellows to help catch some snakes, fish,
and turtles and toads, and--and anything else that will stand water!"

Then what a time they had hunting for reptiles! It seemed each boy had
a different variety on his premises. August Stout brought three turtles
and Jack Hopkins caught two snakes under a big stone in his back yard.
Tom Mason supplied four lovely gold fish, while Ned Prentice brought
three bright green frogs.

"I can catch hop-toads," declared Freddie, and sure enough the little
fellow brought two big ones and a baby toad in his hat down to the
boys, who had their collection in a glass tank in the barn.

"We can't put the snakes in with the others or they'll eat them up,"
said Jack. "I'll get a big glass jar for the snakes."

"And say!" said Harry. "Will we charge admission to the show?"

"Sure--five cents each," said Tom, "and give the money to the fresh-air
camp over on the mountain."

This was considered a good plan, and now it was only a few days more
until Wednesday--the day of the circus!

CHAPTER XIV

THE CIRCUS

News of the circus had spread from one end of Meadow Brook to the
other. Every boy and girl in the place expected to get in to see the
sights, and even some grown folks had made up their minds, from what
they heard, there would be something interesting for them to see, and
so they decided to go too.

Mrs. Bobbsey, Aunt Sarah, Dinah, and Martha had bought tickets for
reserved seats (these cost ten cents each). Then Mildred Manners was
going to bring her mother and her big sister, and Mabel Herold expected
to have her mother with her also. Mr. Bobbsey was coming up from
Lakeport purposely to see the circus, and Uncle Daniel had helped the
boys put up the seats and fix things generally. A big tent had been
borrowed from the Herolds; they were only out at Meadow Brook for the
summer, and this tent was erected in the open field between the Bobbsey
and the Mason farms, alongside the track where Tom had tried Sable.

The tent had large