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diff --git a/old/61847-0.txt b/old/61847-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6be2025..0000000 --- a/old/61847-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3494 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tinkle, the Trick Pony, by Richard Barnum - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Tinkle, the Trick Pony - His Many Adventures - -Author: Richard Barnum - -Illustrator: Walter S. Rogers - -Release Date: April 16, 2020 [EBook #61847] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TINKLE, THE TRICK PONY *** - - - - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -[Illustration: He nosed around among all the flags until he found the -one he knew he wanted, and with that in his teeth he trotted over to -Mr. Drake.] - - - - - _Kneetime Animal Stories_ - - - TINKLE - THE TRICK PONY - - HIS MANY ADVENTURES - - - BY - RICHARD BARNUM - - Author of “Squinty, the Comical Pig,” “Mappo, the - Merry Monkey,” “Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant,” - “Don, a Runaway Dog,” “Flop Ear, the - Funny Rabbit,” etc. - - - _ILLUSTRATED BY - WALTER S. ROGERS_ - - - [Illustration] - - - PUBLISHERS - BARSE & HOPKINS - NEW YORK, N. Y. NEWARK, N. J. - - - - - Copyright, 1917 - by - BARSE & HOPKINS - - Tinkle, The Trick Pony - - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I TINKLE IN THE SWAMP 7 - II TINKLE MAKES TROUBLE 16 - III TINKLE AND GEORGE 26 - IV TINKLE’S NEW HOME 36 - V TINKLE’S FRIENDS 47 - VI TINKLE MEETS DIDO 55 - VII TINKLE DOES SOME TRICKS 65 - VIII TINKLE IS TAKEN AWAY 74 - IX TINKLE IN THE CIRCUS 85 - X TINKLE AND TUM TUM 94 - XI TINKLE IS SAD 103 - XII TINKLE IS HAPPY 111 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - - He nosed around among all the flags until he found the - one he knew he wanted, and with that in his teeth he - trotted over to Mr. Drake _Frontispiece_ - - And the next time he did jump high enough to go over the - fence 23 - - It was the first time Tinkle had ever had any one on his - back 45 - - “Oh, what a nice pony cart!” cried the boys and girls 59 - - It took a little time to make him stand upon his hind - legs without anything on which to rest his front feet 81 - - As Tinkle looked he saw one funny elephant slyly reach - out his trunk and pull the tail of the elephant in - front of him 101 - - George threw his arms around the pony’s neck 117 - - - - -TINKLE, THE TRICK PONY - - - - -CHAPTER I - -TINKLE IN THE SWAMP - - -Tinkle stopped nibbling the sweet, green grass of the meadow, blew a -long breath from his nose, raised his head and looked around. Then he -blinked his eyes slowly, turned to look first on one side, then on the -other, and to himself he said: - -“I’m going to run away!” - -He did not say this aloud for fear some of the other ponies or the -horses would hear him. Oh! I forgot to tell you that Tinkle was a -little pony, that lived in the big green meadow; and, being a pony, of -course Tinkle ate grass, and liked it, too. - -So, as I said, Tinkle stopped eating the grass and said to himself once -more: - -“I’m going to run away!” - -The reason Tinkle did not want the other ponies and the horses to know -what he was going to do was because his mother and father were over -in one corner of the meadow, and if they knew he intended to run away, -they would not let him do it; any more than your mother or father would -let you run away. - -Of course I know that horses sometimes run away when they are -frightened by something, and I suppose ponies, too, may, once in a -while, trot off when they ought not. But that isn’t saying it is right. - -“Yes,” said Tinkle to himself, “I’m going to run away. I’m tired of -staying in this meadow all the while. Why, I’ve been here over a year -now, and there hasn’t a thing happened except a thunder storm now and -then, or a rain shower. I want to see something more than that. I want -to have some fun, and go off to a big city, such as the other horses -tell about. - -“Why, there’s Dapple Gray,” went on Tinkle, looking at an old horse who -had come to the green meadow for a long rest. “I’ve heard Dapple tell -stories about drawing a big shiny wagon that spouted fire and smoke -just like the chimney on the house where The Man lives. That was great! -I’d like to pull the kind of wagon Dapple tells about, and hear the -bells ring and see the sparks fly and the water spout out on the fire. -I wonder what kind of wagon it was?” - -Of course _you_ have guessed. It was a fire engine that Dapple Gray had -pulled, and he never tired of telling the other horses about it. - -Tinkle used often to listen to the stories Dapple Gray and the other -horses told as they gathered in the shade of the clump of trees in the -green meadow after their dinner or their breakfast of sweet, green -grass. - -For Tinkle lived on what is called a stock farm, not far from a big -city. The farm was owned by a person whom the horses called “The Man.” -Really his name was John Carter and he raised horses and ponies to sell -to other men. - -Mr. Carter liked his horses very much, and was very kind to them, and -he loved his little ponies, of whom Tinkle was one. The ponies and the -horses lived in a warm barn in the Winter, but in the Summer they were -“turned out to grass,” and could walk or run all over the big meadow, -and do almost as they pleased. - -Sometimes men would come to the stock farm to buy horses. They might -want one to pull a coal wagon or a wagon from which vegetables were -sold. Some of the horses, like Dapple, were used to haul fire engines, -while others pulled fine carriages in which rode men and women. The -ponies were sold, too, but they were only put to such easy work as -carrying boys and girls around on their backs, or pulling little -carriages in the parks. - -“But nothing like that ever happened to me,” said Tinkle as he began -slowly to walk away. “So I’m going to run off, as far as I can go, and -maybe I’ll have some adventures like Dapple Gray.” - -Tinkle had eaten plenty of the sweet, green grass, so he was no longer -hungry. He did not need to take anything to eat with him when he ran -away. In the first place ponies have no pockets in which to carry -anything, though, of course, if they are hitched to a wagon, that would -hold corn, hay or oats which ponies like to eat. - -But, as for that, all round in the meadow where Tinkle lived was grass -to eat. He had only to stop and nibble some when he was hungry, so he -had no need to carry anything with him. - -“There is more here than I could eat all Summer,” thought the little -pony. “And when I get tired of running away I can just rest myself, eat -grass and then run on some more.” - -Though Tinkle called it “running away” he was really walking. Just as -some children do when they start to run away, they don’t run at all, -but walk. - -One reason why Tinkle did not care to run was that he did not want his -father, mother or the other ponies or the horses to see him. They -might not notice him if he just walked, but if he started to run some -one would be sure to ask: - -“Why, where is that Tinkle pony going now?” - -And then Tinkle’s mother would look up and say: - -“Oh, dear! That silly little pony will get into trouble! I must go and -bring him back.” - -Then she would run after Tinkle, and all his fun would be spoiled. Of -course the ponies and horses in the meadow used often to run about, -kick up their heels and roll over and over on their backs in the soft -grass. But this was only because they felt so good and frisky and -lively that they simply could not do anything else. - -But when the colts ran that way, they nearly always went around in a -circle, like a merry-go-round, only bigger, and the father and mother -horses thought nothing of that. - -“I’m not going to run that way,” said Tinkle to himself. “I’m going far -off.” - -By this time he was quite away from the other horses. But, as he looked -back, he saw them all standing in a circle with their noses close -together. Dapple Gray was in the center of the ring, and Tinkle’s -father and mother were among those on the outside. - -“Dapple is telling another story about how he drew the funny wagon with -the chimney on,” thought Tinkle. “I don’t want to hear that again.” - -Ponies and horses, you know, can talk among themselves and think, just -as we can, only, of course, they can’t think quite as much perhaps, -nor as hard. But if they could not talk among themselves how could the -mother pony tell the little pony what was good to eat and what not? So, -though horses and ponies can’t talk to us in words as we talk to one -another, they do speak among themselves. - -You have often heard horses and ponies whinny, I suppose; and perhaps -that is when they are trying to talk to us, though I must say I never -could understand what they were trying to say. Perhaps some day I may. - -At any rate Tinkle was thinking to himself, as he slowly wandered -across the meadow. He was thinking what wonderful things might happen -to him――adventures and travels. - -On and on he wandered, looking back now and then to make sure neither -his father nor his mother nor any of the others saw him. But they were -listening to Dapple Gray tell of once falling down in the street while -drawing the fire engine and how nearly a trolley car ran over him. - -And the other horses liked the story so much that none of them thought -of Tinkle, or looked at him. They listened to Dapple Gray. - -The other young ponies, many of whom were about the size of Tinkle, -were down at the far end of the meadow, having a game of what you -would, perhaps, call tag, though what the ponies called it I do -not know. Probably they had some funny name among themselves like -“hoof-jump” or “tail-wiggle,” or something like that. - -Anyhow, they were having so much fun among themselves that none of them -paid any attention to Tinkle. - -“They won’t see me at all,” thought the little pony. “I’ll run away -where they can never find me.” - -Of course Tinkle was not doing this to be bad, but he was just tired of -staying in one place so long, and he wanted to have adventures. - -On and on he wandered, and finally he came to a fence. Now the fence -was put around the meadow to keep the horses and the ponies from -getting out. But Tinkle had heard stories of horses jumping fences so -he thought he would try it; for he was not strong enough to push down -the fence, as he had once heard of Bellow, the big black bull, doing. - -Standing off a little way from the fence Tinkle ran toward it, gave a -jump up in the air, and then――he did not get over the fence. Instead he -fell against it and hurt himself. - -“Ha! that is no fun!” thought Tinkle. “I must jump higher next time.” -And the next time he did jump high enough to go over the fence, coming -down on the other side, kerplunk! - -“At last I have really run away,” thought the little pony. - -He found himself in another green meadow, but it was not as nice as the -one he had left. The grass was longer, but it was hard and tough, and -hurt Tinkle’s mouth and tongue when he chewed it. - -“But I don’t have to eat it,” said the little pony. “I can wait until I -get to where there is better grass. I’m not very hungry.” - -So he walked on a little farther, and pretty soon he came to some -trees. In and out among them he wandered, and when he stopped to look -back he found that he could no longer see the meadow in which he had -lived so long with his father, his mother and the other ponies and the -horses. - -“And they can’t see me, either,” thought Tinkle. “They won’t know where -I’ve gone, so they can’t find me. I’m going to have a good time all by -myself, and there’ll be nobody to say: ‘Don’t do this. Don’t do that’; -as they always do when I’m in the green meadow.” - -On and on went Tinkle and soon he was quite a long distance from what -had been his home. Then he noticed that the ground, instead of being -hard and firm under his hoofs, was getting soft and springy, and that -his feet sank down in it a little way. He saw, too, that when he lifted -his hoofs from the marks they left little pools of water in the holes -they made. - -“This is queer,” thought Tinkle. “I must be getting near the lake I -have heard my father tell about. I wonder if I can swim?” - -Tinkle looked about, and just ahead he saw a puddle of water. It was -too small for a lake, but there was enough of it for him to splash in, -and, as he was now thirsty, he ran on to get a drink. And then a queer -thing happened. - -Just before Tinkle reached the water he felt his legs and hoofs sinking -down in the soft ground. He tried to lift his left front foot, but -could not. And his right hind foot was also stuck fast. - -“Oh, dear! What has happened to me?” cried poor Tinkle. “I can’t move!” - -And really he could not. Tinkle was caught fast in the sticky mud of a -big swamp! - - - - -CHAPTER II - -TINKLE MAKES TROUBLE - - -Dapple Gray had just finished telling the story of his being caught -under the trolley car, the time he was drawing the fire engine. - -“And so,” went on the old horse, “men came and pushed the car off my -legs. The firemen loosened my harness and then I could get up.” - -“Weren’t you hurt?” asked Mrs. Chestnut, who was called that because -she was colored brown. - -“Well, my legs _were_ a bit scratched, and I had some bruises on -my side, but I could still run and pull the engine. You see we -horses couldn’t stop whenever we wanted to. We had to pull the funny -chimney-wagon to where the fire was blazing so the men could squirt -water on it. - -“Men are queer,” went on Dapple Gray. “They’ll build a big fire in a -house so the house almost burns up, and then they’ll make us horses run -like mad to draw water to put it out. I never could understand it.” - -Of course Dapple Gray did not know that the house caught fire by -accident and that it had to be put out for fear other houses near it -might burn. - -“And so you ran on, even if your legs were cut?” asked Tinkle’s father. - -“Oh, yes, of course,” replied Dapple Gray. “The cuts hurt me, but when -I got back to the stable the firemen put some cooling salve on the -wounds and bound my legs up with white rags so they felt better.” - -“Well, I don’t believe I’d like that,” said Tinkle’s mother. “Life is -too exciting in the city. I like it best in this quiet country meadow, -where you can eat grass whenever you like, or rest in the shade when -you are tired.” - -“Look at those ponies having fun down there,” said another horse, -pointing with his nose toward the group that was playing tag. “I -remember when I was young I liked to play that way.” - -“Is Tinkle there?” asked the pony’s father. “He is one of the best -taggers I’ve ever seen. When he grows a little bigger he’ll be a fine -racer, I think.” - -Tinkle’s mother looked toward where the ponies were running about, -touching one another with their hoofs or noses, or switching at one -another with their frisky tails. - -“I don’t see Tinkle,” she said. - -“Oh, he _must_ be there,” said Tinkle’s father. “I’ll go and look.” - -Off he trotted to where the other colts were playing. He looked at them -for a little while, but he did not see Tinkle among them. - -“That’s queer,” thought the father pony. “Tinkle likes tag so much, I -wonder why he isn’t here?” - -He stood still, looking more closely, to make sure he had not missed -the little pony; but no, Tinkle was not there. - -“I’ll ask some of them,” said the father pony to himself. So, giving -a loud whinny, to make himself heard above the noise the tag-playing -ponies were making, the father pony asked: - -“Have any of you seen our Tinkle?” - -“No, I haven’t,” said a little brown pony. - -“Nor I,” added one who was speckled brown and white. - -“I saw him a while ago, eating grass,” answered a third. - -“He hasn’t been playing tag with us this morning,” added a fourth pony, -who had a very long tail. - -“I wonder where Tinkle can be,” murmured his father. - -Then up spoke a little pony with a white spot on his back. - -“I saw Tinkle going over that way,” he said, and he raised his hoof and -pointed toward a fence on the far side of the field. - -“Did you really see him going that way?” asked the father pony. - -“I really did,” answered the little pony. - -“Oh my! That’s too bad!” thought Tinkle’s father to himself, but he did -not say this to the ponies, for he did not want to frighten them. Well -did the older pony know of the dangerous swamp that was on the other -side of the fence. - -“If he is in the sticky bog-mud we’ll have trouble getting him out,” -said the father pony to himself. “I must go back and tell some of the -others. But I don’t want Tinkle’s mother to know. What shall I do?” - -The father pony trotted back to where Dapple Gray and the others stood. - -“Well, was he there?” asked Tinkle’s mother. - -Tinkle’s father shook his head. - -“Where is he then?” - -“Oh, he probably went off for a little walk by himself. I’ll go and -find him,” and he tried to speak easily. - -“But I don’t see him anywhere!” and the mother pony looked anxiously -about the big green meadow. She could see every corner of it, and -Tinkle was not in sight. - -“Now you just stay here, and I’ll bring him back,” said Tinkle’s -father quietly. At the same time he nodded his head at Dapple Gray and -one or two of the other men-horses, and two or three of his closest -friends among the men-ponies. They moved away together. Tinkle’s mother -looked at them as if to say: - -“I wonder if anything could have happened?” - -“What’s the matter?” asked Dapple Gray in a low voice of Tinkle’s -father, speaking in horse-talk, of course. - -“I’m not sure, but I’m afraid Tinkle has jumped the fence and has gone -over to the big swampy bog,” was the answer. “If he has, and is stuck -fast, we’ll have to go and get him out. But I don’t want his mother to -know it.” - -The men-animals walked over toward the fence. Tinkle’s father looked -down at the ground. He saw little hoof marks. - -“Yes, Tinkle has been here,” he said. “I can see where he ran to get a -good start so he could jump over the fence.” - -“He is a good jumper to do that,” remarked one of the horses. - -“Yes, Tinkle is a good jumper, for a colt,” said his father. “I think -he will be very smart when he grows up. But he should not jump fences -into the swamp. That is not right.” - -“How are we going to get over the fence to help him if he is stuck?” -asked Dapple Gray. - -“Can’t we jump?” another horse inquired. - -“Maybe you can, but I can’t,” returned Dapple Gray. “One of my legs is -stiff, where I was hurt by the trolley car. Once I could easily have -jumped over that fence, but I’m afraid I can’t do it now.” - -“I don’t know whether I can either,” observed Tinkle’s father. “I’m -not so young as I once was. But if we all push together I think we can -knock the fence down. Then we can get through to see what has happened -to my pony boy. We want you to come along, Dapple, because you have -been in the big city where all sorts of things happen to horses. You’ll -know what is best to do.” - -“Thank you,” whinnied Dapple Gray. “I’ll do my best.” - -Together the big horses and the ponies pushed at the fence. Tinkle’s -mother watched them, and when she saw what was being done she became -frightened. - -“Something dreadful must have happened to Tinkle,” she said. “I can’t -stay here. I’m going to see what it is.” - -So she began to run toward the men-animals. By this time they were -giving a second push to the fence, and, as they were very strong, they -knocked off some boards so they could get through. - -“Now we’ll see what has happened to Tinkle,” said his father. “Tinkle! -Tinkle! Where are you?” he called. - -But Tinkle did not answer, for he was far away in the swamp, and just -then he was splashing around in the mud and water trying to pull loose -his feet from the sticky place. - -“We’ll have to go farther on into the swamp,” said Dapple Gray, when -they had waited a minute to see if Tinkle would answer. - -“But we must be careful,” said one horse, slowly picking his steps. -“This is soft ground here. See how deep my hoofs sink.” - -“Indeed it _is_ a bad place,” agreed Tinkle’s father. “I hope nothing -happens to us. Be careful, every one.” - -Slowly the horses and the ponies walked along, picking out the hardest -and firmest ground they could find on which to step, especially the -horses, for they were, of course, heavier than the most grown-up pony. -Now and then all stopped to listen, and Tinkle’s father would call the -pony’s name. At last one of the horses said: - -“Hark! I think I heard something.” - -They all listened. Through the trees of the swamp came a call: - -“Help me! Help me!” - -“That’s Tinkle!” cried his father. “We’re coming, Tinkle. Where are -you?” he asked. - -[Illustration: And the next time he did jump high enough to go over the -fence.] - -“I’m over here, and I’m stuck in the swamp. I can’t get my feet out of -the mud!” - -“I thought so!” exclaimed Dapple Gray. “Just like a foolish little -pony! Now we must get him out.” - -So anxious was he to help his little pony that Tinkle’s father galloped -on ahead. Some of the others did the same. They did not listen to -Dapple calling: - -“Wait! Be careful! Look out or you’ll be caught in the swamp -yourselves!” - -On and on ran Tinkle’s father and the others. They could tell which way -to go by hearing Tinkle’s voice calling to them, just as your dog can -tell where you are, even though he can not see you, when he hears you -whistling to him. - -“There he is! I see him!” cried Tinkle’s father as he came in sight of -the pool of water, on the edge of which the pony was stuck in the mud. - -“We’re coming! We’re coming, Tinkle!” he cried. - -Then something dreadful happened. Tinkle’s father, and four or five of -his friends, became stuck in the swamp mud also. Their feet sank away -down, for they were heavier than Tinkle, and, try as they did, they -could not lift themselves out. - -“Oh!” cried Tinkle’s father. “We are caught too!” - -Only Dapple Gray had not been caught. He had run slowly, fearing -something like this might happen. - -Just see what trouble Tinkle made by running away! For it was really -his fault that the other ponies and the horses became mired, though of -course Tinkle had not meant to do wrong. He had not thought; but often -not thinking makes as much trouble as doing something on purpose. - -“Help! Help!” cried Tinkle’s father. “We are caught in the mud too.” - -“Oh, dear!” whinnied Tinkle. - -Dapple Gray saw what the matter was. - -“Keep quiet, all of you!” he said. “The more you flop about, the deeper -you will sink in the mud. I’ll go and get The Man to come with ropes -and pull you out. He and his helpers are the only ones who can save you -now. This is no work for us horses alone. I’ll go for help.” - -And, leaving Tinkle and the others stuck in the swamp, back to the -green meadow ran Dapple Gray. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -TINKLE AND GEORGE - - -Dapple Gray, running toward the hole which the horses had made by -pushing against the fence, met Tinkle’s mother going into the swamp. - -“Oh, my dear lady!” exclaimed the old fire horse, “you must not go in -there! You really must not!” - -“Why?” asked Tinkle’s mother. “Oh, I’m sure something dreadful has -happened! Tell me what it is. Is Tinkle――Is Tinkle――” and she could not -ask any more. - -“Now, it isn’t as bad as you think,” said Dapple Gray. “Horses and -ponies have been caught in the swamp before. I remember when I was a -young colt I――” - -“Oh, is my little Tinkle caught in the bog?” asked his mother. - -“Yes, I am sorry to say he is, and so are some of the other ponies and -horses――Tinkle’s father among them,” said Dapple Gray. “But don’t be -worried. All they will have to do will be to stay there until we can -get The Man to come with ropes and pull them out. They won’t be a bit -the worse for the adventure after they wash the mud off. Now please -don’t go in there, my dear lady-horse, or you might get stuck too; and -goodness knows there is trouble enough!” - -“Oh, I am so sorry Tinkle made trouble!” exclaimed his mother. “He is -usually such a good little pony――” - -“Oh well, boys will be boys!” exclaimed Dapple Gray, or he said -something about like that which meant the same thing. And you all know -how frisky colts are; always kicking up their heels and never knowing -where they are going to land. - -“Of course Tinkle didn’t do exactly right in running away and making -this trouble,” said Dapple Gray in a kind voice. “But then it will be a -lesson to him, and he won’t do it again, I’m sure.” - -“I should think once _would_ be enough,” sighed his mother. “But are -you sure I can not do anything to help?” - -“Not in there,” said Dapple Gray, nodding his head toward the swamp. -“But you can come with me, if you like, and we’ll go to get The Man to -help pull Tinkle and the others out of the swamp.” - -“Yes, I’ll do that!” whinnied Tinkle’s mother. - -So she and Dapple Gray ran back to the green meadow. - -“What is it? What is it?” asked all the other animals that were waiting -by the hole in the fence. These were the horses and the ponies who had -not gone into the swamp. - -Dapple Gray quickly told them of the trouble. At the same time he said: - -“Don’t any of you go in there. The ground is too soft now and if a lot -of you horses trample on it that will make it so much the softer, and -The Man and his friends will have trouble getting in with their ropes -and boards. So please keep out.” - -The horses promised they would, while Dapple Gray and Tinkle’s mother -ran as fast as they could across the meadow. They wanted to get to the -long lane which led to the barn, not far from which was the house where -lived “The Man,” as the horses called Mr. John Carter, the stock dealer. - -“How are we going to tell him that Tinkle and the others are in the -mire?” asked the pony’s mother. “We can’t talk man-talk, you know.” - -“Yes, I know,” said Dapple Gray. “But I guess I can find a way to make -him understand. I know what I’ll do,” he said, as he galloped on. “I’ll -pick up a piece of rope in the barn and take it to The Man in my teeth. -He’ll know that means we want him to bring other ropes and get the -horses out of the swamp.” - -“I hope he will understand,” said Tinkle’s mother. - -“Oh, I think he will,” replied Dapple Gray, hopefully. - -As they ran past the barn, the big doors of which were open, the old -fire horse trotted inside. He looked about, and on the floor he saw a -piece of rope. Picking this up in his teeth, Dapple Gray, with Tinkle’s -mother, ran on toward the house. Out in the back yard stood Mr. Carter -talking to some of his hands. - -“Look!” suddenly called one of the men. “Some of the horses are out of -the meadow. They’re coming here!” - -“So they are!” ejaculated Mr. Carter. “I wonder what that means.” - -“And Dapple Gray has a rope in his teeth,” went on the man. - -“Why, so he has!” exclaimed Mr. Carter. “I wonder what _that_ means.” - -Right up to where the stock breeder and his men stood ran Dapple Gray -and Tinkle’s mother. The old fire horse stretched out his neck and -shook his head up and down, the rope flapping to and fro. He seemed to -be offering it to Mr. Carter. - -“Ha! Dapple wants something,” said the stockman. “I wonder what it is. -I wish he could talk.” - -And then Dapple Gray did something which was almost as good as talking. -He rubbed the rope that was in his mouth against Mr. Carter’s hand, -and then, dropping it at his feet, took hold of the man’s coat in his -teeth. Then the old fire horse began to pull gently, just as often a -dog, when it finds some one in danger, will try to lead somebody to the -place to help. - -“Why!” cried the surprised Mr. Carter. “I believe Dapple wants me to -come with him.” - -“That’s what he does!” exclaimed one of the hands. - -“But what about the rope?” asked another. - -“Maybe he wants me to bring that, too,” observed the stockman. “I -wonder if anything can have happened to the horses?” - -“I’ll go and take a look,” offered Mr. Carter’s overseer. He quickly -ran to a place where he could look down into the green meadow. - -“What is it?” asked Mr. Carter. - -“All the horses seem to be over near a hole in the fence,” the man -reported. “And some seem to be missing. I don’t see that little pony, -Tinkle, anywhere.” - -“Whew!” whistled Mr. Carter. “Something certainly has happened. This is -Tinkle’s mother,” he went on, looking at Dapple’s companion. - -“Wouldn’t it be queer if Tinkle were in trouble, and she had come to -get you to help him?” asked the overseer. - -And of course you and I know that is just what Tinkle’s mother did -want, but the stockman and his helpers did not know that yet. - -“I think I see what the trouble is!” suddenly cried Mr. Carter. “Some -of the animals must have broken down the fence and gotten into the -swamp! They’re mired there! We must get ropes and haul them out. Smart -horse, is Dapple to tell me that! I’ll come right away. Come on, men! -Lively now.” - -The man ran toward the barn for ropes, led by Mr. Carter. Though Dapple -and Tinkle’s mother could not understand what the men said, they knew -that help would soon be carried to Tinkle and the others held fast -in the mud. They trotted along after the men, who were talking among -themselves. - -Of course horses and ponies understand some man-talk, else how would -they know they are to stop when a man says “Whoa!” or to start when -they hear “Gid-dap!” or to back when told to do so. But it takes a -little time for a horse to get to know these words, just as it does -your dog to know you want him to run toward you when you say: “Come -here!” or go back when you point toward home, and tell him to go there. - -“Things will be all right now,” said Dapple Gray to Tinkle’s mother, -using horse-talk, of course. “The Man will soon have all the horses and -ponies out of the bog.” - -“Oh, I’m so glad you thought of a way to tell him,” said Tinkle’s -mother. - -Taking some ropes and planks out of the barn, Mr. Carter and his men -ran on toward the green meadow. It did not take them long to reach the -broken fence. - -“Here’s where the rascals got through to the swamp!” cried Mr. Carter. -“I must make the fence much stronger.” - -Of course he did not know that Tinkle had made all the trouble by first -jumping over the fence. The others had only broken it down to go to -help the boy-pony. - -“Come on!” cried the stockman. “That bog is a bad place. If they sink -down too far we’ll never be able to get them up again. Come on, I say!” - -On ran the men with the planks and the ropes. They soon came to the -place where the horses and ponies were mired, as it is called. - -“Tinkle is in deeper than any of them,” said Mr. Carter. “We must get -him out first.” - -The men laid down the wide planks. The pieces of wood were so broad -that they did not sink down in the soft mud, any more than wide snow -shoes will sink down when an Indian, or any man, walks on them. - -Then, standing on the planks, the men put ropes about Tinkle and began -to pull on them. They also laid down planks near him so that when he -got one foot out of the mire he could put it on a plank and it would -not sink down again. - -After some hard work and much pulling on the ropes, which hurt the -little pony, Tinkle was pulled out of the swamp, and led to firm, dry -ground, back in the meadow. - -“And now you’d better stay there,” said Mr. Carter. “Don’t try a thing -like this again.” - -“No indeed, you must never do it again!” said Tinkle’s mother, for she -could tell by Mr. Carter’s voice that he was, in a way, scolding the -pony. “See what a lot of trouble you made your father and me, as well -as Dapple Gray and our other friends,” said Tinkle’s mother. - -“I――I’m sorry,” said the little pony. “I’m never going to run away -again.” - -“And see how muddy and dirty you are,” went on his mother. “You had -better go to the brook and wash yourself.” - -“Oh, let me stay and watch them get my father and the others out of the -swamp,” begged Tinkle, so his mother let him stay. - -It was not quite so hard to get the others out as it had been to save -Tinkle, for they were not so deep in the mud. But it took Mr. Carter -and his men quite a while. Finally, however, the ponies and the horses -were all saved from the swamp. - -“And I hope they never get caught that way again,” said the stockman, -while Tinkle and the ponies and the horses hoped the same thing. - -After the mud was washed off them, the animals were not much worse off -for what had happened. Tinkle was sorry and ashamed for all the trouble -he had caused, and he told the other ponies and his horse-friends so. - -For some time after this Tinkle lived with his father, mother and -friends in the green meadow. He played with the other children-ponies, -but he did not try to run away again. He did want to have some -adventures, though, and he was soon to have some very strange ones. - -One day, about a year later, a rich man called at the stock farm to buy -a horse for his carriage. With the man, who was a Mr. Farley, was his -son George, about nine years old. - -“Yes, I have some good carriage horses,” said Mr. Carter to Mr. Farley. -“Suppose you come down to the meadow and pick out the one you like -best.” - -“May I come too?” asked George. - -“Yes, I think so,” answered his father. “The horses won’t kick; will -they?” he questioned. - -“Oh, not at all,” answered Mr. Carter. “They are all gentle.” - -So George went with his father to look at the horses. But no sooner had -the little boy caught sight of the ponies than he cried: - -“Oh, see the little horses. I want one of them. Please, Daddy, buy me a -pony!” - -“Eh? What’s that? Buy you a pony!” cried his father, half teasing. “Why -you couldn’t ride a pony.” - -“Oh, yes I could!” said the little boy. “Anyhow I could drive him -hitched to a pony cart.” - -“But we haven’t a pony cart.” - -“Well, couldn’t you get one? Oh, please get me a pony, Daddy!” - -“Ah, um! Well, which one would you want, if you could have one?” asked -Mr. Farley, half in fun. - -George looked over the ponies who were cropping grass not far away. The -boy’s eyes rested longest on Tinkle, for Tinkle was a pretty pony, with -four white feet and a white star right in the middle of his head. - -“This is the pony I want!” cried George, and, before his father could -stop him the boy ran straight to Tinkle and put his arms around the -pony’s neck. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -TINKLE’S NEW HOME - - -“George! George! Come away!” cried his father. “That pony may kick or -bite you!” - -“Oh, no, Tinkle won’t do that,” said Mr. Carter. “Tinkle is a gentle -pony, which is more than I can say of some I have. A few of them are -quite wild. But the only bad thing Tinkle ever did was, one day, to -leave the meadow and get mired in a swamp. But I got him out.” - -“He wasn’t really bad, was he?” asked George, who was standing near the -pony, patting him. - -“Well, no, I guess you wouldn’t call it exactly bad,” said the stockman -with a smile. “Tinkle just didn’t know any better. He wanted to have -some fun, perhaps; but I guess he won’t do that again.” - -“I won’t let him run away when I have him,” said George. - -“Oh, ho!” cried Mr. Farley with a laugh. “So you think you are going to -have Tinkle for your own, do you?” - -“Won’t you get him for me?” begged the little boy. “Mabel and I could -have _such_ fun riding and driving him.” Mabel was George’s sister. She -was a year younger than he. - -“Do you think it would be safe for a little boy like mine to have a -pony?” asked Mr. Farley of the stockman. - -“Why, yes, after Tinkle is trained a bit,” said Mr. Carter. “He has -never been ridden or driven, but I could soon get him trained so he -would be safe to use both ways. Do you think you want to buy him?” - -“Well, I might,” said Mr. Farley slowly. He was thinking whether it -would be best or not. He did not want either of his little children to -be hurt by a pony that might run away. - -“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” said the owner of the stock farm. “I’ll -sell you a horse for yourself, and then I’ll start at once to teach -Tinkle what it means to have some one on his back, and also how he must -act when he is hitched to a pony cart. I am going to train some of -the other ponies, and I’ll train him also. He is old enough now to be -trained. Then you and your little boy come back in about two weeks and -we’ll see how George likes Tinkle then,” finished Mr. Carter. - -“Oh, I’ll love him all the more!” cried George. “I love him now, and -I want him for my very own! He is a fine pony!” and once more George -patted the little creature. - -“You couldn’t do that to some of the ponies,” said Mr. Carter, as he -and George’s father walked back toward the house. “They would be too -wild, and would not stand still. But Tinkle is a smart little chap.” - -“Good-by!” called George to Tinkle as the small boy walked away with -his father. “I’ll come back to see you soon,” and he waved his hand at -Tinkle and Tinkle waved his tail at George. At least George thought so, -though I imagine that Tinkle was only brushing off a tickling fly. - -But one thing I do know, and that was that Tinkle really liked the -little boy who patted him so nicely. - -“He has very nice, soft hands,” said Tinkle to Curley Mane, another -pony, as they cropped the sweet grass together. “I’m sure he would be -good to me.” - -“Are you going to live with him?” asked Curley Mane. - -“Oh, I don’t know,” Tinkle answered. “But I’ve always noticed that -whenever any strange men or boys come to the farm here, in a few days -afterward some of the horses or ponies go away, and I guess the men and -boys take them.” - -“Yes, that is right,” said old Dapple Gray walking up beside the two -ponies. “You’ve guessed it, Tinkle. The Man, here, raises us horses to -sell. I’ve been sold more than once.” - -“Is it nice to be sold?” asked Tinkle. - -“Well, it all depends,” was the answer. “The first place I was sold to -was not nice. I had to draw a grocery wagon through the streets, and -the boy who sat on the seat used to strike me with a whip.” - -“What did you do?” asked Curley Mane. - -“Well, I’m sorry to say I ran away. It wasn’t the right thing to do, -only I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stand being beaten. The boy fell -off the seat of the wagon, I ran so fast, and he bumped his nose. Then -the wagon was smashed and I was cut and bruised and I had a terrible -time,” said Dapple Gray. - -“Then the grocery man brought me back here, saying he didn’t want me, -and after that I was sold to some men that made me draw the big shiny -wagon that had a chimney spouting flames and smoke. I was treated well -there. I had a nice stall with plenty of hay to eat and clean straw -to sleep on. Sometimes I had oats, and I got so I could run very fast -indeed. - -“But it was hard work, and I soon grew tired. So they brought me back -here again. That’s what being sold means. You never can tell where -you’re going.” - -“Do you think some of the horses here were sold to that man and little -boy?” asked Tinkle. - -“We can tell pretty soon,” answered Dapple Gray, “by watching to see if -any horses or ponies are taken away.” - -And, surely enough, the next day one of the men on the stock farm -took away one of the horses. He was called Hobble by the other horses -because, when he was a colt, he hurt his foot on a sharp stone and had -to hobble for a week or two. But he soon got over that. And Hobble was -the horse George’s father had bought for himself, though Mr. Carter -named the horse Prince. - -“Good-by!” called Hobble, or as we must call him, Prince, to his -friends as he was led away from the stock farm. “Maybe I’ll see some of -you again before long.” - -“I don’t believe so,” called back Dapple Gray. But neither he nor any -one else knew what was going to happen to Tinkle. - -When Prince had been driven to a big city, a few miles away from the -stock farm, he was taken into a nice clean stable where there were one -or two other horses. - -“Ah, so that’s the new horse I bought, is it?” asked a voice, and -looking behind him, from where he was tied in his stall, Prince saw Mr. -Farley. Of course Prince did not know the man’s name but he knew he -was the same one who had been at the stock farm. - -“I wonder,” thought Prince, “where the little boy is that was patting -Tinkle.” - -He did not have to wonder long for he soon heard another voice calling: - -“Oh, Daddy! Did the new horse come?” - -“Yes, he’s in his stall,” said Mr. Farley. - -“And did he bring Tinkle?” asked George. - -“No, not yet. Tinkle won’t be ready for a week or so. And I am not sure -I am going to get him for you.” - -“Oh, yes you are, Daddy! I know you are when you smile that way!” cried -Mabel, who, with her little brother, had come out to the stable. “Won’t -we have fun, George,” she cried gaily, “when we have a pony of our own?” - -“We surely will!” said George. - -“Don’t be _too_ sure,” returned Mr. Farley, but he could not keep his -eyes from laughing, even if his lips did not smile. - -Prince soon made friends with the other horses in Mr. Farley’s stable, -and they rubbed noses and talked among themselves in a way that all -horses have. - -And now I must go back to the stock farm to see how Tinkle is getting -on, for this story is mostly about him. - -“Well,” said Mr. Carter to one of his men a day or two after Prince had -been sold and taken to Mr. Farley, “I think it is time we started to -train Tinkle, if that little boy George is to have him. We want to get -the pony used to having a saddle on his back, and also teach him how to -draw a pony cart.” - -So Tinkle began to have his first lessons, for animals like horses -and dogs, as well as trained animals in a circus, have to be taught -lessons, just as you are taught lessons in school. Only, of course, the -lessons are different. - -Tinkle was driven into the stable yard and while one of the men was -patting him and giving him some oats to eat――which Tinkle liked very -much――another man slipped some leather straps over the pony’s head. -Tinkle did not like this, for never, in all his life, had he felt -anything tied on his head before. He tried to run away and shake it -off, but he found himself held tightly by a long strap, which was fast -to the other straps on his head. - -“I wonder what in the world this is?” thought Tinkle, when he found -he could not shake off the straps. Afterward he learned it was a -halter, which is the rope, or strap, that is used to keep a horse or -pony tied in his stall. Sometimes the straps, or ropes, are called a -“head-stall.” - -So this is what Tinkle was held fast by, and when he found that no -amount of pulling or shaking would get it off his head he stood quietly. - -“Maybe if I am good they’ll take it off anyhow,” he thought. - -But Tinkle had many more lessons to learn. I will not tell you all -about them here, because I know lessons aren’t any too much fun, though -we all have to learn them. - -So I’ll just say that after Tinkle had become used to the halter he was -given a bridle. This was not so nice, as there was an iron thing fast -to it, called a “bit,” and this had to go in Tinkle’s mouth so he could -be driven. - -“Oh, I don’t like this at all!” cried Tinkle as he tried to get the bit -out from between his teeth. But it was held fast by straps, and a man -pulled first on one strap, and then on the other, hauling Tinkle’s head -to the left or right. Soon the pony found that when his bit was pulled -to the left it meant he was to walk or run that way, and so, also, when -the other strap, or rein, was pulled, he must go to the right. After a -while he did not mind the bit at all. - -Next Tinkle had to learn to have a saddle fastened to his back. First -a blanket was strapped on him, and Tinkle tried to get this off by -rolling over and over. But the blanket stayed on, for it was fastened -by straps, and soon the little pony did not mind that. Then when the -saddle was put on he thought it was only another kind of blanket at -first, and when he came to know (for his mother told him) that all -horses and ponies had to wear saddles part of the time Tinkle did not -mind that. - -Tinkle was frightened when one of the boys on the stock farm got in the -saddle on the pony’s back to have a ride. It was the first time Tinkle -had ever had any one on his back and he really was quite frightened. -But he soon grew used to that also, and trotted around, walking and -running as the boy told him to. - -“Well, Tinkle is learning quickly!” said Mr. Carter one day. “As soon -as he learns to draw a pony cart he will be ready for that boy George -to drive.” - -Being hitched to a cart, with harness straps all over him, did not feel -comfortable to Tinkle at first. - -“I don’t like this at all!” he thought. “It isn’t any fun!” But -he found he could not get away from the cart, which followed him -everywhere because he was hitched fast to it. Then he was driven about, -made to turn around, and to the left and to the right by a boy who rode -in the pony cart. - -[Illustration: It was the first time Tinkle had ever had any one on his -back.] - -“Well, I might as well make up my mind to it,” said Tinkle, telling the -other ponies what had happened to him. - -“Yes, indeed,” remarked Dapple Gray. “That is what you ponies and we -horses are for――to give people rides, or to pull their wagons. That is -our life and if you are good you will be treated kindly.” - -“Then I am going to be good,” said Tinkle. - -In another week the pony could be ridden or driven very easily, and Mr. -Carter sent word to Mr. Farley to come and bring George with him to the -stock farm. - -“Oh, what a fine pony he is!” cried the little boy as he saw how easily -Tinkle was ridden and driven. “Do get him for me, Daddy!” - -“Yes, I think I’ll buy him,” said Mr. Farley, so he paid Mr. Carter -for the pony. Tinkle was taken to his new home, George and his father -riding in the pony cart. Mr. Farley drove, but let George hold the -reins part of the time. - -“For you must learn to drive if you are going to have a real live -pony,” said George’s father. - -So Tinkle left the stock farm, and went to live in his new home, a big -city stable. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -TINKLE’S FRIENDS - - -“Well, I never expected to see you here!” exclaimed a whinnying voice -as Tinkle was led into his stall. The little pony looked up in surprise -and saw a big horse. - -“Oh! Why, hello, Hobble!” cried Tinkle, as he saw the horse that used -to live on the stock farm with him. - -“My name isn’t Hobble any more――it’s Prince.” - -“Oh, well. Hello, then, Prince!” called Tinkle in a cordial, off-hand -manner, for he now felt quite grown up. Had he not been hitched up, and -had he not carried a boy on his back? “I didn’t know you were here.” - -“And I didn’t know _you_ were coming,” observed Prince. “How is -everything back on the farm?” - -“Oh, there’s not much change. I was sorry to come away and leave my -father and mother.” - -“Well, that’s the way things happen in this world,” said Prince. “We -are colts for a little while, and then some of us grow to be big -horses or grown-up ponies and have to go away from our friends. It’s -just the same with men and women, I’ve heard. But you’ll like it here.” - -“Is it nice?” asked Tinkle. - -“Nice? I should say it is! Of course, I miss being out in the big, -green, grassy meadow. But I get plenty to eat here, and every day a man -scratches my back――” - -“Scratches your back?” cried Tinkle. “I don’t believe I should like -that!” - -“Oh, yes you will,” said Prince. “You can’t imagine how your back -begins to itch and ache when you’ve been in the harness all day. And -when a man uses a brush and comb on you――” - -“A brush and comb!” cried Tinkle. “Come, you’re joking! I know men and -women, as well as boys and girls, use brushes and combs, but ponies or -horses――” - -“Yes, we really have our own brushes and combs, though they are -different from those which humans use,” said Prince. “The brush is a -big one, more like a broom, and the comb is made of iron and is called -a currycomb. But they make your skin nice and clean and shiny. You’ll -like them.” - -“Maybe,” said Tinkle. “Is anything else different here from what it was -on the farm?” - -“Oh, lots and lots of things. You have to have shoes on your feet.” - -“Oh, now I’m _sure_ you’re fooling me!” cried Tinkle in horse-talk. -“Who ever heard of ponies having shoes!” - -“Well, of course they’re not _leather_ shoes, such as boys and girls -wear,” went on Prince. “They are made of iron, and they are nailed on -your hoofs.” - -“Nailed on!” cried Tinkle. “Oh, doesn’t that hurt?” - -“Not a bit when a good blacksmith does it,” explained Prince. “You see -our hoofs are just like the finger nails of boys and girls. It doesn’t -hurt to cut their finger nails, if they don’t cut them down too close, -and it doesn’t hurt to fasten the iron shoes on our hoofs with sharp -nails. Don’t you remember how Dapple Gray used to tell about his iron -shoes making sparks on the paving stones in the city when he ran and -pulled that funny shiny wagon with the chimney?” - -“Oh, yes,” answered Tinkle; “I do remember. Well, I suppose I’ll have -to be shod then.” - -“Of course,” returned Prince. “If you don’t have the iron shoes on your -hoofs they would get sore when you ran around on the stony streets. A -city is not like our green meadow. There are very few soft dirt roads -here. That is one thing I don’t like about a city. Still there is -always something going on here, and lots to see and do, and that makes -up for it, I guess.” - -“I wonder how I shall like it,” thought Tinkle. “But first I must see -what my new home is like.” - -He looked around the stable. It was a large one, and there were a -number of stalls in it. In each one was a horse, like Prince, munching -his oats or chewing hay. Tinkle saw that his stall was different from -the others. It was like a big box, and, in fact, was called a “box -stall.” Tinkle did not have to be tied fast with a rope or a strap to -the manger, which is the place where the feed for the ponies and horses -is put. There was a manger in Tinkle’s stall and he could walk up to it -whenever he felt hungry. - -Tinkle did not remember much about the stable at home on the farm, as -he was hardly ever in it. Night and day, during the warm Summer, he -stayed out in the green meadow, sleeping near his mother under a tree. - -Tinkle was kicking the straw around in his stall, making a nice soft -bed on which he could lie down and go to sleep, when George, who had -gone into the house to get something to eat after driving with his -father from the stock farm, came running out to the stable again. - -“How’s my pony?” cried George. “How’s my Tinkle?” - -Tinkle made a sort of laughing sound――whinnying――for he now knew -George’s voice and he liked the little boy. - -“Here’s something nice for you!” cried George. - -“Oh, what are you going to give him?” asked Mabel, who had come home -from school and who had also hurried out to see Tinkle. - -“I’m going to give him some sugar,” answered George. “I took some lumps -from the bowl on the table. Mother said I might.” - -“Are you going to let him eat them out of your hand?” asked the little -girl. - -“Of course,” answered George. - -“Won’t he bite you?” - -“Not if you hold out your hand flat, like a board,” said George. “The -man at the farm showed me. Put the sugar on the palm of your hand, -open it out flat and a horse can pick up a lump of sugar, or an apple -without biting you a teeny weeny bit. Look!” - -George opened the top half of the door to the box stall where Tinkle -had his home and held out on his hand the lump of sugar. Tinkle came -over, smelled of the lump to make sure it was good for him to eat, and -then he gently took it in his soft lips, and began to chew the sweet -stuff. - -“Oh, isn’t that cute!” cried Mabel. “Let me feed Tinkle some sugar.” - -Her brother gave her a lump, and she held it out on her hand. Tinkle, -having eaten the first lump, which he liked very much, was quite ready -for the second. He took it from Mabel’s hand as gently as he had taken -it from George’s. - -“Oh, he is a lovely pony!” cried the little girl. “How soon can we have -a ride on him?” - -“Well, you can ride him around the yard now,” said her father, who -had come out to the stable. “But before he is driven around the city -streets he must be shod. I’ll send him to a blacksmith. But for a while -now you and George may take turns riding him. I’ll have Patrick saddle -him for you.” - -Patrick was Mr. Farley’s coachman, and knew a great deal about horses -and ponies. The pony cart which Mr. Farley had bought from the -stockman, together with a harness and saddle for Tinkle, had been put -away. Patrick now brought out the saddle, and, after putting a blanket -on the pony, fastened on the saddle with straps. - -“Now who’s to ride first?” asked the coachman. - -“Let Mabel,” said George, politely. “Ladies always go first.” - -“I’d rather you’d go first so I can see how you do it,” said the little -girl, and George was glad, for he did want very much to get on Tinkle’s -back again. He had ridden a little at the stock farm and, oh! it was -such fun! - -Patrick helped George into the saddle, and then led Tinkle about the -yard, for Mr. Farley wanted to make sure the pony would be safe for his -little boy to ride. - -“I’ll be very careful,” said Tinkle to himself. “George and his sister -are going to be kind to me, I’m sure. I’ll not run away.” - -Tinkle remembered what his father and mother had told him about -behaving when he was in the harness, or had a saddle on. - -“And if I’m good,” thought the pony, “maybe I’ll get more lumps of -sugar.” - -“Let him go now and see if I can drive him,” said George to Patrick. So -the coachman stepped aside and George held the reins in his own hands. - -“Gid-dap, Tinkle!” cried George, and the pony knew this meant to go a -little faster. So he began to trot on the soft, green grass of the big -yard about the Farley home. - -“Oh, how nice!” cried Mabel, clapping her hands. - -“Yes, it’s lots of fun!” laughed George. “Go on, Tinkle.” - -When George had ridden twice around the yard it was Mabel’s turn. At -first she was a little afraid, but her father held her in the saddle, -and she could soon sit on alone and guide Tinkle, who did not go as -fast with her as he had gone with George. - -“For she might fall off, and I wouldn’t want that to happen,” thought -Tinkle. “They might say it was my fault, and give me no more lumps of -sugar.” - -While Mabel was riding, another boy and a girl came into the yard. They -were Tommie and Nellie Hall, who lived next door. - -“Oh, what a lovely pony!” they cried. “Where did you get him?” - -“My father bought him for Mabel and me,” explained George. “See how -soft his hair is,” and he patted Tinkle. Tommie and Nellie also patted -the pony and called him all sorts of nice names. - -“My! I think I am going to like it here,” thought Tinkle. “I have four -new, good, little friends. I will try to make them love me.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -TINKLE MEETS DIDO - - -Every morning, as soon as he had eaten his breakfast, George would run -out to the stable to see Tinkle. He would rub the soft, velvety nose -of his pet pony, or bring him a piece of bread or a lump of sugar. -Sometimes Mabel, too, would come out with her brother to look at Tinkle -before she went to school. - -“And when we come back from school we’ll have a ride on your back,” -said George, waving his hand to Tinkle. - -A few days after he had been brought to his new home Tinkle had been -taken to a blacksmith’s shop and small iron shoes had been fastened to -the pony’s hoofs. - -At first Tinkle was afraid he was going to be hurt, but he thought of -what Dapple Gray and the other horses had told him and made up his -mind――if ponies have minds――that he would stand a little pain if he had -to. But he did not. The blacksmith was kind and gentle, and though it -felt a bit funny at first, when he lifted up one of Tinkle’s legs, the -pony soon grew used to it. - -It felt queer, too, when the iron shoes were nailed on. And when Tinkle -stood on his four newly shod feet he hardly knew whether he could step -out properly or not. But he soon found that it was all right. - -“I’m taller with my new shoes on than in my bare hoofs,” said Tinkle -to himself, and he was taller――about an inch I guess. The clatter and -clang of his iron shoes on the paving stones sounded like music to -Tinkle, and he soon found that it was better for him to have iron shoes -on than to run over the stones in his hoofs, which would soon have worn -down so that his feet would have hurt. - -“Now Tinkle is ready to give us a ride in the little cart!” cried -George when his pony had come home from the blacksmith shop. - -“Take Patrick with you so as to make sure you know how to drive, and -how to handle Tinkle,” said Mrs. Farley, as George and Mabel made ready -for their first real drive――outside the yard this time. - -George and Mabel got into the pony cart, George taking the reins, while -Mabel sat beside him. Patrick, the coachman, sat in the back of the -cart, ready to help if he were needed. - -“Gid-dap!” called George, and he headed the pony down the driveway. -“Gid-dap, Tinkle,” and Tinkle trotted along. - -“Don’t they look cute!” exclaimed Mrs. Farley to her husband as they -watched the children from the dining room window. “I hope nothing -happens to them.” - -“Oh, they’ll be all right,” said her husband. “Tinkle is a kind and -gentle pony. Besides there is Patrick. He’ll know just what to do if -anything should happen.” - -“Well, I hope nothing does,” said Mrs. Farley. “There! they’ve stopped! -I wonder what for.” - -The pony cart had stopped at the driveway gates, and Patrick, with a -queer smile on his face, came walking back. - -“What is it?” asked Mrs. Farley. “Did anything happen――and so soon?” - -“No’m,” replied the coachman, “but Master George wants to know if you’d -like to have him bring anything from the store. He says he’d like to -buy something for you.” - -“Oh!” and Mrs. Farley laughed. “Well, I don’t know that I need any -groceries. But I suppose he wants to do an errand in the new cart. So -tell him he may get a pound of loaf sugar. He and Mabel can feed the -lumps to Tinkle.” - -“Very well, ma’am, I’ll tell him,” and, touching his hat, Patrick went -back to George and Mabel. - -“Well, I guess everything is all right,” thought Tinkle to himself as -he trotted along in front of the pony cart, hauling George, Mabel and -Patrick. “It’s a good deal easier than I thought, and my new iron shoes -feel fine!” - -So he trotted along merrily, and George and his sister, sitting in the -pony cart, enjoyed their ride very much. George drove Tinkle along the -streets, turning him now to the left, by pulling on the left rein, and -again to the other side by jerking gently on the right rein. - -“Am I doing all right, Patrick?” asked the little boy. - -“Fine, Master George,” answered the coachman. “You drive as well as -anybody.” - -“I’ll let you take a turn soon, Mabel,” said George. - -“Oh, I don’t want to――just yet,” replied the little girl. “I want to -watch and see how you do it. Besides, I’d be afraid to drive where -there are so many horses and wagons,” for they were on the main street -of the city. - -“You’ll soon get so you can do as well as Master George,” declared -Patrick. “Tinkle is an easy pony to manage.” - -As George and Mabel traveled on in their pony cart, they met several of -their playmates who waved their hands to the Farley children. - -[Illustration: “Oh, what a nice pony cart!” cried the boys and girls.] - -“Oh, what a nice pony cart!” cried the boys and girls. - -“I’ll give you a ride, some day,” promised George. - -He and Mabel were soon at the store, and, going in, they bought the -loaf sugar. Patrick stayed out in the pony cart, and Tinkle stood still -next to the curb. Near him was a horse hitched to a wagon full of coal. - -“Hello, my little pony!” called the coal-horse. “You have a fine rig -there.” - -“Yes, it is pretty nice,” said Tinkle, and he was sure he must look -very gorgeous, for Mabel had tied a blue ribbon in his mane that -morning. - -“You’re quite stylish,” went on the coal-horse. - -“Well, I s’pose you _might_ call it that,” admitted Tinkle. - -“It’s much more fun to be pulling a light, little cart like that around -the city streets, than to haul a great big heavy coal wagon, such as I -am hitched to,” went on the big horse. - -“Yes, but see how strong you are!” observed Tinkle. “I never could pull -such a heavy load as you haul.” - -“No, I guess you couldn’t,” said the coal horse. “Especially up some of -the hills we have. It is almost more than I can do, and there is one -hill that I have to take a rest on, half way up, but my driver is good -to me, and never whips me, which is more than I can say of some drivers -I have known. So I guess, after all, it is better for you to draw the -pony cart and for me to stick to the coal wagon.” - -“Indeed it is,” said a horse that was hitched to one of the grocery -wagons. “You’d look funny, coal-horse, trying to fit between the shafts -of that pony cart.” - -“I suppose I would,” admitted the other, laughing, in a way horses have -among themselves. - -When George and Mabel came out of the store, with the bag of sugar -lumps, they saw the two horses――one hitched to a coal wagon and the -other to a grocery cart――rubbing noses with Tinkle. - -“They’re kissing each other,” laughed the little girl. - -But the horses and the pony were really talking among themselves, -and even Patrick, much as he knew about animals, did not understand -horse-talk. - -“Let’s give Tinkle some sugar now,” said Mabel. - -“All right,” answered George, so they gave the pony two lumps. - -“My, that sugar certainly smells good!” exclaimed the horse that was -hitched to the coal wagon. - -“It certainly does,” said the other horse, sniffing hard through his -nose, for the air was filled with the sweet smell of the sugar lumps -Tinkle was eating. “You might think,” went on the grocery horse, “that, -working for a store, as I do, I’d get a lump of sugar once in a while.” - -“Don’t you?” asked Tinkle, reaching out for another sweet lump George -offered him. - -“Never a bit!” said the grocery-horse, “and I just love it!” - -“So do I,” said the coal-horse. - -“I’m sorry I didn’t offer you some,” apologized Tinkle. “But it’s too -late now. I’ve swallowed it.” - -Just then Mabel thought of something nice. - -“Oh, George!” she cried. “Let’s give the two horses some of Tinkle’s -sugar. I guess horses like sweet stuff the same as ponies. Don’t they, -Patrick?” she asked the coachman. - -“Sure they do, Miss Mabel,” he answered. “Sure they do!” - -“Then give them some, George,” she begged. “We have more than enough -for Tinkle.” - -“All right,” said the little boy. So he held out two lumps of sugar -to the coal horse, and two to the grocery horse, and I just wish you -could have seen how glad those horses were to get the sweet stuff. If -they could have talked man language they would have thanked George and -Mabel, but as it was they could only say to one another and to Tinkle: - -“Well, you certainly have a good home with such nice children in it.” - -“I’m glad you think so,” whinnied Tinkle to them, and he felt very -happy. - -George and Mabel drove home in their pony cart, carrying what was left -of the bag of sugar. When they were near their home, and on a quiet -street, George let his sister take the reins so she would learn how to -handle them. Patrick watched the little girl carefully and told her how -and when to pull, so Tinkle would go to the right or to the left, and -also around the corners. - -“Oh, Mother! now I know how to drive!” cried Mabel as she ran into -the house to tell her father and Mrs. Farley about their first trip -downtown in the new pony cart. - -After that George and Mabel had many rides behind Tinkle, even in the -Winter, when they hitched him to a little sled. The little pony grew to -like his little boy and girl friends very much indeed, and they loved -him dearly. They would hug him and pat him whenever they went out to -the stable where he was, and feed him lumps of sugar. When Spring came -they took long rides in the country. - -One day a funny thing happened to Tinkle. He had been hitched to the -pony cart which was tied to a post in front of the house, waiting -for George and Mabel to come out. And then, from somewhere down the -street sounded the tooting of a horn, and a queer odor, which made him -tremble, came to the pony’s nostrils. - -“I wonder what that is?” said Tinkle to himself. Very soon he found out. - -Along came a man wearing a red cap, and every once in a while he would -put a brass horn to his mouth and blow a tooting tune. But this was not -what surprised Tinkle most. What did, was a big shaggy animal, that the -man was leading by a chain. And when Tinkle saw the shaggy creature he -was afraid. But the other animal, rising up on its hind legs said: - -“Don’t be afraid of me, little pony. I won’t hurt you!” - -“Who are you?” asked Tinkle, wonderingly. - -“I am Dido, the dancing bear,” was the answer, “and I have had many -adventures that have been put into a book.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -TINKLE DOES SOME TRICKS - - -For a few seconds Tinkle stood looking at Dido, the dancing bear, not -knowing what to do or say. Some ponies would have been afraid of a -bear. They would have snorted, stood on their hind legs, and maybe have -run away. But Tinkle had never seen a bear before, no one had ever -told him about them, and he really did not know enough to be afraid. -Besides, Dido seemed such a funny, good-natured and happy bear that I -believe no one would have been afraid of him. - -“So you are Dido, the dancing bear, are you?” asked Tinkle. “And you -say you are in a book. What does that mean?” - -“I’ll tell you,” went on Dido, while his master, the man who blew such -jolly tunes on the brass horn, was picking up some apples that had -fallen from a roadside tree. He let Dido walk on ahead, without even a -string tied to him, for he knew that Dido would not run away. - -“You see, it’s this way,” went on the dancing bear. “Years ago I used -to live in the woods with my father and mother, sisters and brothers.” - -“I never lived in the woods,” said Tinkle, “but I lived in a big, green -field.” - -“That was nice,” murmured Dido. “I have been in the fields, too. Well, -one day I was caught by a man, who took me away. At first I did not -like it, but the man was good to me and taught me to do tricks.” - -“What are tricks?” asked the pony, for he could speak all animal -languages as well as understand them. - -“Tricks are――well, I’ll show you in a minute,” went on Dido. “The man -was good to me, as I said, and taught me tricks. Then I was sold to a -circus and I had lots of good times with Tum Tum, the jolly elephant -and Mappo the merry monkey. They are in books, too.” - -“What are books?” asked Tinkle. “Are they good, like sugar; and do you -eat them?” - -“Oh, no!” laughed Dido. “Books are funny things, like blocks of wood; -only you can open them, like a door, you know, and inside are funny -black marks on paper that is white, like the snow. Boys and girls, and -men and women, open these funny things called books and look at them -for ever and ever so long.” - -“Why do they do that?” asked Tinkle. - -“Well, I don’t really know,” said Dido. “But after they have looked -at the books, turning over the white things with the black marks on, -called leaves, the boys and girls laugh.” - -“Why?” Tinkle demanded. - -“Because of the funny things printed on them,” answered Dido. “You see -in my book are set down all the things I did. And the things Mappo did -and the things Tum Tum did are in their books. Some of the things were -funny, and that is what makes the boys and girls laugh. Tum Tum’s book -is enough to make any one laugh. He is a very jolly elephant.” - -“Is it fashionable to be in a book?” asked Tinkle. “I have quite a -stylish pony cart here, as you can see, so if being in a book is――” - -“Of _course_ it’s fashionable to be in a book!” exclaimed Dido. “You -should see the funny pictures of _me_ in _my_ book.” - -And I might say, right here, that the books that Dido spoke of really -exist, besides others about different animals. And this book is about -Tinkle, as you can see for yourself. Maybe the little pony will be -quite surprised when he finds what has been set down about him. - -“Toot! Toot! Toot!” blew the horn again, and the man who owned Dido, -having picked up all the apples he wanted, came walking along the road. -Dido had been in a circus for some time, but now he was out again, -traveling around the country doing tricks. - -“Ah, you have met a friend, I see, Dido!” remarked the man, who had -little gold rings in his ears. “A little pony, eh? Well, where there is -a pony there must be children, and I think they will like to see your -tricks, Dido. Come, we’ll get ready for them.” - -The man blew another merry tune on his horn, and just then George and -Mabel came running out of the house, ready to go driving in the pony -cart. - -“Oh, see the bear!” cried Mabel. - -“And look at what he is doing!” added George. For, just then the man -told Dido to turn a somersault, and this the bear did. - -“That’s one of my tricks,” said Dido to Tinkle, though of course George -and Mabel did not know the two animals were speaking to one another, -for they talked in a low whisper. - -“Oh, so that’s a trick, is it?” asked Tinkle in surprise. - -“Yes, and I can do others. Wait, I’m going to do some more,” went on -Dido. - -“Come now, Dido! Show the little boy and girl how you play soldier!” -called the man and he tossed a stick to the bear. Dido clasped it in -his paws, held it over one shoulder just as though it were a gun and -marched around in a ring standing up stiff and straight like a soldier -on parade. - -“Oh, that’s great!” cried George. - -“Is he a trained bear, Mister?” asked Mabel. - -“Oh, yes he is a good trained bear,” answered the man. “I have taught -him to do many tricks. Now stand on your head, Dido,” and Dido stood on -his head without so much as blinking his eye. Only he could not stand -that way very long because he was quite a fat and heavy bear now. But -he did very well. - -“Can he do any more tricks?” asked George, and by this time Patrick, -the coachman, Mary the cook, and Mrs. Farley had come out to watch Dido. - -“I will have him climb a pole,” said the man, pointing to a telegraph -pole in front of the Farley home. “Up you go, Dido!” he called, and the -bear walked slowly over to the smooth pole. He stuck his sharp claws -into the soft wood, and up and up he climbed until he was nearly at the -top. Then he climbed down again while Mabel and George clapped their -hands and laughed. - -“He is a fine bear,” said George. “I wonder if he would eat sugar as -Tinkle, my pony, does?” - -“Try him and see,” answered the man, with a laugh. - -“Won’t he bite?” asked Mabel, as George took some lumps of sugar from -his pocket. - -“Oh, no. Dido never bites,” answered his master. “He is a very gentle -bear.” - -George held a lump of sugar on his hand. Up Dido walked to the little -boy. - -“Don’t dare bite him!” said Tinkle to Dido, speaking in animal talk, of -course. - -“Oh, no fear!” exclaimed Dido. “I wouldn’t bite him for the world. Just -watch!” Then Dido put out his big red tongue to which the lump of sugar -stuck, just like a postage stamp, and, in another second, it had slid -down Dido’s red throat. - -“Oh, wasn’t that cute?” cried Mabel. - -Then Dido did more tricks, and after Mrs. Farley had given the man some -money he and Dido walked on down the road. - -“Good-by, children!” called the man. - -“Good-by,” answered George and Mabel, waving their hands. - -“Good-by, Tinkle!” called Dido. “Perhaps some day I may see you again.” - -“I hope so,” called back the pony. “I want to hear more about being in -a book and about Tum Tum and Mappo.” - -“They are in the circus now, I think,” said Dido. “If you ever go to -the circus you may meet them.” - -“I don’t believe I ever shall,” said Tinkle. But you just wait and see -what happens. - -“Well, go for your drive now, children,” said Mrs. Farley. “And don’t -let Tinkle run away with you.” - -“We won’t,” answered George, laughingly. And as he and Mabel drove -away, Patrick not going with them this time, George said: “I wish I -could teach Tinkle some tricks.” - -“Oh, wouldn’t that be great!” exclaimed Mabel. “I once saw a trick pony -in a show. He could bow and tell how old he was by pawing on the ground -with his hoof.” - -“Then I’m going to teach Tinkle some tricks,” said George. “And when he -learns them we’ll take him around the country and show him off and earn -money.” - -“Oh, how nice!” cried Mabel, clapping her hands. - -When George and Mabel got back from their drive George spoke to his -father about teaching Tinkle to do some tricks. - -“I hardly think you can,” said Mr. Farley. “But you may try. Better ask -Patrick about it, though. He knows a lot about horses and ponies.” - -“Teach Tinkle tricks, is it?” asked Patrick when George spoke to the -coachman about it. “Well, maybe you can. He’s young yet. You can’t -teach an old pony tricks any more than you can teach an old dog. We’ll -try some day.” - -A few days after this Patrick called George out to the stable yard -where Tinkle was standing. - -“What are you going to do?” asked George. - -“Teach Tinkle his first trick,” was the answer. “He is going to learn -how to jump over a stick.” Patrick put two boxes, about two feet high, -on the ground and laid a stick across them. He led the pony close to -the stick and stood there beside him. - -“Now, Master George, you stand on the other side of the stick, and hold -out these lumps of sugar,” said Patrick. “We will see what Tinkle will -do.” - -George held out the sugar a few feet away from Tinkle’s nose. Tinkle -could smell it, and he wanted it very much. - -“Go get it!” called Patrick, letting loose the halter strap he had been -holding. “Go get the sugar, Tinkle.” - -Instead of jumping across the stick, as they wanted him to do, Tinkle -walked right against it and knocked it off the boxes. - -“That won’t do!” cried Patrick. “Don’t give him the sugar, Master -George, until he jumps over the stick.” - -So George held the sugar behind his back, and Tinkle was quite -disappointed at not getting it. - -“I wonder what they want me to do, and why they put that stick in front -of me?” thought the little pony. Patrick placed the stick back on the -boxes, and this time he nailed it fast so the pony could not easily -knock it off. Then the coachman held the pony as before and George put -the lumps of sugar out on his hand again. - -Once more Tinkle walked forward to get them, but this time he could not -knock the stick down with his legs. He shoved the boxes aside, though, -and again Patrick led him back. - -“Jump over the stick, Tinkle! Jump over the stick and I’ll give you the -sugar!” called George. And then, after two or three more times, Tinkle -understood. He found that stick always in his way when he wanted to get -the sweet sugar, and finally he thought of the fence he had once jumped -over. - -“I guess that’s what they want me to do now!” he said. And with a jump, -over the stick he went. Tinkle had done his first trick! - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -TINKLE IS TAKEN AWAY - - -“That’s fine!” cried George, as Tinkle, after having jumped over the -stick, came trotting up to get the sugar. “Soon you’ll be as good as -Dido, the dancing bear.” - -“Well, I guess I did pretty well for a beginner,” thought Tinkle to -himself, as he crunched the sugar in his strong white teeth. “Now I -hope they will let me alone, or else drive me hitched to the cart or -ride on my back.” - -But George and the coachman were not yet through with Tinkle. They -wanted to be sure he understood how to do the trick. So they set up the -stick again, and George held out more sugar. This time the pony knew -what to do at once, and, with a bound, over the stick he went. - -“Oh, I want Mabel to see this!” cried George. “Come on out!” he called -to his sister. “Come on out and see Tinkle do a trick!” - -Mabel was as much pleased as was her brother. She, too, held out the -sugar and Tinkle came to her as he had to George, leaping over the -stick. Tinkle would do almost anything for lumps of sugar. - -“Well, this is enough for the first day,” said the coachman to the -children. “We don’t want Tinkle to get tired. Go take him for a drive -now, and to-morrow we can teach him other tricks.” - -Off in the pony cart rode the two children. Half-way down the street -they met Tommie and Nellie Hall, and invited them to have a drive. - -“Did you see the trained bear?” asked Tommie of George. “A man was -leading him past our house. He did a lot of tricks.” - -“We’re going to teach our pony to do tricks like those,” cried Mabel. - -“No! Really?” exclaimed Nellie, in surprise. - -“Yes, we are,” added George. “He can do one trick already――jump over a -stick,” and he told how Tinkle had been taught. - -“I’d like to see him do that,” said Tommie. “But there’s one trick Dido -the bear did that your pony can never do.” - -“What is that?” Mabel asked. - -“Climb a telegraph pole!” said Tommie with a laugh. - -“That’s right,” admitted George. “Tinkle never could do that. But I -don’t want him to. To-morrow we are going to teach him a new trick.” - -The next day George went out to the stable to ask Patrick what trick it -would be best next to teach the pony. - -“Let us see if he has forgotten his first trick,” said the coachman. -Once more the stick was laid across the boxes and, standing on the -other side of it, George held out the sugar. Tinkle jumped over at -once, higher than he had ever before gone, for, now that he knew -jumping was what his little master wanted, the pony made up his mind to -do his very best. - -“Yes, he hasn’t forgotten that trick,” said Patrick. “Now we’ll teach -him to make a bow.” - -“How do you do that?” asked George. - -“I’ll show you,” Patrick answered. - -He put some soft straw on the ground in front of the pony. Then the -coachman tied a rope around Tinkle’s left foreleg. Standing off a -little way, behind, and to one side of Tinkle, Patrick pulled gently on -the rope, at the same time saying: - -“Make a bow, Tinkle! Make a bow!” - -Of course Tinkle did not know then what the words meant, but when he -felt the pull on his leg from the rope it seemed as though his leg was -being pulled from under him. And that is what Patrick was doing, only -so gently that it did not hurt. - -Then the coachman said again: - -“Make a bow, Tinkle!” - -The pony suddenly felt his leg slipping and as it bent he came down on -one knee on the soft straw. - -“Oh, he did make a bow!” cried George; and that is just what it looked -like. - -“Give him a lump of sugar!” said Patrick. “Then he’ll know he is to get -a lump when he makes another bow.” - -The coachman loosed his hold of the rope and Tinkle quickly scrambled -to his feet. He was not in the least hurt, but he was a little puzzled. - -“I wonder what they are trying to do to me?” he asked himself. But he -was glad when he found George had another lump of sugar for him. “This -part of it is all right, anyhow,” thought the pony. - -Once again he heard Patrick call: - -“Make a bow, Tinkle. Make a bow!” Again came that tug on the rope which -pulled Tinkle’s leg from under him, so that he had to bend down and bow. - -“That’s the way to do it!” cried Patrick. “More sugar for the pony, -Master George!” - -“Now I begin to understand!” said Tinkle to himself. “This is just like -jumping over the stick――only different. Ah, I have it! These are the -tricks Dido was telling me about. Now I know what they are doing it -for. I am to be a trick pony! And maybe I’ll be in the circus with Tum -Tum and Mappo.” - -But you will have to wait a little while to find out if that part came -true. - -“Now we’ll try it again,” said the coachman as Tinkle got up and stood -on the soft straw. “Make another bow, Tinkle!” he called. - -The pony heard the word “bow,” he felt the gentle pull on the rope that -was tied to his leg. This time he did not wait for his leg to be pulled -from beneath him, but he bowed of his own accord, and then George gave -him the sugar. - -“He is beginning to know what we want of him,” said the coachman. “Now -he can do two tricks.” - -“And soon I can take him around the country and show him off,” cried -George, in great delight. - -“Well, I don’t know about that,” laughed Patrick. “I guess your father -and mother wouldn’t like that. But you can have him do tricks at home -here for your friends.” - -Tinkle was a smart little pony and in a few days all George had to do -was to say “Jump!” and Tinkle would jump over two or even three sticks -laid across boxes. And when George said: “Make a bow!” Tinkle would -kneel down almost as politely as some dancers I have seen. - -“Are there any other tricks you can teach Tinkle?” asked George of the -coachman one day. - -“Oh, yes, plenty more,” was the answer. “We’ll try to get him to stand -on his hind legs and walk around. It is pretty hard but I guess he can -do it.” - -Tinkle was longer in learning this trick than he had been in learning -how to do the other two put together. Patrick and George were kind and -patient, however. Patrick, with another man to help him, put Tinkle in -front of a board laid across two water pails. They set Tinkle’s front -feet on the board and then with Patrick at one end, and the man at the -other, they lifted up the board with Tinkle’s feet resting on it and -started to walk. And Tinkle walked too, because George stood in front -of him with a nice red apple, and as the pony reached for it George -kept backing away. - -Of course Tinkle wanted the apple, so he kept on walking. Only, as his -front feet were resting on the board, the pony could walk on his hind -feet only, but he was soon doing this without knowing it. It took a -little time to make him stand up on his hind legs without anything on -which to rest his front feet, but after a bit he understood what was -wanted of him. Then he remembered how he had seen horses in the green -meadow, where he used to live, rear up on their hind legs in play -sometimes. - -“Why that’s just what I’m doing,” thought Tinkle, and then it came -easier for him. He could soon walk half the length of the stable yard -on his hind legs, with his forefeet held up in the air. - -“That’s three tricks Tinkle can do,” said George in delight as the -pony pranced around on his hind legs. “He will soon be able to join a -circus.” - -“But you won’t let him, will you?” asked Mabel. “You won’t let Tinkle -go away, George, I like him too much.” - -“And so do I,” answered her brother. “Indeed I won’t let Tinkle go -away.” - -But one day something sad happened to Tinkle. Mr. and Mrs. Farley with -George and Mabel went on a visit to the country, to be gone three days. -They did not take Tinkle with them as they had to travel on the train. - -“But I guess he’ll be all right until we come home,” said George as he -went out to the stable to bid his pet good-by. - -“I’ll be here to watch him,” said Patrick. - -Two days after the Farley family had gone away Patrick, who slept in -rooms over the stable, had to go to the store for some salve for one of -the horses that had got a nail in his foot. - -[Illustration: It took a little time to make him stand upon his hind -legs without anything on which to rest his front feet.] - -Patrick thought he would be gone only a few minutes, so he left Tinkle -outside in the stable yard. - -“I guess he will be all right until I come back,” said the coachman. - -But it took longer to put up the salve than he had supposed, so he was -nearly half an hour away from the barn. And there was no one in the -house, for the cook and maid had also gone away on visits when the -family left. - -And in that half hour something happened. Two men drove a big, empty -moving van down the street past the Farley house. In the side-yard was -an old-fashioned pump and, seeing it, one of the men said: - -“Let’s stop off and get a drink. It’s a hot day and I’m thirsty.” - -“I am too,” said the other man. - -They stopped the van in a side street near the stable yard, and pumped -some water for themselves. Tinkle walked over near the fence and looked -at the men, for he was a bit lonesome. - -“That’s a fine pony,” said one of the men, wiping off the drops of -water from his mustache. - -“He sure is,” agreed the other. “Look at him making a bow; would you!” - -For just then Tinkle took it into his head to do one of his tricks. He -had not done any in two days because George was away. - -“Say, he’s smart!” exclaimed the biggest man, who had red hair. - -“He is that. Look at him jump!” for Tinkle did his second trick then. -He was showing off, you see. - -The two men talked together in low voices. They looked toward the house -and saw that it was closed. No one was about. Patrick was down at the -drugstore and no one was near the stable. - -“We could easily put him in the moving van,” said the red-haired man. -“He isn’t heavy.” - -“But what would we do with him after we took him?” asked the shorter of -the two men. - -“Why, a trick pony like him is worth money. We could sell him for a -hundred dollars, maybe. Let’s take him. No one will see us.” - -Of course it was not right for the men to plan to take Tinkle away, but -they did, just the same. - -“Come here, pony!” called one of the men, and he whistled. Tinkle came -closer, for George had taught him to come at the sound of a whistle to -get a lump of sugar. - -But the men had no sugar for Tinkle. Instead they opened the gate to -the stable yard, and led Tinkle out by his mane. The pony went along -willingly enough, for he was not afraid of men. None of them had ever -hurt him, so he had no reason to be afraid. - -“Lead him right out to the van,” said the red-haired man, “and we’ll -toss him in. No one will see him in there.” - -Before Tinkle knew what was happening he was led out of the yard, to -the side street, and suddenly the two men lifted him up and tossed him -right inside the big empty moving van, which could easily have held -two or three big horses, to say nothing of several ponies as small as -Tinkle. - -Tinkle was not much bigger than a very big dog, and the men, being -strong (for they could lift a piano) had no trouble in lifting the pony -from the ground. Into the van they tossed him, and he fell down, but, -as it happened, there was a pile of soft bags there so he was not hurt. - -But he was much frightened when the men banged shut the big end doors. -Then Tinkle felt himself being taken away. He was shut up inside the -dark wagon and could see nothing. - -Poor Tinkle! - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -TINKLE IN THE CIRCUS - - -“What does all this mean?” thought Tinkle to himself as he got up off -the pile of bags in the moving van, and tried to stand. But he found -that the motion of the big wagon, as it was rapidly driven away, -toppled him about so that it was easier to lie down than to stay on his -feet. - -So Tinkle stretched out on the bags and tried to think what it all -meant. His eyes were getting used to the dark now, and he could see, -dimly, that he was in some place like his box stall. Only it was not as -nice, and Tinkle could not smell any sweet hay or oats. - -“I wonder if they can be taking me where George is?” thought Tinkle, -for he had greatly missed the little boy and his sister who were -accustomed to ride him or drive him about. - -On and on went the moving van with Tinkle locked inside. The horses -pulling the big wagon of course did not know they were taking a little -pony away from his home. Even if they had known there was nothing they -could have done. Poor Tinkle felt very sad and lonely. It was the -first time anything like this had ever happened to him. - -Up on the seat the two men were talking. - -“Well, we got that trick pony all right,” said the red-haired one. - -“Yes, but if the folks who own him find out we have him they’ll have us -arrested,” said the short man. - -“Oh, they’ll never find out. No one saw us take him, nobody but us -knows he’s in this van and we’ll soon be far enough away. We can make -money on this pony.” - -On and on the moving van rumbled, farther and farther away, and pretty -soon Tinkle, locked inside, began to feel hungry. He got up, intending -to go about looking for something to eat. But the van tossed and tilted -about so on the rough road that Tinkle was thrown against the side and -bruised. - -“I guess I had better stay lying down,” he said. “But I am very -thirsty!” - -It was hot, shut up inside the big wagon, and Tinkle thought longingly -of the trough of cool drinking water in the stable yard and wished he -were back there. - -The men who had taken Tinkle away made the horses drawing the van hurry -along, so they were soon out of the city where the Farleys lived. They -drove along a country road and, just as night was coming on, they came -to another city where they had their stable, and where they kept the -van. - -“Well, let’s see how the pony stood the trip,” said the red-haired man -as he opened the big end doors. - -“He seems to be all right,” replied the other. He held up a lantern and -looked inside. Tinkle got up from his bed on the old bags. He saw the -open doors and he smelled hay and oats, though the smell was not as -good as that which came from his stable at home. - -“Lift him out, and we’ll put him in one of the stalls,” said the -red-haired man. - -But Tinkle did not wait to be lifted out. He knew how to jump, and, -giving a leap, he was quickly on the ground. Then, as he did not like -the place where he was, nor the men who had taken him from his nice -home, Tinkle tried to run away. - -But the men were too quick for him. One of them caught him by the mane -and the other by the nose, pinching so that it hurt Tinkle. - -“Look out! He’s a lively chap!” cried the short man. “He wants to get -away.” - -“Yes. We must put a halter on him and tie him in the stall,” said the -other. - -Tinkle again tried hard to get away, but could not. If he had been a -big, strong horse he might have broken loose from the men. But, as I -have said, he was not much bigger than a large Newfoundland dog. The -men easily held him and led him into the barn. - -This stable was not at all like the nice place in which Tinkle had -lived when he was the pet of George. The straw on the floor was not -clean, and when Tinkle was given a pail of water, after he had been -tied in the stall, the water was not clean, either. Still Tinkle was so -thirsty that he drank it. Then he felt a little better. But oh! how he -did want his own, nice, clean box stall. - -For now he found himself in an ordinary stall, such as the other horses -had. The manger was too high for him to eat from, but one of the men -brought a low box and put some hay in it. - -“There! he can eat out of that I guess,” said the man. “We’ll likely -sell him in a couple of days if we can find some one to buy him. He -ought to bring in some money if he can do tricks.” - -Poor Tinkle did not understand or pay much attention to this talk. He -was too hungry, and, though the hay was not so sweet as that he got -at home, still he munched it. Suddenly he heard a voice speaking in a -language he understood. - -“Hello in there!” was called to him. “Are you a new horse?” - -“I’m a pony,” was the answer Tinkle made. “Who are you, if you please?” - -“Ha! You’re polite, anyhow, which is more than I can say of some of the -horses in this stable,” went on the voice. “Where did you come from, -anyhow?” - -“I belong to a boy named George,” answered Tinkle. “To George and his -sister Mabel. I don’t know where I am, nor why I was brought here. I -didn’t want to come. I’d rather be back in my own home.” - -“Oh, ho!” exclaimed the voice, and by the light of a lantern hanging in -the stable Tinkle could see that it was a horse in the next stall that -was speaking to him. “Oh, ho! If you stay here long you’ll find there -are lots of things you don’t want to do. I don’t want to pull a heavy -moving van about the streets all day, but I have to,” said the horse, -and he gave something like a groan. - -“Do all the horses here do that?” asked Tinkle, who felt very sad. - -“Most of us,” answered his new friend. “Some horses haul big wagons -loaded with hay and feed, and the men don’t give us any too much to -eat, either. Sometimes, when I’m drawing a load of hay, I’m so hungry I -could just eat nearly all that is piled on the wagon. You won’t like -it here a bit.” - -“Oh, what’s the use of making trouble?” asked a horse in the stall on -the other side of Tinkle. “He’s here, and he’ll have to stay.” - -“Yes, I guess he will,” agreed the first horse. “But I don’t see what -kind of work he can do. He isn’t big enough to be hitched up with any -of us, and, if he was, he couldn’t pull the smallest moving van the men -have.” - -“I can pull a pony cart!” said Tinkle who did not like the other horses -to think he was of no use in the world. - -“Ha! Pony cart!” exclaimed one horse whose hide was covered with mud. -“You’ll find no pony carts around _here_! _Dump_ carts, more likely. -I’ve been hauling dirt in dump carts all day long, until I’m so tired I -can hardly stand. And there’s a big sore on my back, too!” - -“I’m sorry for that,” said Tinkle kindly. “If Patrick were here he’d -put something on it to make it better.” - -“Who’s Patrick?” asked the dirt-cart horse. “Is he one of us?” - -“Patrick is the coachman who taught me to do tricks for George, the -little boy,” answered Tinkle, and he felt rather proud as he said this. - -“Tricks, is it?” laughed the horse who had first spoken. “You’ll have -no time for tricks here. You must belong in a circus. Tricks indeed!” - -“I wish I could go to a circus!” said Tinkle eagerly. “I’ve heard about -Tum Tum, the jolly elephant. He is in the circus.” - -“Well, eat your supper and be thankful for what you have,” said the -dump-cart horse. “I hope they don’t work me so hard to-morrow. If they -do I’ll try to run away, though that isn’t much use,” and the horse -kept on with his supper of hay. - -Tinkle was very sad and lonesome. It was not at all nice in the stable -where he was tied. It was dirty, and did not smell good. The horses -around him, though kindly, were poor, hard-working animals, and were -not like the sleek Prince and other horses in Mr. Farley’s stable. The -men who owned the work horses seldom took the time to use the currycomb -or brush on them. If a horse fell down in the dirt, as they often did -from pulling too heavy loads, the dirt stayed on until it dried and -blew off. - -For several days Tinkle was kept tied in the stable. The men could not -use him on any of their heavy wagons and there was no time for him to -do his tricks, and no pony cart for him to ride children about in. Poor -Tinkle felt very bad, and many, many times he wished himself back in -his old home. - -As best he could, in his stall, Tinkle practiced the tricks he had -learned from George and Patrick. He bowed and he did a little jumping, -but not much, as his stall was too small. And one day, when Tinkle was -practicing his bowing trick, the red-haired man suddenly happened to -come into the stable. - -“Oh, ho!” he cried. “I forgot about that pony doing tricks! We must try -to sell him and get the money. I wonder who would buy him?” - -“I know,” said the other man, coming into the stable just then. - -“Who would?” asked the red-haired man. - -“The circus people,” was the answer. “The big circus which came to the -city to-day. I have been down on the circus lot just now with a load -of hay for the elephants. I saw some little ponies there, and I asked -one of the circus men if they ever bought extra ones. He said they did -sometimes, and he said they needed a new trick pony just now as one of -theirs is sick.” - -“That may be just the chance we’re looking for!” cried the red-haired -man. - -“Good,” said the other. “We’ll take this pony to the circus and sell -him.” - -Through the city streets one of the men led Tinkle and before long the -pony heard music playing. He looked up and saw the big white tents and -the gay fluttering flags. - -“Oh, this must be the circus Dido, the dancing bear, told me about,” -Tinkle said to himself. “I wonder if I shall meet Tum Tum, the jolly -elephant?” - -“Here’s the trick pony my partner was telling you about,” announced the -red-haired man to a man who came out of a tent where many ponies and -horses were eating their dinners. - -“Can he do any tricks?” asked the circus man. - -“Well, I’ve seen him make bows and jump. I don’t know what else he can -do.” - -“I’ll soon find out,” stated the circus man. “He looks like a good -pony. I’ll buy him of you.” - -So after some talk, the money was paid over and then Tinkle belonged to -the circus. - -“I wonder what will happen to me now,” thought Tinkle, and very many -strange things were to happen. I am going to tell you about them. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -TINKLE AND TUM TUM - - -“Well, come along now, pony. I’ll see how many tricks you know and how -many I can teach you.” - -It was the circus man who had bought Tinkle who was speaking, but -Tinkle was so taken up with looking about him, at the strange sights -all round that he did not at first listen. - -“Come along!” called the man again, and then Tinkle heard a whistle. -This time he turned around quickly. For a moment he thought his dear -little master George had come for him, but he saw only the circus man, -and other strange men and animals all about. - -“It must have been the man who whistled to me,” said Tinkle to himself. -“I guess, though, he wants me to come with him, as George used to want -me to go with him when he whistled. I’ll go.” - -So Tinkle followed the man, which was just what the man wanted. He led -Tinkle along by the rope made fast to his halter. - -“Well, you know something, to start with,” said the circus man, -smiling at Tinkle. The pony, of course, did not know what a smile -meant, but he did know that the man spoke in kind tones and not sharp -and cross as had the moving men, sometimes. Besides the circus man -talked _to_ the pony, and the other men had not. - -So Tinkle knew by the voice that the man was kind, and he followed him -to a little tent where there were many other ponies. In a tent next -door were big horses, and they were all either eating hay or oats, or -lying down on the straw, for it was not yet time for the circus to -begin. - -“Here is a new pony I have bought, Tom,” said the first man to one who -had charge of the ponies. “He can do a few tricks and I am going to -teach him more. Look after him, and clean him off. He doesn’t seem to -have been well taken care of.” - -“That’s right, Mr. Drake; he doesn’t,” answered Tom. “I’ll take good -care of him, though.” - -Poor Tinkle’s hairy coat was in a sad state. It was dirty and bits of -hay and straw clung to it. Also his mane and tail were tangled. Tinkle -had been kept very clean by Patrick and George, but the moving men -spent no time on the pony they had stolen. - -“First to clean you up,” said Tom, talking to himself, but also, in a -way, speaking to Tinkle. “Then we’ll see about your tricks. Mr. Drake -is a good pony teacher.” - -Though Tinkle could understand very little of this talk, yet, somehow, -he felt happier than he had in a long while――in fact since he had been -taken away from George. - -With a brush, a currycomb, and a cloth Tom cleaned Tinkle’s hairy coat -until it began to shine and glisten almost as it had when he lived in -the nice Farley stable. - -“That will do for a while,” said Tom. “Now I’ll get you something to -eat. Come along, pony,” and he whistled just as George used to do. -Tinkle liked to hear a clear, cheerful whistle. - -Tinkle was tied in the tent with the other ponies. His stall was just a -place between two ropes, and his manger made of canvas, for the tent, -and everything in it, had to be moved from place to place as the circus -traveled, and wooden stalls, such as are in barns, would never do. In -the manger were some hay and oats. Tinkle began to eat hungrily. It was -almost as good as being home again. - -“Well, where in the world did you come from?” asked a pony on Tinkle’s -left side. - -“Yes, tell us about yourself,” added another on the right side. “You -are a stranger. I never saw you in the circus before.” - -“I just came to-day,” said Tinkle, after he had swallowed some of the -hay and oats. “I never was with a circus before. Is it nice?” - -“Oh, it’s lots of fun,” said the pony on the left, whose name was Tiny -Tim. “It’s jolly!” - -“We have great times doing tricks,” said the pony on Tinkle’s right, -and his name was Prancer. “We do lots of tricks. Can you do any, -Tinkle?” for the new pony had told his name. - -“I can make a bow, jump over a rope and walk on my hind legs.” - -“Those are all good tricks,” said Tiny Tim, “but you will have to learn -many more if you are to stay with this circus.” - -“I guess the man they call Mr. Drake will teach Tinkle tricks,” -remarked Prancer. “He taught me all I know. Why, would you believe,” he -went on, “when first I joined the circus I couldn’t do a single thing!” - -“Can you do many tricks now?” asked Tinkle. - -“I should say he could!” cried Tiny Tim, with a laughing whinny. “He is -the best trick pony in the circus!” - -“Oh, not the _best_,” protested Prancer modestly. “I can do a _few_ -tricks, it is true, but――” - -“Now you let me tell!” interrupted Tiny Tim, laughing. “You can jump -over a barrel, stand up on a platform on your hind legs and turn -around, you can pick up different colored flags, count, add up numbers -on a blackboard and take letters from the post-office. - -“Well, yes, I can do those things,” said Prancer. - -“My! What a lot of tricks!” cried Tinkle. “I wonder if I shall ever be -able to do even half that many?” - -“Of course you will,” said Prancer kindly. “You wait; Mr. Drake will -teach you as he taught me.” - -All this while many things were going on about the circus grounds. The -big tents had been put up, the animal cages wheeled in, the clowns were -painting their faces in such funny ways to make the boys and girls -laugh, and the big, golden wagons were being made ready for the parade. -A band was playing, the pretty flags were blowing in the wind, and, -altogether, the circus was such a nice place that, for the first time -in a long while, Tinkle felt happy. But when he thought of George and -the nice home he had been taken from he felt sad. - -“Still, this is much better than being kept in the dirty stable,” -thought the trick pony. “Maybe I’ll see George some day.” - -Tom, the man who had cleaned and fed Tinkle, came running into the -ponies’ tent. - -“Come on now!” he cried. “Lively everybody!” - -All at once some other men began taking down, off pegs in the tent -poles, red blankets, strings of bells, gaily colored plumes and harness. - -“What is going on?” asked Tinkle. - -“Oh, they are going to dress us up, and hitch us to a little golden -wagon to go in the parade,” said Prancer. - -“Do you think I am to go?” asked Tinkle. - -“I think not this time,” answered Tiny Tim. “You see you don’t know -much about a circus yet, and you might be frightened by the big crowds -and the noise. Then, too, you wouldn’t know how to pull the golden -chariot in which a lady rides, dressed up like a fairy princess.” - -“Oh, that must be fine!” cried Tinkle. - -“It is. But you’ll be in it soon, so don’t worry,” put in Prancer. -“We’ll be back by noon.” - -The men hitched up the ponies and led them out of the tent to where the -golden chariot stood. - -“This new pony is a very pretty one,” said the man Tom to one of his -helpers. “When he is trained he’ll go in the parade too.” - -Tinkle felt a little sad when his pony friends left him alone in the -big tent, but still he had plenty to eat and a clean place to stay, and -he knew they would come back soon. Tinkle saw a boy coming toward him -with a pail of water, and, for a moment, the pony thought the boy might -be George. But he was not. - -“I wonder if I shall ever see George, Mabel and nice Patrick again?” -thought Tinkle. “I would just love to be in my nice home once more, -even though I like the circus.” - -Suddenly Tinkle heard some one call: - -“Look out! Here come the elephants!” and the ground seemed to rumble -and shake as it did when there was a heavy thunder storm. - -“Elephants? Elephants?” said Tinkle to himself. “Where have I heard -that word before?” Then he remembered. “Oh, now I know,” he said. -“Dido, the dancing bear, told me about them.” - -Tinkle looked from his tent. Near him, just outside, were ten big -elephants with gay silk blankets on their backs. And, as Tinkle looked, -he saw one funny elephant slyly reach out his trunk and pull the tail -of the elephant in front of him. Then the funny elephant looked the -other way and seemed to be hunting on the ground for a peanut. - -[Illustration: As Tinkle looked he saw one funny elephant slyly reach -out his trunk and pull the tail of the elephant in front of him.] - -All at once it flashed into Tinkle’s head. - -“That must be Tum Tum the jolly elephant Dido was telling me about. -I’ll ask him.” So he called, in animal talk: “How do you do, Tum Tum?” - -“Ha! What’s that? Some one must know me,” answered Tum Tum, for it was -he. “Oh,” he went on, “it’s a little pony. But, though I know most of -the ponies in this circus, I don’t know you,” and Tum Tum walked a -little closer to Tinkle’s tent. - -“I heard about you from Dido, the dancing bear,” said Tinkle, as he -told his own name. “I never thought I should meet you in this circus, -though.” - -“Why, how strange!” cried Tum Tum. “Fancy meeting Dido! You must tell -me all about him. He and I are very good friends. I was sorry when he -went away from the circus. Tell me about him when I come back. I have -to go in the parade now,” and Tum Tum, with a jolly laugh and a wink -of his eye at Tinkle, marched slowly off with a man seated on his big -head. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TINKLE IS SAD - - -“Now, Tinkle, we can have a nice talk,” said Tum Tum, a little later, -when he came back from the parade. “Tell me about yourself, how you -came to join the circus and, most of all, I want to hear about my old -friend Dido.” - -So Tinkle told all he could remember; telling first of the beautiful -green meadow in which he had once lived, and of George who had taught -him a few tricks, and of having been taken away by two men in the big -moving van. - -Then Tinkle told of having met Dido, of what the dancing bear had said, -and of what he had told Tinkle about Tum Tum and Mappo, the merry -monkey. - -“Is Mappo in this circus?” asked Tinkle, as he finished his little -story. - -“Yes, and you’ll probably see him in a day or so,” answered Tum Tum. - -That afternoon, when the performance was over, Mr. Drake, the man who -had bought Tinkle from the man who had stolen him, came to where the -pony was lying down in the tent and said: - -“Now we’ll see what you know and how much I have to teach you. We will -begin with some easy tricks.” - -Then began a busy time for Tinkle, not only that day but for a number -of days. When the circus was not traveling from one city to another or -when a performance was not being held in the tents, Mr. Drake taught -Tinkle tricks. Tinkle, the first time it occurred, did not know what -was going to happen when, instead of being allowed to go to sleep after -the show, he and the other ponies and animals were put in the big -railroad cars and the whole train was hauled away by an engine. - -Tinkle did not know what was happening but the other ponies told him it -was all right, that he would not be hurt, that they were only going to -another city to give a show there and that this happened nearly every -day or night. Tinkle soon became used to travel, and rather liked it. - -It would take too long to tell you how Tinkle was taught to do many -different tricks. It was not so easy as at first he had thought it -would be, and many times he could not understand what Mr. Drake wanted -him to do. - -In time he learned how to go to a box, in which were a number of flags -or handkerchiefs, of different colors――red, white and blue. - -“Bring me a blue flag,” Mr. Drake would say; and though at first Tinkle -could not tell one color from another, he soon learned to do so. And he -could tell, by hearing the word “blue,” that it was not the _red_ or -the _white_ flag the trainer wanted, but the other. So, though Tinkle -had no word in his own language for blue, he knew what that sound -meant, and for which flag it stood. - -“Now, Tinkle, bring me the _red_ flag,” Mr. Drake would say, when the -blue one had been dropped at his feet from the pony’s teeth. And Tinkle -would pick out the right color. In time he could pick out of the box, -and bring to the trainer, any of the three colors, no matter which one -was asked for first. Tinkle hardly ever made a mistake. - -“Well, now that you know red, white and blue,” said Mr. Drake one day, -“suppose we put all three together, and this is what we get, Tinkle,” -and he held up the beautiful United States flag, with its stripes of -red and white and the white stars on the blue field. “Now, Tinkle when -I ask you what flag you love best I want you to bring me from the box -this red, white and blue one,” said the trainer, shaking the flag in -front of the pony. - -It was several days before Tinkle learned to do this trick, but, after -a while, he could go to the box, pick out the red, white and blue -flags, and then, at the last when the trainer asked the question about -loving the flag, Tinkle would trot over to him carrying in his teeth -the stars and stripes. Then Mr. Drake petted him and gave him two lumps -of sugar, for he had done the trick well. - -Nor were these all the tricks Tinkle learned. Mr. Drake taught him -how to add and subtract simple numbers that the trainer wrote on a -blackboard with chalk. Tinkle could not _really_ add the numbers in his -head, but when the trainer wrote down say a 3 and a 4 and said: “Tell -me how much that is, Tinkle,” Tinkle would nod his head seven times. -He knew Mr. Drake wanted him to nod seven times by the way the trainer -spoke and by the words he used. If the sum were eight, on ten or some -other number, the trainer would ask the question in a different way. So -that Tinkle got to know numbers by listening to the different ways his -trainer spoke the words to him, and it really seemed as though the pony -could do sums in arithmetic. - -Another trick Tinkle learned to do was to get letters from the -“post-office.” Mr. Drake had a box made with partitions in it so that -it looked like part of a post-office. Into the little squares, into -which the big box was divided, the trainer would put cards with the -names of different persons written on them――such as “John Jones,” or -“Peter Smith” or “Mary Black.” - -Each card was always put in the same place, and Mr. Drake taught -Tinkle to trot up to the make-believe post-office. Then when asked: -“Is there a letter for John Jones,” the pony would take out the right -card. Tinkle learned to do this by listening to the different _sounds_ -of Mr. Drake’s voice just as happened when the numbers were called. A -pony knows the different sounds of words, else how could he know enough -to stop when “whoa!” is called, or that he should go when told to -“gid-dap!” - -“Well, now you know so many tricks, I think I’ll show you off before -the people in the big circus tent,” said Mr. Drake one day. And that -afternoon Tinkle was led out all alone. A new white bridle was put on -him, and around him was put a red strap, on top of which, in the middle -of the pony’s back, was fastened a gay, red, white and blue plume. - -Tinkle had looked in, but had never been in the big circus tent before, -where all the people were seated, and where the band was playing jolly -tunes, with funnily painted clowns jumping here and there making the -boys and girls laugh. And at first Tinkle was a bit frightened. But he -looked over to where Tum Tum, the jolly elephant, was turning a hand -organ with his trunk, and Tum Tum called in his pleasant voice: - -“Steady there, Tinkle. Don’t be afraid. You’ll do all right.” - -Then Tinkle felt better, and Mr. Drake patted him and gave him a lump -of sugar before Tinkle had done even one trick. - -“We’ll begin with the easy one――make a bow,” said the trainer. - -Tinkle bowed his prettiest, and some boys and girls in the front row of -seats clapped their hands and laughed. This made Tinkle feel glad, and -he looked around, thinking he might see George or Mabel. But neither -was in the tent. - -Then the pony went through all his tricks――he added and subtracted -numbers, he brought letters from the post-office and then he picked out -the differently colored flags or handkerchiefs that Mr. Drake called -for. - -“Now, Tinkle,” said the trainer, after the pony had done some jumping, -“tell the people which flag you love the best.” - -Tinkle trotted over to the box where a number of flags of different -countries had been put. The United States banner was at the bottom, but -Tinkle knew that. He nosed around among all the flags until he found -the one he knew he wanted, and with that in his teeth he trotted over -to Mr. Drake, while the band played “The Star Spangled Banner.” - -My! I wish you could have heard the people clap then. And how the boys -and girls shouted with joy! They thought Tinkle was just the finest -pony they had ever seen. And Mr. Drake patted him and gave him an extra -large lump of sugar for behaving so nicely when he first did his tricks -in public. - -“I told you he’d make a good trick pony,” said Mr. Drake, as Tom led -the little animal back to the tent. - -“Yes, he’s a dandy!” replied the man. “I’ll give him a good feed of -oats for this.” - -And when Tinkle was back in his stall Prancer and Tiny Tim talked to -him and told him how glad they were that he had done his tricks so -well. Tinkle felt happy, for a while. - -As the days went on, and the circus traveled from place to place, -Tinkle gave many exhibitions of his smartness. He learned new tricks -and he could do the old ones much more easily the oftener he practiced -them, just as you can with your music lesson. - -But though he liked it very much in the circus, Tinkle was sad. His -animal friends could tell that by looking at him, and the pony did not -eat as well as he had at first. - -“Come now, Tinkle, tell me what the matter is,” came a voice behind him -one day, and, turning, the pony saw a funny monkey seated in the straw -on the ground. - -“I am Mappo, the merry chap Tum Tum and Dido told you about,” went on -the monkey. “I haven’t had time to come to see you before. I’ve been -kept so busy in this circus.” - -“Oh, yes, I remember Dido and Tum Tum speaking about you,” said Tinkle. -“Thank you for coming to see me.” - -“Well, you don’t look very happy over it,” said Mappo. “Come, what is -the trouble? Why are you sad? Look at me, I’m merry enough for any -one,” and Mappo turned a somersault that made Tinkle laugh in his pony -way. - -“Come! That’s better,” said Mappo. “Be jolly like Tum Tum. What is the -matter, anyhow?” - -“Oh, I feel sad when I think of the nice home I was taken from,” said -Tinkle. “I miss George and Mabel, and I’d like to be with them again, -to let them ride on my back or pull them about in the pony cart. That -is why I am sad.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -TINKLE IS HAPPY - - -Mappo, the merry monkey, picked up a long, clean straw and put it in -his mouth, almost as a man might do with a toothpick. Mappo sat chewing -on the straw and looking at Tinkle. - -“Tell me about that nice home where you used to live, little pony,” -said Mappo. “Maybe it will make you feel better to talk about it.” - -“I think it will,” sighed Tinkle. “Oh, I just _love_ to talk about -George and Mabel, they were so good and kind to me! And so was Patrick, -the coachman.” - -So Tinkle told Mappo the story of his home and of his having been taken -away in the moving van. - -“Those were queer adventures,” said Mappo. “Almost as queer as those I -had.” - -“Did you have adventures, too?” asked Tinkle. - -“Indeed I did,” answered the merry monkey, and he told his story of -having once lived in the jungle-forest and of how he had been caught -and put in the circus. - -“I had so many adventures,” said Mappo, “that a man put them in a book, -as he did those of Tum Tum, Dido and some other animals. Maybe you’ll -be put in a book, too, Tinkle.” - -“Oh, nothing like that will ever happen to _me_!” said the trick pony. -But that only goes to show we never can tell what is going to happen -in this world, doesn’t it? For Tinkle _is_ in this very book you are -reading. And how surprised he was when he heard about it and saw his -pictures! - -But now we will leave him talking to Mappo, if you please, and go back -to where George and Mabel live. You will remember that Patrick, the -coachman, had gone to the store for salve for one of the horses, and -that George and Mabel, with their father and mother, were visiting in -the country. - -When Patrick came back with the salve the first thing he noticed was -that Tinkle was not in his stall. - -Patrick searched all around for Tinkle, but, of course, could not find -him. He asked the people living in neighboring houses, but none of them -had seen Tinkle go away, because the men shut him up inside the moving -van, you see. Some persons had seen the big wagon near the stable but -none had seen Tinkle put into it. - -Patrick even got a policeman and a fireman, whom he knew, to look for -Tinkle, but they could not find him. And when, a day or so later, Mr. -and Mrs. Farley came back from the country, with George and Mabel, the -two children cried when told that Tinkle was gone. - -“I think I must cheer them up a bit,” said Mr. Farley to his wife one -afternoon. “They are thinking too much about Tinkle. I must take their -minds off him.” - -“How will you do it?” asked Mrs. Farley. - -“A circus is coming to town to-morrow,” said her husband. “I’ll take -the children to see that, and when they watch the funny monkeys, the -queer clowns and the big elephants they will forget about Tinkle.” - -So, when the big show with the white tents came to the city where the -Farleys lived, George and Mabel were taken with their father to see the -wonderful sight. - -“Do you think there’ll be any ponies in the circus?” asked George. - -“Why, yes, maybe,” answered Mr. Farley. “Why?” - -“I’m not going to look at them,” said Mabel. - -“Nor I,” added George. “They’d make me think too much of our Tinkle.” - -On the way to the circus with their father, Mabel and George passed -through a part of the city where there were not many houses, and in -what few homes there were poor people lived. - -Many of them owned goats, some for the milk they gave, for the milk of -goats is almost as good as that of cows. - -“Oh, see that big goat!” cried George as they passed a small house, -on the rocks behind which a goat was jumping about. “Look how easy he -jumps!” - -“You may well say that!” exclaimed a pleasant-faced Irish woman at the -front gate. “Sure, Lightfoot is the most illigint goat that ever was.” - -“Is Lightfoot his name?” asked Mr. Farley. - -“Sure an’ it is, for it fits him well. He’s that light on his feet -you’d never know he was jumpin’ at all. Ah, he’s a fine goat.” - -“I had a fine pony once,” said George, “but somebody took him away.” - -“That’s too bad,” said the Irish woman, whose name was Mrs. Malony. -“Sure but I’d like to see any one, not a friend, try to take Lightfoot -away. He’d butt ’em with his horns.” - -“Isn’t it too bad Tinkle didn’t have horns?” sighed Mabel, as she -walked on. - -“A pony with horns would be a funny one,” said her brother. - -I wish I had time to tell you all that George and Mabel did at the -circus and the many things they saw, from Tum Tum the jolly elephant to -Mappo the merry monkey. They laughed at the clowns, ate popcorn and -peanuts, giving some to the elephants, feeding a whole bag of peanuts -to Tum Tum, though they did not know his name. But they were sure he -was nice because he looked at them in such a funny, jolly way. - -“Oh, look at the ponies!” cried Mabel, as the little horses trotted -into the middle ring. There was Prancer and Tiny Tim, as well as -others, and they were going to do their tricks. - -“They are nice ponies,” said George, glancing at them, even though he -and Mabel had said they would not look. “But not one of them is as nice -as Tinkle.” - -The ponies went through their tricks, doing their very best, and then, -when the time came, Tinkle himself was led in to do his tricks alone, -as of late he always did. Mabel and George were looking the other way -just then, watching a man turn a somersault over the backs of Tum Tum -and some other elephants, and at first they did not see Tinkle. But as -George turned in time to watch the trick pony take the United States -flag out of the box, and bring it to Mr. Drake the little boy cried: - -“Oh, Mabel! See that pony!” - -“Which one?” asked the little girl. - -“There,” and George pointed. “Doesn’t he look just like Tinkle? He has -four white feet and a white star on his head. Mabel, see, isn’t he -just like our pony? Why――why!” cried George, standing up in his seat, -and very much excited, “it _is_ Tinkle! Oh, Mabel, it _is_ Tinkle!” - -“I――I believe it is,” said the little girl slowly. - -Persons sitting near the children looked at them, and then at the pony. -Mr. Farley, too, was staring at the little trick horse. - -“I wonder if it could be Tinkle?” he asked himself. - -George was sure he was right――so sure that he jumped from his seat and -rushed into the ring where the pony had just finished his tricks. - -“Tinkle! Tinkle!” said George. “It _is_ you, isn’t it? And you know me, -don’t you?” - -Tinkle knew his little master at once though it was several months -since he had seen him. The pony trotted across the ring, and while the -trainer, the circus folk, and the people in their seats looked on in -wonder, George threw his arms around the pony’s neck. - -Tinkle whinnied. That was the only way he could talk our language, but -it meant he was glad to see George again――very glad indeed. - -“Oh, Tinkle, Tinkle!” cried the happy little boy. “I’ve found you -again! I’ve found our Tinkle!” - -[Illustration: George threw his arms around the pony’s neck.] - -“What does this mean?” asked Mr. Drake. “Do you say this is your pony? -I bought him for the circus.” - -“Yes, Tinkle is my pony,” cried George. “Mine and Mabel’s. I taught him -some tricks, too. Make a bow, Tinkle.” And Tinkle did. - -“Well, this is very strange,” said the trainer. “He minds you and does -tricks for you. But I bought him of a man, and――” - -“Perhaps I can explain,” said Mr. Farley, coming into the ring with -Mabel, who not only put her arms around Tinkle’s neck but kissed him on -his white star. And Tinkle rubbed his soft nose against her soft cheek. -“This looks very much like my little boy’s pony, that was stolen from -our stable some time ago,” went on Mr. Farley, and he told of having -bought Tinkle at the stock farm. - -“Well, I guess you’re right, and it is your little boy’s pet,” said the -circus man, after Tinkle’s story had been told by Mr. Farley. “I didn’t -like the looks of the man from whom I bought the pony, but I never -thought he had stolen Tinkle.” - -There was no doubt that Tinkle belonged to George. You could tell that -by watching how glad the pony was to see his master again. The people -in the audience thought it was all part of the circus, and laughed as -Tinkle followed George about the ring. - -The circus man was sorry to lose Tinkle but, as he said he had no right -to him, he agreed to let George and Mabel have the pony back. - -“And may we take him now?” asked George eagerly. - -“Yes, I guess so,” said Mr. Drake. “There is an old pony cart in one of -the tents. You can drive Tinkle home in that and send the cart back by -your coachman. But you may keep Tinkle.” - -“And we’ll never let him go away again,” said George. - -“Never!” cried his sister. “We’ll keep him forever.” - -A man took Tinkle away to harness him to the pony cart. Tinkle had a -chance to say good-by to Mappo and Tum Tum. - -“So you are going back to your old home,” observed the monkey. “I am -glad, for you never would have been happy here in the circus, though it -just suits me.” - -“And me, also,” added Tum Tum, the jolly elephant. “If you see Dido, -the dancing bear,” he went on, “tell him to hurry back. We are lonesome -without him.” - -“I will!” cried Tinkle, who was so excited he could hardly wait to be -harnessed. He was very eager to be with George and Mabel again. - -The circus men patted the pony, for they liked him. Tinkle called -good-by to Tum Tum, Mappo and all his animal friends, and then, the -pony cart being ready, he trotted home with Mr. Farley, George and -Mabel. - -“There is that funny goat, Lightfoot, again,” said George as they -passed the home of Mrs. Malony. - -“Yes,” said Mabel. “I like him. I wonder if we will ever see him again?” - -And they did, several times; and you may read about it in the book to -come after this, which will be called: “Lightfoot, the Leaping Goat: -His Many Adventures.” - -You may well imagine how surprised Mrs. Farley and Patrick were to see -the children come driving home with the long-lost Tinkle. - -“We found him in the circus!” cried George. - -“And he can do ever so many more tricks,” said Mabel, laughing. - -“You ought to see him find the flag!” added her brother, and they began -to make Tinkle do some of his new circus tricks. So while the children -are doing that, and telling their mother how they found Tinkle again, -this will be a good chance for us to say good-by to the trick pony. - - - THE END - - - - -GOOD STORIES FOR CHILDREN - -(From four to nine years old) - -THE KNEETIME ANIMAL STORIES - -By RICHARD BARNUM - - -[Illustration] - -In all nursery literature animals have played a conspicuous part; and -the reason is obvious, for nothing entertains a child more than the -antics of an animal. These stories abound in amusing incidents such as -children adore, and the characters are so full of life, so appealing to -a child’s imagination, that none will be satisfied until they have met -all of their favorites――Squinty, Slicko, Mappo, and the rest. - - 1 Squinty, the Comical Pig. - 2 Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel. - 3 Mappo, the Merry Monkey. - 4 Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant. - 5 Don, a Runaway Dog. - 6 Dido, the Dancing Bear. - 7 Blackie, a Lost Cat. - 8 Flop Ear, the Funny Rabbit. - 9 Tinkle, the Trick Pony. - 10 Lightfoot, the Leaping Goat. - 11 Chunky, the Happy Hippo. - 12 Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox. - 13 Nero, the Circus Lion. - 14 Tamba, the Tame Tiger. - 15 Toto, the Rustling Beaver. - 16 Shaggo, the Mighty Buffalo. - 17 Winkie, the Wily Woodchuck. - -_Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated._ - - - BARSE & HOPKINS - Publishers - Newark, N. J. New York, N. Y. - - - * * * * * - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently - corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Tinkle, the Trick Pony, by Richard Barnum - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TINKLE, THE TRICK PONY *** - -***** This file should be named 61847-0.txt or 61847-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/8/4/61847/ - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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