As soon as he had dressed he went down to the barn to assure himself for
the twentieth time that the little stall was in perfect readiness; that
there was no lack of oats in the bin or hay in the loft; that the
brand-new halter was hanging in its place, waiting to be clasped upon
the head of the coming pony, and thus he managed to while away the time
until the breakfast bell rang.

The pony was to arrive shortly after breakfast, and, hungry as he was,
Bert could scarcely be persuaded to taste his porridge, toast, or
coffee, and he made the others laugh by jumping up to run to the door at
the slightest suspicion of a sound in the street. At length, just when
he had settled down again after one of these excursions, the door bell
rang vigorously. Bert rushed through the hall, opened the door, and
immediately there was a glad shout of "Hurrah! Here he is! Isn't he a
beauty?" which brought the whole family to the door, and there they
beheld the overjoyed boy with his arms clasped tightly round the neck
of a brown pony that seemed to quite appreciate this little
demonstration, while the groom looked on with a superior smile at Bert's
enthusiasm.

The pony was indeed a beauty. He was of a rich brown colour, without a
white spot upon him, just high enough for Bert to see comfortably over
his back, and as round and plump as the best master could wish. His head
was small and perfectly shaped, his neck beautifully arched, and he had
large brown eyes that looked out upon the world with an intelligence
almost human. He had the highest testimonials as to soundness of wind
and limb, and sweetness of temper, and was altogether just the very kind
of a pony to make a boy happy.

And yet all of his good points have not been recounted. He had a list of
accomplishments quite as long as his list of virtues, for at some
previous stage of his life he had, on account of his beauty and great
docility, been put in training for the circus; and although for some
reason or other he had never got so far as to make his appearance in the
saw-dust arena, he had been taught a great many tricks, and these he was
generally willing to perform, provided an apple or lump of sugar were
held out as a reward.

All this the groom explained while they were standing at the door, and
then the pony, having been sufficiently introduced, was led round to the
yard, and duly installed in his corner of the stable, Bert clinging as
close to him as if he feared he had w