fact he rather liked it.

"Oh, this is fun!" he cried. "I'm going to slide down the haymow some
more!"

Again he climbed to the top, and down he slid, sitting upright as though
on a chair. Again he slipped over the edge of the mow and fell on the
pile of hay on the barn floor.

"Hurray!" shouted Joe, who, being no longer lame, could play like other
boys. "I'm going to try that!"

He did, as did the other boys and girls, and soon they had forgotten
their Christmas toys for the time being, in the newer fun of sliding
down the hay. Thus the Elephant, the Donkey, and the different
make-believe animals were left to themselves in a distant part of the
barn.

"This is our chance," said the Donkey to the Elephant. "Let's walk
around. My legs are stiff, especially the one that was broken and which
Mr. Mugg mended."

"Yes, a little walk will do us good," agreed the Elephant. "I am a bit
stiff myself, and I want to swing my trunk."

So the Donkey and Elephant, making believe come to life, walked about
the barn floor, while the children were farther off, sliding down the
haymow.

There were many strange things in the barn--at least strange to the
Elephant and Donkey. There were garden tools of all sorts, rakes, hoes,
shovels and picks. There were strange pieces of machinery for cutting
hay, planting corn and potatoes, and the like.

In one corner was a big wheel, with a rope around it, and for a moment
the Elephant thought his friend the Spinning Wheel had come out to the
barn to play. But a second look showed that this wheel was larger,
stronger and different in every way.

"I wonder what this wheel and rope are for?" said the Elephant to the
Nodding Donkey.

"I don't know, I'm sure," brayed the nodding toy.

Just then the wheel turned slowly, and the long, dangling rope swayed to
and fro.

"I wonder what that is for!" went on the Elephant. Like most animals he
was curious about something he did not understand, just as your cat or
dog will try to find out what causes a strange noise.

"Why don't you reach up with your trunk and feel it?" asked the Donkey.
"I have heard you say your trunk was almost like a hand to you."

"It is," the Elephant answered. "I will feel the rope and wheel and see
what it is like."

As the children were in another part of the barn, having fun in the
haymow, and as there were no prying eyes to watch, the Elephant could do
as he pleased. He raised his trunk and stretched it toward the