es of both Signor
Tomaso and Hansen noted that it gave wider berth to the puma than to
any of the others, and also that the puma's ears, at the moment, were
ominously flattened. Instantly the long whip snapped its terse
admonition to good manners. Nothing happened, except that the pug,
from between the puma's legs, barked insolently. The sandy-brown bulk
reached its allotted pedestal,--which was quite absurdly too small for
it to mount,--dropped the musket with a clatter, fell upon all fours
with a loud _whoof_ of relief, and relapsed into a bear.

The stage now set to his satisfaction, Signor Tomaso advanced to the
centre of it. He snapped his whip, and uttered a sharp cry which the
audience doubtless took for purest Italian. Immediately the animals
all descended from their pedestals, and circled solemnly around him in
a series of more or less intricate evolutions, all except the bear,
who, not having yet been initiated into this beast quadrille, kept his
place and looked scornful. At another signal the evolutions ceased,
and all the beasts, except one of the lions, hurried back to their
places. The lion, with the bashful air of a boy who gets up to "speak
his piece" at a school examination, lingered in the middle of the
stage. A rope was brought. The Swede took one end of it, the
attendant who had brought it took the other, and between them they
began to swing it, very slowly, as a great skipping-rope. At an
energetic command from Signor Tomaso the lion slipped into the
swinging circle, and began to skip in a ponderous and shamefaced
fashion. The house thundered applause. For perhaps half a minute the
strange performance continued, the whip snapping rhythmically with
every descent of the rope. Then all at once, as if he simply could not
endure it for another second, the lion bolted, head down, clambered
upon his pedestal, and shut his eyes hard as if expecting a whipping.
But as nothing happened except a roar of laughter from the seats, he
opened them again and glanced from side to side complacently, as if to
say, "Didn't I get out of that neatly?"

The next act was a feat of teetering. A broad and massive teeter-board
was brought in, and balanced across a support about two feet high. The
sulky leopard, at a sign from Tomaso, slouched up to it, pulled one
end to the ground, and mounted. At the centre he balanced cautiously
for a moment till it tipped, then crept on to the other end, and
crouched there, holding it do