man with her head chucked clear inside. She
must like to be licked better'n I do. It makes me shiver when Towzer
sticks his big, hot tongue on my face. Ugh! S'posing the lion should
shut his mouth and bite her head off, what do you guess she'd do?"

"I guess they'd have to get another woman for the lion," answered Allee.
"I don't b'lieve those animals really do those things, do you, Peace?"

"Yes, I do. Why, that book of natural history that Hector lent us after
he got licked for stealing the melons tells about the way hunters train
them to act in cirkises. I'd like to see them awfully much myself."

"Then let's ask Gail. She _might_ have a little spare money."

"No, I don't think she would. We'll have to earn the money ourselves,
but I'm afraid she won't want us to go. That's what is bothering me. I
tell you what let's do. We'll earn the money first and buy our tickets,
and then I'm sure she will let us go. Shall we?"

"Maybe that would be the best way. But how'll we earn the money? It's
only a week from now, you said yourself, and that won't leave us much
time to do anything, 'specially as school keeps 'most all day long.
There ain't any strawberries to pick or blackberries to sell or snow to
sweep or--"

"Let's give a nentertaimnent in our barn like Hec and the boys did last
week in their carriage-shed. They charged a cent apiece, and earned
more'n a quarter, Hec told me. And I know we could give a better
entertainment than they did. You could sing and Cherry could speak.
Perhaps we could coax Hope to read to us. She does it splendidly, though
usu'ly she thinks she's too big to play with us any longer. I am pretty
sure Hec would turn summersets for us. He has been quite respectable
since that last licking the Judge gave him. Jimmy Jones would likely
play the bones for us, too, if Hec asked him to. They don't make a
pretty noise, but it's a sight to see his hands fly. Tessie is learning
the fiddle and I know she'd be glad to show off, and so would Effie, if
we could get our organ out into the barn."

"And you can whistle," put in Allee, all excitement as Peace unfolded
her brilliant plan. "You sound just like the birds, and Gail said only
the other night that you did better than lots of people who have taken
lessons. But do you s'pose she will let us have the organ? Do you s'pose
she'll even let us have the barn? It is in an awful clutter, and I don't
see where we could put the people who come."

"I was wonder