ns, and they jump in out of sight, like a
gopher going into its hole, and the mother looks around as innocent as
can be, as much as to say: "You can search me. I don't know, honestly,
where those kids have gone, but they were around here not more than a
minute ago." And when the fright is over the two heads peep out of the
top of the pouch, and the old man grunts, as much as to say: "O, come on
out, there is no danger, and let your ma have a little rest, 'cause she
is nervous," and then the babies come out and run around the cage, and
sit up on their hind feet and look wise. That kangaroo pouch is a
success, and I wonder why nature did not provide pouches for all animals
to carry their young in. I think Pullman must have got his ideas for the
upper and lower berths of a sleeping car by seeing a kangaroo pouch. I
am going to study the kangaroo and make friends with the old man
kangaroo, 'cause he looks as though he had troubles of his own.

Pa showed up without any coat, while I was kangarooing, and there was a
rip in his pants, and I asked him what was the trouble, and he said he
got too near the cage of a leopard that seemed to be asleep, and the
traitor reached out his paw and gathered in the tail of pa's coat, and
just snatched it off his back as though it was made of paper.

[Illustration: A Leopard Reached Out His Paw and Gathered In the Tail of
Pa's Coat.]

Pa is a little discouraged about his experience in the circus the first
day, but he says it will be great when we get the run of the business.
He says every day will have its excitement. Tomorrow they are going to
extract a tooth from the boa-constrictor, and pa and I are going to help
hold him, while the animal dentist pulls the tooth, and then we scrub
the rhinoceros, and oil the hippopotamus, and get everything ready to
start out on the road, and I can't write any more in my diary until
after we fix the snake. Gee, but he is as long as a clothesline.

CHAPTER III.

Pa Reproves the Fat Woman for Losing Flesh--The Bearded Lady Faints
in Pa's Arms--The Bad Boy Introduced Into Animal Society--They Pull
the Boa Constrictor's Ulcerated Tooth.

Winter Quarters of the Only Circus, April 20.--Pa has had a hard job
today. The boss complained to pa that the fat woman had been taking
anti-fat, or dieting, or something, 'cause she was losing flesh, and the
living skeleton was beginning to fat up. He wanted pa to call them into
the office and hav