Jerry had at once chosen a very wild-looking lion to ride upon, but Mary and Beth decided on two beautiful white horses, that rose up and down on the iron rods that ran through their wooden bodies, as the platform circled about.
The music was a jolly tune that the girls had heard before, so they laughed and sang and waved each time to Uncle Billy as they sped past him.
When the ride was over they walked to the other side of the grounds, where a great crowd had gathered.
"What is it?" asked Jerry. "What is the fun about?" for everyone seemed to be laughing.
Uncle Billy soon found a place for the girls near the inner circle, and to their great surprise they saw a number of boys trying to catch some very shiny little black pigs within a small enclosure. The crowd roared with delight whenever a pig would slip through the fingers of the boy trying to catch him.
"What makes them so shiny?" asked Beth, "and why do they want to catch them?"
"Why, grease makes them shiny," replied Uncle Billy, "and the boy who is clever enough to catch one gets the pig, or a prize."
"I do hope that boy with the red hair and freckles will catch his," whispered Mary; "he looks just like a boy I know."
"Oh, I know whom you mean;—Reddy," said Jerry with a smile.
"Isn't it dreadful the way those pigs squeal," and Beth put her hands over her ears to shut out the sound.