“Never you mind, Mary Jane,” said Linn comfortingly, “she was afraid the first time she saw him and I remember all about it. But now she’s learned that he can’t get out the cage.”
“Now, Linn, I never—” began Betty.
But John interrupted. “There!” he said, “I’m through. Come on, let’s gather up the boxes and papers and stick ’em in the trash box on the way to get the peanuts.” So the children all helped and in a jiffy the pretty, grassy spot where they had eaten lunch was as clean and tidy as when they came. And then away they scampered after the peanuts.
Such an afternoon as it was! Mary Jane tried to remember each thing they did so she could tell her father when he met them after three o’clock. But she couldn’t remember half what they had done. She knew they saw the little foxes—such pretty, dainty white and tan colored foxes that played together like little pet kittens and made her want to hold them in her lap and pet them. She knew they saw the bears—great big bears and middle sized bears and little bit o’ bears just like in the story book, and she fed them peanuts which they caught very deftly in their soft cushioned paws. But all the rest, she really couldn’t remember in the right order—there were kangaroos and buffaloes and a giraffe who stuck his long neck over the top of a great high fence and made Mary Jane think of nothing so much as a funny paper picture. And then of course the monkeys—dozens of them and queer birds with curious colored feathers and funny bills and feet. Really, she had seen in that one afternoon, more animals than she had guessed lived in the whole world, oh, many more!
“But have you seen the seals?” asked Mr. Merrill who met them at the bird house.
No, they hadn’t.
“It’s almost four o’clock,” said Mr. Merrill, looking at his watch, “and Mr. Holden said they ate at four and we should meet him there, so let’s hurry.”
It was a good thing they did hurry for other folks seemed to know, too, that the seals were fed at four. From all directions, folks could be seen walking toward the big enclosed pond where the seals were kept. But, by hurrying, they got there in time to stand close to the iron fence where they could see the antics of those queerest of animals, the seals.
One would suppose that even the seals knew it was nearly four o’clock, dinner time, for they were so excited and eager. They barked and swam and flung themselves around vigorously as though they could hardly stand waiting for anything. Then, just at four, a man came out of a near-by building. In his hand he carried a basket of fish—a great, well-filled basket. He came over to a little platform close by where the Merrill and Holden children were standing; so they could see everything.
He picked up a big fish, tossed it over into the rocky island in the middle of the seals’ pond and then! such a scrambling as there was till the middle-sized seal with a few ungainly flops, grabbed the fish and gulped it down in one bite.