Billy Whiskers at the Circus

by Frances Trego Montgomery

Following along as near to the road as he dared, he made pretty fair progress. Presently he heard whistles begin to blow, and coming to the top of the hill he was climbing, looked down on the other side to find the busy little city of Springfield spread out before him.

“It must be noon,” commented Billy, “that’s why the whistles are blowing. It will keep me busy to get to the show by the time the performances begin. The bills said one o’clock sharp. Way off there to the south is the big tent. My, ain’t it a whopper! I don’t know how I shall ever get in, but I must manage it somehow, and I’m glad I’ve come. If only Terrence Bull Pup hadn’t been so snippy, I would have had no trouble and might have seen the whole thing. As it is, I’ve missed the parade. I wish now that I hadn’t stopped to eat that cabbage.

“I hope I see Terrence. If I do, he’ll soon find I am not so good yet as to pass over his slights without notice. I can just feel myself giving him such a butting as he has never had before.”

All this time Billy was trotting down the long hill that leads into Springfield from the west. The houses were becoming thicker and difficulties in going cross-lots increasing. He shortly found it necessary to take to the open streets. But there were so many people, and so much excitement and confusion that Billy was a little out of patience to find that no attention was paid to him.

Even the boys, who had generally made him trouble in the old days, now let him alone.

They were on their way home from seeing the parade where there had been elephants, and camels, and bears, and lions and tigers on view. What was a goat, even as big and proud and handsome as Billy Whiskers, to sights like these?

Besides all that, most of them were going back to see the performance as soon as they had had their dinners. No, they had no time for goats now!

Little they guessed how much of that day’s excitement and fun would be due to the great goat they were meeting so carelessly in the street. If they had, you may be sure they would have looked at him twice.