“I surely would,” said the fourth cow.
CHAPTER XI
UNEXPECTED HAPPENINGS
BUTTON was about to begin to tell them one of his thrilling adventures when several policemen appeared and began clubbing and driving the animals out of the park. One of them said, “Sure and I would like to know how these animals got into this park without me seein’ um. Somebody must have drove um in thinking it was a free pasture.” Another one said, “But did ye ever see such a motley bunch? There are cows, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, cats and dogs. Will ye tell me where they come from? When I just saw um I thought I must be dreamin’.”
“I did sure!” called out the first policeman.
“Hey, there, stop runnin’ over them flower beds, will ye?”
It was astonishing how all the animals seemed to disappear so suddenly. One would have thought the earth had opened and swallowed them whole. But Billy, Stubby, Nannie and Button had started for the Northern Pacific railroad track, which road they were to follow all the way to the Pacific coast. The gray cat showed them the way so they would not get on the wrong track as there were so many it would be hard to tell which was the right one. But the grey cat knew them well. So after that they said good-by to the cat and thanked him for all the trouble he had gone to to entertain them.
“Not at all! Not at all! It was no trouble I assure you, but a pleasure to have the honor of introducing three such distinguished travelers to my friends.”
“Toot! Toot!” whistled a train behind them, and they jumped off the track just in time to save themselves from being run over. And as they stood at the side of the track, they read on the cars these signs which had been stretched the whole length of each one:
“Ringling Brothers Three Ring Circus.”