As soon as he fell over on the straw again and they heard him snore, they all came back to the middle of the ring where they were before, and Bettina, the burro, suggested that they elect Billy Whiskers president. But he refused to take it, saying the elephant should be president as he was much the oldest member.
“Then you must be speaker,” they all said. This he consented to be. Stubby was elected secretary and was to notify the members by word of mouth instead of writing them. Button was treasurer and was to look after the food until it was eaten.
The directors of this Club were to be the animals that could get out of their cages to attend the Club meetings. Those who could not were to be honorary members. Polly was elected to fly from cage to cage and sit on the top and tell the animals in them what had been said at the last meeting.
Now the Club was organized, all it needed was a name. Each director selected one and when they were voted on, the Good Fellowship Club had the most votes. Then the next thing to do was for them all to go round to the different animals in the cages and tell them about the Club and ask them if they wished to join and be honorary members.
The business of starting a Club being finished, the animals went back to their places to lie down and see if they could not get a little sleep before the circus was astir in the morning. Polly awoke first and just as day was dawning, she flew from cage to cage and told the animals in them about the new Club. Every animal in the entire circus joined except the hyenas and wild boars. The other animals were glad they did not, because these animals were much disliked, the hyenas because they ate human flesh,—and the boars for their boarish disposition.
When the names of the members were read off at the next Club meeting, it was found they had as members walruses, lions, bears, sacred bulls, hippopotami, wild cats, tigers, wolves, camels, giraffes, elephants, dogs, leopards, elk, water buffaloes, rhinoceri, foxes and angora goats. The only ones of the monkey troop invited were the big baboons and chimpanzees. The members were afraid that if they invited the smaller monkeys to join they would chatter and make such a racket that it would waken the night watchman, who would break up the meeting.
They were to assemble once a week on Wednesday evenings when not on the road. Should they be on the move, the meeting would be postponed until the first evening they went in camp. It was decided that the first talk was to be by the president, the elephant, who was to tell them all he knew about elephants. The next talk was to be by the longest necked giraffe in the circus, followed by the oldest zebra.
CHAPTER XII
THE ELEPHANT’S STORY
THE next night being Wednesday, the day they had decided to have their Club meeting, all the animals that had joined the club appeared promptly at the appointed hour, which was eleven thirty, in the middle of the circus tent. This tent being rather small and very quiet at that hour of the night, it was found that all the animals in the cages surrounding the ring could hear plainly every word the speaker said. And the night watchman being such a sound sleeper, their conversation did not awaken him. So without any fear the elephant began his story.