Billy Whiskers' Travels

by Frances Trego Montgomery

"You're a bad goat," he said to Billy, shaking his finger at him. "I have been puzzling what to name you, but now I know," and by some strange accident he landed on the very name that Billy's mother had given him long before. "I'm going," he said, "to call you Billy Mischief."

Billy had to behave himself splendidly to make the Sanders family forget that morning's mischief, but at last Mrs. Sanders remembered that she had seen Jimmy Tarwings on Billy's back when he was running with the clothes fast to his neck, and so they blamed it on the crow. They were used to blaming mischief on that busy bird, so that a little more or less did not matter much to him.

And now Billy's education began. Every day, for an hour or so, Bobby taught tricks to the pets. The first time Billy saw this he scarcely knew his new friends, they were so different and so much in earnest. First of all, Bobby, who had been training his animals for a long time, placed a row of boxes in front of the barn.

"Dandy!" he cried, and the pony ran quickly to the big box in the center and stood upon it. "King! Queen!" Bobby cried, and the two dogs jumped upon the boxes, one each side of the pony. "Ponto! Patty!" and the next box on each side was filled. "Curly! Spot! Hurricane! Lightning!" and the next four boxes, two on each side, were occupied.

This disposed of all the dogs except the six little collie puppies, and Bobby next called the names of these, one at a time. Of course the puppies did not know what to do, but as soon as Bobby had called the name of one of them he set that one up on its box so that it would soon learn to know where it belonged.

"Jimmy!" called Bobby, and down from the barn fluttered Jimmy Tarwings and sat on the pony's head. Then Bobby gave a peculiar low thrilling whistle, and with a whirl and a rush the pigeons came circling and fluttering down, each one landing on a head of one of the dogs. "Spunk! Saucebox!" Bobby called, and the two bantams jumped up, one on each of his outstretched hands. Two of the pigeons settled down on each of Bobby's shoulders and one on top of his head. The two bantam roosters started to crow as loud as they could and that was the signal for the pony and all the dogs except the puppies to stand up on their hind feet, while the crow and the pigeons fluttered their wings. "Down!" said Bobby, and they all settled back upon their haunches. Bobby dropped his arms and the bantam roosters fluttered to the ground.

Next Bobby brought out a barrel and called Dandy. The pony came running and with a little jump landed right on top of the barrel, rolling it forwards and backwards, without Bobby helping him in any way or even coming near him. Then Bobby took a mouth harp from his pocket and began to play a lively little waltz tune, upon which Dandy jumped on top of a little platform that Bobby had built and standing on his hind feet, began to waltz.

"On your head, now, Dandy," called Bobby, and the pony, after much struggling, managed to stand on his head for a moment. This was a new trick that Bobby had been nearly a year in teaching him, but now he was almost able to do it without trouble although it was very, very difficult. This was not all of the tricks that Dandy could do, for he could spell his own name and Bobby's and some others by pawing printed cards around, and could pick out colors when told to do so, and could answer questions by nodding his head, and count up simple figures by pawing with his foot, but his master did not ask him to do all these tricks this time. Bobby was as considerate of his animals as if they were human friends.

Bobby next called King and Queen and they came with a rush, jumping upon the platform and sitting with their fore legs up, happy and eager. Bobby put the empty barrel, which was open at both ends and scraped smooth inside, on the platform. Then King and Queen got one on each side of it and rolled it backward and forward, then they both jumped on top of it, one facing one way and the other the other, and rolled it, King walking backwards and Queen walking forwards. When it was at the very edge of the platform King walked forwards and Queen walked backwards and rolled it the other way. Then, at Bobby's command, they stopped it in the middle of the platform where King stood toward one end of it, tilting the other end up while Queen pushed that end so that it stood upright. Then King and Queen jumped into it, both at once from opposite directions, tilting the barrel over and coming out side by side, a very difficult trick and one that had taken Bobby a long while to teach them. Then he threw them a light rubber ball, and King, taking it in his teeth, would toss it and Queen would catch it. Then she would toss it back. They were ready to do still more tricks, but Bobby never put them through all that they knew at one time, not wishing to tire them.

"Ponto and Patty!" he called, and the two pointers took the places of the collies. They stood on rolling globes, turned somersaults and jumped straight up in the air to catch a piece of red leather that Bobby had hung from a light, horizontal bar which he kept putting higher and higher for them. They did other tricks, and then the greyhounds did some very wonderful high jumping. The terriers waltzed and turned back springs and walked a tight rope. The pigeons, at Bobby's command, wheeled in the air, two by two, by four's, in single file, and in fact went through a regular drill just above Bobby's head.