At that moment there was a noise out in the yard back of the farmhouse. The crowing of roosters and the squawking of hens could be heard, mingled with a woman's voice.
"That's my wife!" cried Mr. Jason, jumping up, but at that moment his wife came into the room.
"I've caught it," she said coolly, though her face was flushed.
"Caught what?" they all cried.
"The circus lion," she answered. "I went out to the henhouse, and there he was crouching down in a corner, and looking as if he intended to have his choice of my fat pullets."
"What did you do?" asked Mr. Brown and Mr. Jason together.
"Well, I happened to have a broom stick in my hand so I hit him a smart blow over the nose to teach him to let my hens alone, and then I drove the chickens outside and locked the lion in the henhouse. He's there now. You'd better send for the circus folks to take him away. I don't want him around the place scaring the fowls."
"Didn't he scare you?" asked Mr. Brown.
"I never stopped to think whether he did or not," was the cool answer. "I just whacked him over the nose and he whined and cuddled up in a corner like a whipped dog."
"Oh, let's go out and look at the lion in the chicken coop!" cried Bunny.