"Now for lunch, and then to see the big show," said Uncle Daniel, as he led the way back to where the wagon had been left.
And what a jolly party it was, to sit in the straw and eat nice sandwiches, pies, cookies and cakes Martha and Dinah had put into the baskets. There was lemonade, too, and if it was not pink, like the kind the circus men sold, it was much better and sweeter.
"But when are we going into the circus?" Freddie wanted to know.
"Soon now," said Uncle Daniel.
A little later they made their way to the big tents. First they went in the one where the wild animals, in cages, were drawn up in a circle inside. There were lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, rhinocerosi, hippopotami, and elephants, to say nothing of the cute monkeys.
"Are dem cages good an' strong, mistah?" asked Dinah of one of the circus attendants.
"Oh, yes," he answered, as he passed a carrot in to one of the monkeys.
"Well, dat's good," she said. "'Cause I doan't want none ob dem bears or lions t' come after me when I'se watchin' de circus performers."
"I'll see that none of them get loose," promised the circus man with a laugh at Dinah's fears.
Then the Bobbsey party went on in to the main tent. I wish I could tell you all they saw, but I have not the room in this book. There was a parade around the ring to start with, and then in came rushing the comical clowns, the men and women who rode on horses and who jumped from one trapeze to another.