With that he toppled off the shelf, turning two somersaults as he went down, for he was quite an acrobat, was this Clown.
“Oh, isn’t that perfectly wonderful?” gasped one Calico-Dressed Doll to another.
“Gorgeous!” was the reply. “It’s as good as going to a circus. I didn’t know the Rubber Clown could turn somersaults.”
“Pooh! You ought to see me somersault!” boasted one of the cheap Jumping Jacks. “If I could get rid of this stick and the strings that jiggle my legs I’d show you some somersaulting!”
The Jumping Jack was afraid lest the Calico-Dressed Dolls think too much of the Rubber Clown. The Jumping Jack was a bit jealous, I’m thinking.
Down, down, down, went the Clown, turning over and over as he aimed to land on the Woolly Dog’s back to get a ride.
“Hi! Yi!” yelled the Rubber Clown, in toy language of course. “Here I come!”
“He’s a great trickster,” said a little Penny China Doll.
Then the Rubber Clown did a trick he had not counted on. He missed landing on the Woolly Dog’s back and hit the floor of the show window with both feet. And, being made of rubber, the Clown did just what I think you have guessed he did—he bounced high up in the air. Up he bounded!
“Hold on there! I say! what are you doing?” cried the Woolly Dog. “I thought you were going to ride on my back!”