Then his Mother went into the house and brought out more cakes and more beans.
The boys ate them all.
The army stayed at Taro's house and played with his soldiers and drilled on his porch until lunch-time, when they all went to their own homes.
After luncheon Taro played with his tops. He had two beautiful ones. One was a singing top.
He was spinning the singing top when all of a sudden there was a great noise in the street. He ran to see what was the matter.
There, almost right in front of his own house, was a real show! There was a man and a little boy and a monkey! The monkey had on a kimono. The monkey and the little boy did tricks together. Then the man and the boy did tricks. The man balanced a ladder on his shoulder. The little boy climbed right up the ladder and hung from the top of it by his toes.
Every boy in the street came running to see them. Take came, too. The little boy, hanging from the top of the ladder, opened a fan and fanned himself! Then he climbed to his feet again and stood on one foot on the top of the ladder. Then he made a bow!
Taro and Take almost stopped breathing, they were so afraid the little boy would fall.
The little boy threw his fan to the monkey. The monkey caught it and fanned himself, while the little boy came down the ladder to the ground, all safe and sound.
The Twins' Mother came out, too. She saw the little boy. She felt sorry for him. She felt sorry for the monkey, too. "Come in and have some rice-cakes," she said.