After dinner, Baby Jane and the creatures prepared a fine Punch and Judy show, with living figures.
'Nobody but relations, or tortoises laid on their backs, will watch tableaux, but everybody likes a Punch and Judy show,' said Baby Jane.
By using palm-stems with bamboos tied across and draped, they built a very passable Punch's house, and soon all were crowded inside ready to bob up and act while Baby Jane did the squeaky talking.
It is wonderful how soon a crowd collects round a Punch and Judy show. Here in five minutes there were five hundred beasts and niggers seated in rows—all too curious and excited to think of eating one another. And at the last moment up came the Flanagans in a body and took front seats. For it was good-hearted souls that they were, and they bore no malice. Perhaps they were a trifle excitable—that was all.
The excitement reached its highest point when Joey the clown (Master Rabbit) outwitted Punch (Mr. Lion). The Policeman (Mr. Bear) and the Black Man (Master Piccaninny) had popped up and had been promptly knocked on the head, and then the wily Joey appeared and was apparently slain also—a dozen times Punch reckoned to have knocked the stuffing out of Joey, but each time that cunning rascal caused the Policeman or the Black Man to receive the whacks.
Then Punch began counting up his slain, 'One, two, three——'
'And four!' squeaked Joey, hitting Punch a sounding crack and laying him flat.
All this was as it should be, but when the much battered Bear and Piccaninny saw the Lion laid low, they arose and rushed at him and pummelled him until he roared again.
'Now we are going to do some of the hitting,' they said.
At this the Flanagans in the front row cheered wildly, and would have stormed the stage and joined in the fight if the whole of the characters had not disappeared downwards with a jerk.