“I’ll do them all except stand on three legs,” promised Chunky. “I’m too fat for that.”
“Thank you; that will be all right,” said Don.
Pretty soon a little girl, wearing a blue dress, and holding her father’s hand, came and stood in front of the hippo cage where Don was. The dog had run on ahead to tell Chunky who was coming. Don barked three times, as he had said he would, then he said:
“Do some nice tricks for my little girl!”
“I will,” said Chunky.
Then the hippo caught loaves of bread in his mouth, and opened his jaws as wide as he could. He even rolled over on the floor of his cage, but it was hard work, as he was very fat.
“Oh, Daddy! look at the funny hippo!” cried the little girl. “Isn’t he happy looking?”
“Well, yes, I guess you could call him happy when he smiles in such a broad grin,” answered her father. “He looks very jolly.”
Chunky liked so much the nice way the little girl laughed that he tried to do for her the trick of standing on three legs and lifting the other up in the air. But he could not, as he was too fat and heavy.
“I like that hippo,” said the little girl.