Of course Chunky could not understand just what she said, but he could tell, by the way she talked, that the little girl liked his tricks.
“I’ll do another one for her,” said the happy hippo to Don. “I’ll go in the water and roll over and over like a tub. Maybe she’ll like that.”
“I’m sure she will,” said Don.
So, down into the tank of water walked Chunky. The little girl had never seen anything like this before, and, very much excited, she let go of her father’s hand and cried:
“Oh, Daddy, he’ll be drowned!”
“No; hippos can stay under water a long time,” said her father, for by this time Chunky was out of sight. The waters had closed over his broad, flat back.
“Oh, he’s gone! My nice, happy hippo is gone!” cried the little girl, and before her father, or anyone else, could stop her, she ran right in between the bars of the cage toward the tank.
“Come back, Alice!” cried her father.
“Bow-wow!” barked Don, and that was his way of saying the same thing.
But the little girl did not come back. On she ran, right into Chunky’s cage, and her father was too big to squeeze in between the bars after her. Don ran in, though.