“Now I’ll put a collar on you, with a chain, so you won’t get lost, and then I’ll begin to train you to dance,” said the big man.
Dido felt something being fastened around his neck. He did not mind very much, for, at the same time, the man gave him something new to eat. It was soft and white and tasted rather sweet, though not as sweet as honey.
“Oh, but that is good!” thought Dido. The man had given him a chunk of bread, which bears like very much. When he had eaten the bread Dido looked around for more, and he took another piece from the man’s hand, and did not growl or bite. Dido was getting tame, you see.
[CHAPTER IV]
DIDO LEARNS TO DANCE
“You are a very nice, good, little bear, and I think you will soon learn to dance,” said the man as he rubbed Dido on the head, and gave him some water to drink, after Dido had eaten the bread. “Yes, I must soon start teaching you to dance.”
Of course Dido did not understand this talk—that is not all of it, but he knew the man was speaking kindly to him, for he could tell by the way his voice sounded. Just as your dog can tell when you speak kindly to him, or when you are cross. If you speak nicely to your dog, and call him a good fellow, he will wag his tail, to show how glad he is. But when you are cross—Oh! how the dog’s tail drops down between his legs, and how sadly he looks up at you.
Of course Dido was not quite as tame as a dog, but he was beginning to learn that the man would not hurt him, and that he would be kind to him. So Dido thought he would be good himself, and not growl, bite or scratch.
For two or three days more Dido was kept in the barn, being chained to a post, with a leather collar around his neck. Dido did not like this collar. He had never worn one before, and did not know what it was. In the woods bears never wear collars, any more than they do neckties. Of course, in a circus, a keeper, or trainer, might dress up a bear in real clothes, with a collar and tie, just for fun.