For about an hour Dido had to lift first one foot then the other as the strings were pulled and the music played. Then he was allowed to rest and given a lump of sugar.
“Oh! how good that is!” thought Dido. “It is almost as nice as honey!”
The next day Dido practiced his dancing again, with the strings on his legs. But this time he did better. And, at the end of his lesson, he was given more sugar. Soon Dido learned to know that when the horn played and his keeper cried “Dance!” that he must get up on his hind legs and circle around, lifting first one foot and then the other. And each time he danced Dido was given a lump of sugar.
And, finally, one day the man did not put the strings to Dido’s legs. He just led the little bear out by the chain, and blew the horn.
“Dance, Dido! Dance!” cried the man, playing jolly music.
And Dido danced, all by himself, and he liked it, too, for the music seemed to make him happy.
“Ah!” cried the man, “my little bear has learned to dance! Soon we will go traveling over the world together.”