He blew a sharp blast on the horn, and Dido leaned down, put his head on the ground, kicked his hind legs up in the air, and over he went, turning a somersault just as some fat little boy might do it on the soft, green grass.
“Another, Dido! Turn another somersault!” cried George, and over went Dido again, while the people laughed. Then Dido stood up straight once more, and saluted like a soldier.
“Did you like that trick, little boy?” asked George.
“Very much,” the little boy answered. “And here is my penny,” and he tossed it into the man’s hat.
“Now for a last trick, and then we will travel on farther into the country,” said Dido’s master. “Do the tree-climbing trick, Dido. Only instead of a tree you will climb a telegraph pole.”
There was a pole near the railroad depot, and soon Dido was going up this, sticking his sharp claws in the wood. Up and up he went, nearly to the top, as far as his chain would let him, the man holding the end of it.
“That’s far enough—come on down, Dido!” called the man, and Dido came down. He was given another bun to eat, and after this he drank some water from a fountain near the depot.
Dido and George traveled on into the green country. A few boys followed them a little way, for some of them had never seen a bear before. But soon the boys grew tired, and Dido and his master were left to themselves.
“We will go to a quiet place in the woods and sleep,” said George, and Dido was glad of this, for he wanted to cool off and get quiet after his ride in the train and doing his tricks.
In the afternoon, when they had had a good sleep, the dancing bear and his keeper traveled on again. Soon they came to another town, and there Dido did his tricks over once more, and the man gathered money in his hat. And here Dido’s master met a man from his own country, far over the sea. The two men were glad to see one another, and talked much in their own language.