And then, all of a sudden, some little boy in the crowd piped up and cried out:
"Oh, Mister, don't do that! He might bite your head off!"
Everybody laughed at that, even Nero's trainer, who said:
"Oh, I'm not afraid. Nero is a good lion and wouldn't bite me. Come on now, old fellow, for the last and best trick of all!" cried the man, and he cracked his whip, though of course he did not strike Nero with it.
The circus lion knew just what to do, for he had been trained in this trick. I didn't say anything about it before, because I was saving it as a surprise for you.
"Open your mouth!" suddenly cried the trainer, and Nero opened his jaws as wide as he could.
"Oh! Ah! Look!" cried the people, as they saw his big, red tongue and the white, sharp teeth.
"Now!" cried the trainer, and into the lion's mouth he popped his head.
Everybody in the big circus tent was quiet for a moment, and then all the crowd cried out, and clapped their hands and stamped their shoes on the wooden steps beneath their feet.
"There, you see how tame my lion is!" cried the man, as he pulled his head from Nero's mouth, and bowed to the people, who were still clapping and whistling.