“Maybe it’s a lion or a tiger!” cried a woman with a baby in her arms. “Come on, children!” and she caught the hand of her little boy, who, in turn held the hand of his sister, and they all ran out.
Some of the other men, women and children also ran out when they heard that a lion was loose. But this was not so. It was only Sharp Eyes, and he was so tame now that he would have bitten no one.
“Get him! There he is! There’s the fox!” cried the head animal man, as he pointed to Sharp Eyes inside the hippo’s cage. “Bring up one of the small dens, on wheels, and we’ll drive the fox into that.”
The men stood in front of Chunky’s cage with sticks and ropes, to drive Sharp Eyes back if he should try to run out. But the fox was not going to do anything like that.
“I said I’d stay here, and I will,” he explained to Chunky, in animal talk, of course. “They needn’t make so much fuss about me going to run away. I’m not!”
And Sharp Eyes did not. He stayed quietly in Chunky’s cage, talking to the hippo in animal language, until the park men brought up a sort of traveling cage, and opened it. Then Sharp Eyes said to the hippo:
“Well, I’ll go in there, as they seem to want me to. Anyhow, it’s a nicer cage than the one I was in. I’ll see you again, Chunky, my boy.”
“I hope so,” said the happy hippo, who always seemed to be smiling. “Next time I see you, Sharp Eyes, remind me to tell you a funny story about Tum Tum.”
“I will,” said Sharp Eyes.