TAMBA,
THE TAME TIGER
CHAPTER I
TAMBA IS CROSS
“Here! Don’t you do that again, or I’ll scratch you!”
“I didn’t do anything, Tamba.”
“Yes, you did! You stuck your tail into my cage, and if you do it again I’ll step on it! Burr-r-r-r!”
Tamba, the tame tiger, looked out between the iron bars of the big circus-wagon cage where he lived and glared at Nero, the lion who was next door to him. Their cages were close together in the circus tent, and Nero, pacing up and down in his, had, accidentally, let his long, tufted tail slip between the bars of the cage where Tamba was.
“Take your tail out of my cage!” growled Tamba.
“Oh, certainly! Of course I will!” said Nero, and though he could roar very loudly at times, he now spoke in a very gentle voice indeed; that is, for a lion. Of course both Tamba and Nero were talking in animal language, just as your dog and cat talk to one another, by mewing and barking.
“My goodness!” rumbled Tum Tum, the jolly elephant of the circus, as he turned to speak to Chunky, the happy hippo, who was taking a bath in his tank of water near the camels. “My goodness! Tamba is very cross to-day. I wonder what the matter is with our tame tiger.”