CHAPTER IX
TAMBA IN THE SUBWAY
Tamba, the tame tiger, had really come to the city on a load of hay. I know it sounds very strange to say that, but it really happened. I have often seen dogs riding along on a load of hay that had started to ride in the country, at the farmhouse where they lived, and had come all the way to the city. So if a dog can ride on a load of hay I don’t see why a tiger can’t, especially when he is a tame tiger.
Anyhow, that’s what Tamba did. He rode along on the load of hay until it reached the big, noisy city. But the funny part of it was that the man who drove the load of hay didn’t know he was giving a ride to a tiger. If he had known that I don’t believe he would have guided his horses along so easily, nor do I believe the horses themselves would have gone so quietly.
But there Tamba was, snugly curled up in a little nest on top of the load of hay, where no one could see him. He could look out and down at the city streets through which he was passing, and he saw many strange sights. But he was used to them, and he was not afraid of being in the city. For he remembered having seen a city like this many times before when he was in his cage and the circus parade had gone up and down the streets to show the animals, so that boys and girls would be all the more anxious to come to the performance.
“Well, I wonder what will happen to me now,” thought Tamba, as the hay wagon rumbled along the city streets. “I can’t stay here much longer. Some one will be sure to see me, and perhaps the man who owns this hay is taking it to the very circus where I used to live. If that happens they’ll get me back in a cage again, and I don’t want that to happen. I must be very careful!”
On and on went the load of hay, with Tamba hiding at the top, and, pretty soon, the man drove into a sort of big yard. There were trees, and grass, and some buildings. But what made Tamba sit up and sniff eagerly was the smell of wild animals. I dare say you have often noticed it yourself when you have gone to the circus. Even with your eyes shut you can tell as soon as you enter the wild animal tent.
“Dear me, this is very strange!” thought the tame tiger. “Can the man, with his load of hay, have brought me back to the very circus from which I ran away? It smells so, but I don’t see any of the big tents, nor yet the barn where I used to live in winter. Besides, this is summer, not winter. I wonder what it all means!”
The more Tamba thought about it and the stronger the wild animal smell came to him, the more the tame tiger was puzzled. The load of hay, in which he was hidden, rumbled along, down a little hill, and then Tamba heard the man call:
“Whoa!”