“I never lived in the woods,” said Tinkle, “but I lived in a big, green field.”
“That was nice,” murmured Dido. “I have been in the fields, too. Well, one day I was caught by a man, who took me away. At first I did not like it, but the man was good to me and taught me to do tricks.”
“What are tricks?” asked the pony, for he could speak all animal languages as well as understand them.
“Tricks are—well, I’ll show you in a minute,” went on Dido. “The man was good to me, as I said, and taught me tricks. Then I was sold to a circus and I had lots of good times with Tum Tum, the jolly elephant and Mappo the merry monkey. They are in books, too.”
“What are books?” asked Tinkle. “Are they good, like sugar; and do you eat them?”
“Oh, no!” laughed Dido. “Books are funny things, like blocks of wood; only you can open them, like a door, you know, and inside are funny black marks on paper that is white, like the snow. Boys and girls, and men and women, open these funny things called books and look at them for ever and ever so long.”
“Why do they do that?” asked Tinkle.
“Well, I don’t really know,” said Dido. “But after they have looked at the books, turning over the white things with the black marks on, called leaves, the boys and girls laugh.”
“Why?” Tinkle demanded.
“Because of the funny things printed on them,” answered Dido. “You see in my book are set down all the things I did. And the things Mappo did and the things Tum Tum did are in their books. Some of the things were funny, and that is what makes the boys and girls laugh. Tum Tum’s book is enough to make any one laugh. He is a very jolly elephant.”