It was a brave show, and after a few had risen to the floor and danced their steps, favor was plainly directed to the lithe and lovely Mrs. Leopard.
"Just wait for Mrs. Kangaroo," was whispered from one to another. "She's wonderful, you know."
Then Mrs. Kangaroo came forth. Yes, it was marvelous what she could accomplish. First she strutted high and proud, then she bounded up and down, and finally made a great leap; but it was a leap before she looked, for what did she do but jump right into the lily pond, ker-splash!
Great embarrassment seized the company, and the less polite, such as the monkeys, simply yelled in derision.
"Mrs. Elephant! Mrs. Elephant!" was now the cry.
"Yes, yes, Mrs. Elephant!" came from all sides; for the animals, already amused by Mrs. Kangaroo's unfortunate conclusion, were ready to be boisterous. They could roar at Mrs. Elephant if they wanted to; she was so thick-skinned, as they thought, that you could never hurt her feelings anyway.
But Mrs. Elephant was very modest, and a trifle grand. Besides, she was all polished and trimmed in a manner most affecting. All that afternoon her sister-in-law had stood in the water with her, smoothing down her dress and rubbing her head; and two simple palm leaves behind her ears, with a little rope of moon-flowers garlanded over her placid forehead gave her a regal aspect which the animals were surprised and delighted to note.
"How thin she's grown! How do you suppose she did it?" they gasped.
Then Mrs. Elephant danced.
At her special request, Mr. Frog played for her, not too fast, on his elegant flute. But scarcely had she taken her first two steps when the orchestra struck up that grand old march, Tigers Bold and Monkeys Gay, which, as you know, would set anybody a-marching even if they had nowhere to go.