Now Rolie Polie was dressed in his clown’s suit of red and white; and no sooner did he enter the pasture than one of the animals lifted its head and gave a great bellow. {46}
“Oh, the bull, the barley bull!” yelled Mr. Poodle. “Look out, Rolie Polie! Run for a tree, or the bull will catch you!”
But Rolie Polie was thinking only of the rabbit and squirrel, and never once heard the barley bull until it was almost upon him. Mr. Poodle now knew that one of two things would surely happen: either Rolie Polie would be overtaken by the bull, or, in trying to escape, he would be forced to the edge of the cliff and tumble over.
“We must hurry to the rescue!” cried the little toymaker, and with one bound he went through the hedge, quickly followed by Tommy. Helen stood and watched them from the roadway. She would have gone to the rescue too, but really, barley bulls are very scary animals, and as Helen had on her red dress, she thought it best not to get too near.
The bull was now only a few yards behind Rolie Polie, and all the shouting of Mr. Poodle and Tommy made not the least bit of difference to its mad gallop. It saw only the bright colors of the little clown’s costume, and madly bellowing, it never slackened its speed one tiny particle. Indeed, the shouting may have made it run even faster.
What then happened to the little clown must be told in the next chapter, for now we are at the end of this one.
The Seventh Chapter.