But if I can not tell you any more about Dido I can about Blackie, the cat who hid in the bear’s cage. So the next book will be named “Blackie, a Lost Cat: Her Many Adventures.” And I hope you will like what I have to write about her.
“Tum Tum,” said Dido one day as he was dancing on the platform on the elephant’s back, “do you remember the fire?”
“I should say I _did_,” answered Tum Tum. “I never want to see another.”
“Nor do I,” spoke Dido, as he whirled about while his circus master tooted a gay tune on the brass horn.
Then Dido turned somersaults in the circus ring, jumped through the lighted hoop and did many other tricks.
In all nursery literature animals have played a conspicuous part; and the reason is obvious, for nothing entertains a child more than the antics of an animal. These stories abound in amusing incidents such as children adore, and the characters are so full of life, so appealing to a child’s imagination, that none will be satisfied until they have met all of their favorites――Squinty, Slicko, Mappo, and the rest.
1 Squinty, the Comical Pig. 2 Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel. 3 Mappo, the Merry Monkey. 4 Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant. 5 Don, a Runaway Dog. 6 Dido, the Dancing Bear. 7 Blackie, a Lost Cat. 8 Flop Ear, the Funny Rabbit. 9 Tinkle, the Trick Pony. 10 Lightfoot, the Leaping Goat. 11 Chunky, the Happy Hippo. 12 Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox. 13 Nero, the Circus Lion. 14 Tamba, the Tame Tiger. 15 Toto, the Rustling Beaver. 16 Shaggo, the Mighty Buffalo. 17 Winkie, the Wily Woodchuck.
BARSE & HOPKINS Publishers Newark, N. J. New York, N. Y.
――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.
――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
End of Project Gutenberg's Dido, the Dancing Bear, by Richard Barnum