Toby Tyler | Page 9

in an old horse blanket, and
lay down on the top of the wagon; and he was so tired from the
excitement of the day and night that he had hardly stretched out at full
length before he was fast asleep.

IV: THE FIRST DAY WITH THE CIRCUS

When Toby awakened and looked around he could hardly realize where
he was or bow he came there. As far ahead and behind on the road as
he could see the carts were drawn up on one side; men were hurrying to
and fro, orders were being shouted, and everything showed that the
entry into the town was about to be made. Directly opposite the wagon
on which he had been sleeping were the four elephants and two camels,
and close behind, contentedly munching their breakfasts, were a
number of tiny ponies. Troops of horses were being groomed and
attended to; the road was littered with saddles, flags, and general
decorations, until it seemed to Toby that there must have been a smash
up, and that he now beheld ruins rather than systematic disorder.
How different everything looked now, compared to the time when the
cavalcade marched into Guilford, dazzling everyone with the gorgeous
display! Then the horses pranced gayly under their gaudy decorations,
the wagons were bright with glass, gilt, and flags, the lumbering
elephants and awkward camels were covered with fancifully
embroidered velvets, and even the drivers of the wagons were
resplendent in their uniforms of scarlet and gold. Now, in the gray light
of the early morning, everything was changed. The horses were tired
and muddy, and wore old and dirty harness; the gilded chariots were
covered with mud bespattered canvas, which caused them to look like
the most ordinary of market wagons; the elephants and camels looked
dingy, dirty, almost repulsive; and the drivers were only a sleepy
looking set of men, who, in their shirt sleeves, were getting ready for
the change which would dazzle the eyes of the inhabitants of the town.
Toby descended from his lofty bed, rubbed his eyes to thoroughly
awaken himself, and, under the guidance of Ben, went to a little brook
near by and washed his face. He had been with the circus not quite ten
hours, but now he could not realize that it had ever seemed bright and
beautiful. He missed his comfortable bed, the quiet and cleanliness, and
the well spread table; even although he had felt the lack of parents' care,
Uncle Daniel's home seemed the very abode of love and friendly
feeling compared with this condition, where no one appeared to care
even enough for him to scold at him. He was thoroughly homesick, and
heartily wished that he was back in his old native town.

While he was washing his face in the brook he saw some of the boys
who had come out from the town to catch the first glimpse of the circus,
and he saw at once that he was the object of their admiring gaze. He
heard one of the boys say, when they first discovered him:
"There's one of them, an' he's only a little feller; so I'm going to talk to
him."
The evident admiration which the boys had for Toby pleased him, and
this pleasure was the only drop of comfort he had had since he started.
He hoped they would come and talk with him; and, that they might
have the opportunity, he was purposely slow in making his toilet.
The boys approached him shyly, as if they had their doubts whether he
was made of the same material as themselves, and when they got quite
near to him and satisfied themselves that he was only washing his face
in much the same way that any well regulated boy would do, the one
who had called attention to him said, half timidly, "Hello!"
"Hello!" responded Toby, in a tone that was meant to invite confidence.
"Do you belong to the circus?"
"Yes," said Toby, a little doubtfully.
Then the boys stared at him again as if he were one of the strange
looking animals, and the one who had been the spokesman drew a long
breath of envy as he said, longingly, "My! what a nice time you must
have!"
Toby remembered that only yesterday he himself had thought that boys
must have a nice time with a circus, and he now felt what a mistake that
thought was; but he concluded that he would not undeceive his new
acquaintance.
"And do they give you frogs to eat, so's to make you limber?"
This was the first time that Toby had thought of breakfast, and the very

mention of eating made him hungry. He was just at that moment so
very hungry that he did not think he was