once upon a time, not so very many years ago, a very queer thing happened to jacko kinkytail, the red monkey boy, and i'm going to tell you all about it from the beginning down to the very end, and i hope you'll like it. you see it started this way.

it was after school one day, when all the boy and girl animals were on their way home with their books in straps, or else under their paws or wings. jacko and jumpo were walking along, sometimes picking up things in their front paws or their feet or their long tails, when, all of a sudden sammie littletail, the boy rabbit, said:

"let's have a race, and see who gets to the big black stump first."

now this black stump was in the middle of the woods, through which the children had to go on their way to and from school. the stump looked like an elephant trying to catch his tail in his trunk, but of course it wasn't really alive; only make-believe, you know.

"i think i can run faster than anybody," said munchie trot, the boy pony.

"oh, no; i'm the fastest," spoke bully no-tail, the frog.

"we'll see," whistled dickie chip-chip, the sparrow.

away they started for the big, black stump, girls and boys all together. some of them flew and some of them hopped and some ran, just as they liked. but dickie chip-chip, the sparrow boy, got to the stump first, because he could go through the air like a balloon or an airship. then they were all out of breath from the race as they came to the stump, one after another, so they sat down to rest.

"well, we're all ready now, let's run some more," said lulu wibblewobble, the duck girl, after a while, as she looked to see if her neck ribbon had come off. so they all started to run again, just as you do when you come from school, only jacko kinkytail didn't race with the others this time.

"what's the matter?" asked his brother, looking back. "aren't you coming with us?"

"no, i'm too tired," said the little red monkey boy. "i'm going to sit here and rest a bit. i'll be home after a while, and you and i will have an auto ride, jumpo."

so jacko stayed there by the big, black stump, while the others went on to race again. and the first thing jacko knew was that he heard something moving in the bushes behind the stump.

"my goodness!" he exclaimed, jumping up. "i hope that isn't a bad fox or a wolf." so he got ready to run, but before he could jump out of the way, out came a big black bear. and, no sooner had the bear seen jacko, than the shaggy creature rushed up to the monkey, and tied a rope around his neck.

"now i have you!" growled the bear.

"yes, i see you have," said jacko, as he tried to get away, but couldn't. "please let me go. are you going to eat me? oh, dear, oh, dear!" the monkey boy cried.

"no, i'm not going to eat you," said the bear. "i'll tell you that much, anyhow. and i'm not going to let you go. i am going to take you all around the country with me to do tricks."

"do tricks?" cried jacko, surprised like.

"yes, you see i used to be a performing bear, but i don't want to be one any more. i used to ride a bicycle, climb up a tree, play that i was a soldier and waltz around when my master sang a funny song. but i'm tired of it, so i ran away, and now i want to make some money for myself to buy a pair of spectacles, so i can read. so i'm going to have a trick monkey of my own, and you'll have to be it.

"you and i will travel about, and you'll do the tricks, such as standing on your head, making funny faces, turning somersaults, tying knots in your tail, and swinging on a trapeze. you'll do the tricks and the people will pay me the money for watching you. then i'll be rich. come along now," and the bear pulled on the rope which he had fastened about jacko's neck.

well, the red monkey didn't want to go with the bear, but he had to. and oh! he felt dreadfully about leaving all his friends, and his brother and mamma and papa, but there was no help for it. he thought, perhaps, some of his friends might see him and make the bad bear run away, but none of them did.

away through the woods went jacko with the trained bear leading him. this wasn't the kind trained bear of whom i once told you. no, this was another one, a bad, savage, unpleasant creature.

pretty soon, after they had gone through the woods for quite a distance, jacko and the bear came to a place where there were a whole lot of animal people. there were birds and cows and horses and dogs and cats and all like that, only they were animal people, you see.

"here will be a good place to show off some of your tricks," growled the bear. "we will have time before supper, so you will do them now and i will take up the collection. lively! dance and make funny faces. stand on your tail."

then the bear pulled hard on the string about jacko's neck and the poor monkey had to do all sorts of tricks. he made believe he was a soldier and marched around. he jumped over a stick of wood, pretended to beat a drum and ring a bell, and then he turned two somersaults, one after the other, as quick as a stick of lemon candy.

"you are doing very well," whispered the bear in jacko's ear, after he had taken up a collection. "keep on and i will soon be rich. now we will go a long distance and do more tricks."

well, jacko didn't like that, and he didn't want to go so far away from home, especially when it was getting dark. and he wondered how he could get away. but he didn't see any chance, as the bear had tight hold of the string around jacko's neck.

then jacko thought of a plan. if he could only make some of the animal people understand that he didn't want to go with the bear, but, instead, wanted to go home, he felt sure they would help him. but he didn't quite know how he could tell them, for he knew if he spoke to them the bear might hear him and scratch him before he was half through telling every one that he wanted to get away.

by this time there was quite a crowd watching the bear make the monkey do tricks, when, all of a sudden, jacko looked over the heads of the audience and saw uncle wiggily longears, the brave rabbit gentleman, standing there with his crutch.

"oh, if i could only make him see me and make him know who i am, he would save me!" thought jacko. so, without the bear telling him what to do, the red monkey suddenly began to make believe he was an automobile. he twisted the pinkum-pankum, tooted the horn, cranked the front part and turned on the gasoline. for he knew uncle wiggily would be interested in that sort of a trick and would help him.

and, surely enough, just as jacko was pretending to turn around a curve in a make-believe auto and run over a milk bottle, and the crowd was laughing and clapping and yelling like[pg 152] anything, uncle wiggily saw the monkey and cried out:

"why, if there isn't jacko kinkytail! i wonder what that bear is doing with him? i think he must have kidnapped him."

then the old gentleman rabbit cried: "hey! you let my friend jacko go!"

and uncle wiggily rushed forward with his crutch and banged it on a stone, making a noise like a gun, and he looked so angry that the bear let go of the rope and quickly sneaked away where no one could find him. so jacko was free, and didn't have to do any tricks unless he wished to. then uncle wiggily took him home, and they arrived just as mrs. kinkytail was sending out old dog percival to look for her son and tell him to come to supper.

so that's how jacko escaped from the bad bear. and on the next page, in case the stove lifter doesn't pull out the carpet tacks and feed them to the gold fish, i'll tell you about jumpo and the paper cup.