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Page 8
[Illustration: JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES.]
JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES.
BY E. MULLER.
Juno lived in a great park, where there was a menagerie, and neither
the park nor the menagerie could have done without Juno. Now, who do
you think Juno was? She was a dear old black and brown dog, the
best-natured dog in the world. And this was the reason they could not
do without her in the park. A lioness died, and left two little
lion-cubs with no one to take care of them. The poor little lions
curled up in a corner of the cage, and seemed as if they would die.
Then the keeper of the menagerie brought Juno, and showed her the
little lion-cubs, and said: "Now, Juno, here are some puppies for you;
go and take care of them, that's a good dog." Juno's own puppies had
just been given away, and she was feeling very badly about it, and was
rather glad to take care of the two little lions. They were so pretty,
with their soft striped fur and yellow paws, that Juno soon loved them,
and she took the best of care of them till they grew old enough to live
by themselves. Many people used to come and stand near the big lion's
cage, and laugh to see only a quiet old dog, and two little bits of
lion-cubs shut in it.
[Illustration]
It was very pretty to see Juno playing with the cubs, and all the
children who came to the park wanted first to see "the doggie that
nursed the lion-puppies." But when they grew large enough they were
taken away from her, and sold to different menageries far away, and
poor Juno wondered what had become of her pretty adopted children. She
looked for them all about the menagerie, and asked all the animals if
they had seen her two pretty yellow-striped lion-puppies. No one had
seen them, and nearly every one was sorry, and had something kind to
say, for Juno was a favorite with many. To be sure, the wolf snarled at
her, and said it served her right for thinking that she, a miserable
tame dog, could bring up young lions. But Juno knew she had only done
as she was told, so she did not mind the wolf. The monkeys cracked
jokes, and teased her, saying they guessed she would be given another
family to take care of--sea lions, most likely, and she would have to
live in the water to keep them in order. This had not occurred to Juno
before, and it made her quite uneasy.
"It is not possible they would want me to nurse young sea-lions," said
she. "They are so very rude, and so very slippery, I never could make
them mind me."
[Illustration: JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN.]
"You may be thankful if you don't get those two young alligators in the
other tank," said a gruff-voiced adjutant.
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Juno. "You don't think it possible?"
"Of course it is possible," said a pelican, stretching his neck through
his cage-bars. "You'll see what comes of being too obliging."
"We all think you are a good creature, Juno," said a crane. "Indeed, I
should willingly trust you with my young crane children, but really, if
you _will_ do everything that is asked of you, there's no knowing whose
family you may have next."
Juno went and lay down in a sunshiny place near the elephant's house,
and thought over all these words. Very soon she grew sleepy, in spite
of her anxiety, and was just dropping off into a doze, when she heard
the keeper whistle for her. She ran to him and found him in the
hippopotamus's cage.
[Illustration: JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS.]
"Juno," said he, "I guess you'll have to take charge of this young
hippopotamus, the poor little fellow has lost his mother."
"Dear, dear!" sighed Juno. "I was afraid it would come to this. I'm
thankful it isn't the young alligators."
So Juno took charge of the young hippo,--she called him hippo for
short, and only when he was naughty she called him: "Hip-po-pot-a-mus,
aren't you ashamed of yourself?" But he was a great trial. He was
awkward and clumsy, and not a bit like her graceful little
lion-puppies. When he got sick, and she had to give him peppermint, his
mouth was so large that she lost the spoon in it, and he swallowed
spoon and all, and was very ill afterward. But he grew up at last, and
just as Juno had made up her mind not to take care of other people's
families any more, the keeper came to her with two young giraffes, and
told her she really must be a mother to the poor little scraps of
misery, for their mother was gone, and they would die if they weren't
cared for immediately. These were a dreadful trouble, and besides, they
would keep trotting after her everywhere, till the pelican, and the
adjutant, and the cranes nearly killed themselves laughing at her. Poor
Juno felt worse and worse, till when one day she heard the keeper say
she certainly would have to take care of the young elephant, she felt
that she could stand it no longer, and made up her mind to run away. So
she said good-bye to all her friends, and ran to the wall of the park.
There she gave a great jump, and,--waked up, and found herself in the
sunshiny grass near the elephant's house.
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