“Bow wow!” barked the dog, and I think he meant that he certainly would not—­that he loved monkeys.  In fact, any one would have loved Mappo, he was so kind and gentle, even though he had not had much training.

“Now, Prince, just show this monkey how you can stand on your head,” went on the circus man.  “Show him how it’s done.”

The dog kicked his hind legs up in the air, and there he was, standing up partly on his head, and partly on his forepaws.

“That’ll do, Prince!” the man called.  “Down!”

“Bow wow!” barked Prince, as he turned a somersault, and stood on his four feet.

“You’ll soon be doing tricks like that, little monkey,” went on the circus man, speaking to Mappo, as though the little chap from the jungle could understand and answer him.

And, as I have told you, Mappo could understand pretty nearly all the man said, but he could not talk back to him, except in monkey language, and that the man did not understand.

“Now, Prince,” said the circus man, “Mappo is going to have a ride on your back.  I want you to go slowly with him at first so he will not fall off.  Later on, you may run fast, and we’ll have a race, with other monkeys on the backs of other dogs.  And, when Mappo has learned to ride dog-back, I’ll teach him to ride pony-back.”

“Bow wow!” barked Prince, just as though he understood it all.

A bright red blanket was strapped around Prince, like a saddle on a horse, and over the dog’s head were put some straps like the reins of a horse.  Those were for Mappo to take hold of, and pretend he was driving the dog around the ring.

“All right now.  Here we go!” cried the man.  “Come, Mappo!”

Mappo, who had been watching Tum Tum learn to stand on his hind legs, now looked at the man and dog.  The man lifted up the monkey and set him on the dog’s back.  He also put the reins in Mappo’s little paws.

“Now go, Prince!” said the man, and he walked along with the dog, holding Mappo on the back of Prince.

At first Mappo did not understand what was wanted of him, and when Prince started off, the little monkey grew afraid, and tried to jump down and run away.  But the man spoke gently to him.

“There now, old fellow,” said the circus man kindly.  “No one is going to hurt you.  You’ll be all right.  Just sit on.  Prince won’t run away with you.”

Mappo was not so frightened now, and as the man held him on the dog’s back, he did not fall off.  Around and around in a ring went Prince carrying Mappo.  Finally the monkey saw that he was in no danger of falling, and he sat up straighter.

“I guess you can go alone now,” said the man.  “Go on, Prince!”

Mappo sat up proudly, holding the reins.  He was riding alone, though of course not very fast, for Prince only walked now.

For two or three days Mappo practiced this trick, and each day he did it better.  Each day, too, when he had finished it, he was given something good to eat, and so was Prince.