“I used to climb in windows like that,” said Mappo to Tum Tum.  “I used to go up the rain-water pipe to get the pennies from the children.”

“It must have been fun for you,” said Tum Tum, “as you are such a good climber.”

“Oh, it wasn’t so much fun as you’d imagine,” answered Mappo as he slyly tickled another monkey with a straw.  Mappo was always up to some trick or other; he was a very merry monkey.

It was almost time for the circus performance to start.  Mappo was thinking he had better go, and get on his pretty new red, white and blue suit, when suddenly, from outside the tent, he heard the cry of: 

“Fire!  Fire!  Fire!”

[Illustration:  Mappo sat up at the table and eat his dinner with knife, fork and spoon. (Page 119)]

Now Mappo knew what a fire was.  There used to be a fire in the stove at the big circus barn, and once he went too close and burned his paw.

So Mappo knew what fire meant, even though it was cried in some other language than monkey talk.  Then Mappo looked out of a crack in the tent, and he saw one of the houses, near the circus grounds, all ablaze.  Black smoke was coming from it.

“One of those houses is burning,” said Mappo to Tum Tum.  The monkey had often seen the natives, in his jungle, kindle fires at night to cook their suppers, and also to keep wild beasts away.  For wild beasts are afraid of fire.

“A house burning, eh?” said Tum Tum.  “Well, that is nothing to us.  We have to go on with the show, no matter what happens.”

“I’m going out to see it,” spoke Mappo.  “I have a little time yet before I must do my tricks.”

Mappo was not chained, so he had no trouble in slipping under the tent, and in going toward the burning house.  There was great excitement.  Men, boys, girls and women were running all around.  Some of them were carrying things out of the blazing dwelling.  Then up came the fire engines, tooting and whistling.  Mappo of course did not know what fire engines were.  All he cared for was the black smoke, and the bright, red fire.

Suddenly a woman in the crowd began to scream.

“My baby!  Oh, my little baby is up in that room,” and she pointed to one on the side of the house which was not yet burning as much as the rest.  “Oh, my baby!” she cried, and she tried to run back into the blazing house, but some men stopped her.

“The firemen will get your baby,” they said.

“Oh, they will never be in time!” the woman cried.

Just then Mappo’s circus trainer came running up.

“Oh, here you are!” he cried to Mappo.  “I was afraid you had run away again.”

“No!  No!” chattered Mappo, in his own language.

Mappo reached up, and put his arms around the keeper’s neck.  Just then the woman cried again: 

“My baby!  Oh, my baby is left behind in the room, and the stairs are all on fire.  How can I get him?”