“Oh, won’t we have fun watching them go past?” cried Sue.  “I wonder if they’ll have a parade?  If they do, and it goes past our house—­I mean our automobile—­we can see it better than anybody, can’t we?”

“Yes.  But the parade won’t come this far out into the country,” said Uncle Tad.  “It will go through the streets of the town.”

“Where are you going?” asked Bunny, suddenly looking at the old soldier.

“I thought I’d go fishing over to Blue Lake.  Looked yesterday as if there were plenty of fish there.  Want to go with me, Bunny Brown?”

“Huh?  An’ the circus comin’ to town?” asked Bunny, clipping the end off his words.  “Say, Mother, aren’t we going to the circus?” he asked quickly.

“Well, I didn’t hear anything about it,” said Mrs. Brown slowly.

“Can’t you take us, Uncle Tad?” pleaded Sue, for she, as much as did her brother, wanted to see the big show.

“Well, I suppose I could put off my fishing till another day,” said Uncle Tad slowly.  “Are you sure you two want to go?”

“Are we!” cried Bunny.

“Oh, I want to go—­so much!” and Sue showed just how much by putting her arms around Uncle Tad’s neck and hugging him as hard as she could.  That was her way of showing “how much.”

“Well, if it’s as much as that I guess I’ll have to take you,” laughed Uncle Tad.  “Mind you, I don’t want to go myself,” and he looked at Mrs. Brown in a queer way.  “I don’t care anything about a circus—­never did in fact.  But if an old man has to give up his fishing trip, just to take two children to one of the wild animal shows, why I guess it will have to be done, that’s all.  But really I don’t want to go,” and he shook his head very seriously.

“Oh, Uncle Tad!” cried Sue.  “Don’t you want to see the elephants?”

“Nope,” and the old soldier kept on shaking his head “crossways,” as Bunny said.

“And don’t you want to see the lions?”

“Nope.”

“Nor the tigers?”

“Nope.”

“Not even the camels and the monkeys and the men jumping over horses’ backs, nor the giraffes with their long necks—­don’t you want to see any of them?” Sue was talking faster and faster all the while.

Uncle Tad did not say anything, but a funny look came into his eyes, and Bunny was almost sure the old soldier was laughing on one side of his face at Mother Brown.  Then Bunny cried: 

“Oh, Sue!  He’s just fooling!  He wants to go as much as we do!”

“Oh, Uncle Tad, I’m so glad!” cried Sue.  “I love you—­so—­much!” and again she hugged him as hard as she could, and kissed him too.

“Now I’ll surely have to go,” he chuckled.

Breakfast was soon over, and by that time Bunny and Sue were so excited that they did not know what to do.  Somehow they managed to get properly dressed, and by that time other circus wagons came along.

These wagons were gilded and painted more gaily than the first that had gone past.  And from some of them came low growls or roars.