“Oh, no you’re not!” suddenly cried the Monkey.

“Why not?  Who will stop me?” asked the bad Goat, stamping his foot.

“I will!” cried the brave Monkey on a Stick.  “Here!  You get out of this tent!” and the Monkey stood straight up on his stick and looked with both eyes at the goat.

[Illustration:  Monkey Protects Candy Rabbit. Page 106]

CHAPTER X

MONKEY IN A SHOW

The bad Goat walked closer and closer to the Candy Rabbit.  And that poor Bunny toy was so frightened that he did not think of jumping out of the way.

“I’m going to get sweetness off your ears,” said the Goat, teasing.

“Oh, if you bite my ears I can’t be in the show!” said the poor Rabbit.

The Monkey climbed higher and higher on his stick, after he had said he would stop the Goat from eating the Candy Rabbit.  And now, just as the Goat was going to take the Bunny up from the box, the Monkey suddenly gave a jump!  Oh, such a jump!

Off his stick he jumped, and he landed right on the Goat’s back.  With his hands the Monkey began to pull the Goat’s hair.

He even reached around and pulled the Goat’s whiskers, the Monkey did.

“Baa-a-a-a-a!” bleated the Goat.  “Stop, Monkey!  You’re hurting me!  You’re pulling my hair!”

“Then get out of this tent and leave the Candy Rabbit alone!” shouted the Monkey.

“No!  I want sweet stuff!” bleated the bad Goat.

Then the Monkey jumped off the Goat’s back, and, catching up the stick, on which he climbed to the top when the string was pulled, the Monkey began hitting the Goat over the nose with it.

“Oh, my nose!  My soft and tender nose!” bleated the Goat, as he ran out of the tent.

“Thank you, so much, for saving me,” said the Rabbit to the Monkey, as the likely chap climbed back on his stick.

“I am very glad I could help you,” said the Monkey.  “I guess that Goat won’t come back in a hurry!”

And as the Groat ran out of the tent, the children, bringing up their other toys to have the show, saw him.

“Oh, look at the big sheep!” cried Madeline.

“That isn’t a sheep, it’s a goat,” said her brother.

“Oh, maybe he ate my Candy Rabbit!” cried the little girl.  “I must go and look.”

She and the other children hurried into the tent.  There were the Monkey and the Rabbit safe together.  But the children did not know what a narrow escape the Rabbit had had.

By this time Arnold, with the help of the other boys, had brought over his Bold Tin Soldier and the other men in the army company; Dick had brought his White Rocking Horse; and Dorothy’s Sawdust Doll and Mirabell’s Lamb on Wheels were also in the tent.  Of course Herbert’s Monkey and Madeline’s Candy Rabbit were the first to be in the show.

“Now the performance is going to start!” cried Herbert, when the brothers and sisters were seated on the benches, which were made from the boxes Patrick, the gardener, had given Dick.  “The show is going to start!  All ready!”