buster was not popular among the animals of the circus after his fight with spot the leopard, but he was a great favorite with the circus people. from being regarded as a dangerous bear, ready to kill his trainer at any moment, he was looked upon thereafter as a special pet who could be trusted by every one.

of course, it was chiquita who favored him the most. she bestowed more attention upon him than on any of the others. she petted him, praised him, feeding him dainties, and giving him the softest bed in the place. she even permitted him to roam about the rooms she occupied, and as buster did not get in mischief or do any harm his liberty was extended day by day.

buster grew as fond of chiquita as she was of him, and he obeyed her as meekly and willingly as a pet dog. none of the ugly temper he showed when fighting spot in the cage[80] showed itself again, and chiquita began training him for trick performances.

buster had already received a little training, and he was quick to pick up his new lessons. he soon learned to jump through a hoop, skip rope, and turn somersaults back and forth. then one day, chiquita said:

“you would make a good clown, buster, i believe. yes, you would.”

not knowing what a clown was, buster merely grinned and nodded his head. chiquita made a wonderful dress for him out of red, white and blue flannel, and with a tall hat on his head buster looked like the cartoon of uncle sam. dressed as the goddess of liberty, chiquita appeared in the arena walking arm in arm with her escort.

this brought great applause from the audience, and what pleased the people pleased buster. he grinned and nodded his head, and strutted around with his head high in the air.

all the time he was receiving special favors and attention, spot the leopard and ocelot the jungle cat were in their cages watching for an opportunity to get revenge on him. the pain they suffered from buster’s hard blows was nothing to what they suffered in[81] mind and spirit. they were nearly consumed with rage and envy.

buster never passed near the cage without their snarling and spitting at him. they could do this in safety, for the iron bars were between them. right down in their hearts, however, they were afraid of him.

buster, who carried no spirit of ill-feeling against them, merely grinned when they spit at him. but one day he stopped in front of spot’s cage, and said:

“why don’t you forget and forgive, spot? this carrying a grouch around with you all the time spoils your face. let’s be friends.”

“friends!” snarled spot. “i may think of that after i’ve clawed off some of your hide!”

“me too!” echoed ocelot. “and i’d like to begin with your eyes.”

“and i’ll lap up his warm blood when you’ve killed him,” growled timber the wolf from his cage.

buster, instead of being offended at these threats, sat back on his haunches and laughed. then noticing the old lion watching them, his eyes blinking sleepily, he turned to him.

“what would you like to do to me, old lion?” he asked.

“nothing, buster, except to give you some good advice,” was the reply.

[82]“that’s a friendly offer. i’ll listen to it.”

the old lion winked and blinked, stretched himself with a yawn, and then sat up looking for all the world like the noble king of the beasts.

“when your enemies threaten you, buster,” he said slowly, “it is wise to listen to them so you may be prepared. don’t let the pride of strength deceive you. the mouse gnawed through the net that the lion couldn’t break, and cobra the reptile put a whole jungle of animals to flight. that is all, buster.”

“thank you, old lion,” replied buster. “i’ll remember what you said.”

“it doesn’t make any difference to me whether you remember it or not,” was the answer, as the old lion stretched out and went to sleep.

buster did remember the advice for a few days, and then forgot it. he also ignored spot and ocelot, for they refused to make friends with him. meanwhile, his progress as a trick bear increased, and he appeared nightly before big audiences with chiquita.

one day the big tent was taken down, for the circus was to move to another town. there was such noise and confusion that every one was upset. buster found his customary resting place filled with packing boxes and baggage.[83] somewhat put out by this he wandered around, and finally climbed on the top of a bundle of canvas away from the confusion.

it was a soft, comfortable bed, and buster soon fell asleep. he snored and rolled around in his slumber until attendants came running up to find out what the trouble was. when they discovered him, they laughed and said:

“it’s only buster taking his mid-day snooze with the high treble stops wide open.”

buster hadn’t noticed that the pile of canvas was close to the two cages where spot and ocelot were kept. they had kept so quiet that he never suspected their nearness. but the leopard and jungle cat had seen him, and were watching him with flashing eyes.

as he snored and rolled around in his sleep, they kept their eyes patiently and watchfully on him. once a shaggy paw came close to spot’s cage, and he stealthily put out a fore-arm to see if he could reach it. he fell short about an inch.

he withdrew his paw silently and resumed his watchful waiting. ocelot on the other side was equally interested in one of buster’s fore paws. it was within a few feet of his cage.

buster rolled over and flung his legs out to their full length like an animal stretching.[84] the result was just what the two vengeful enemies were waiting for. spot reached through the bars of his cage and caught the hind leg of buster with his sharp claws, and ocelot attacked one of his fore-legs.

buster was aroused from his sleep by sharp pains that seemed like a thousand needles sticking in him. when he attempted to spring to his feet he found himself a prisoner. spot and ocelot were tugging, tearing and biting with all their might as if they would pull him apart and haul him through the bars of their cages.

taken at such a disadvantage, buster for a moment was helpless. then the pain became so severe that he brought all of his powerful muscles into play, and jerked with such force that both cages came tumbling over on top of him.

the sudden upsetting of their cages startled spot and ocelot so that they jumped back in fright. buster was immediately on his feet, rolling the cages around as if they had been made of jackstraws. with a lightning blow through the bars he struck spot a whack that sent him reeling backward. then before he could recover, buster sprang around on the opposite side and knocked him back. for a moment it looked as if he would break through the cage and kill spot.

when the attendants ran up, buster was shaking ocelot’s cage in a vain endeavor to get at him. the jungle cat was so frightened that he shivered and whined for mercy. buster’s anger could not be quieted until chiquita came up. she patted him, and led him away to bind up his wounds. the leopard and jungle cat were glad to see him go. in trying to get revenge on buster they had been punished nearly as much as he.

“i should have remembered the old lion’s advice,” buster said to himself when chiquita bound up his wounds. then looking at her, he added: “but there’s some good in everything. i wouldn’t have such a tender nurse if i wasn’t wounded.” and he smiled with satisfaction.

next will come the story of how buster was caught in a railroad wreck.