I am sorry to say that little Chalmers Ashton was afraid of things! And
you know there was really nothing to be afraid of, for he lived in a
safe, comfortable house in the best part of town, and there were father
and mother and grandpa and Uncle James, Tilly the maid and Billy the
hired man to look after him--to say nothing of Mr. O'Brien, the burly
policeman in blue coat and brass buttons, who used to stroll up and down
the street after nightfall.

But Chalmers used to "imagine things"--"think them up in his mind." I
can't begin to tell you just what they were--only some were like snakes
and some had horns and sharp teeth and glaring eyes and they growled
like everything.

Chalmers made up a name for them; he called them "The Biters." Awful
silly wasn't it, to be afraid of made-up things?

One day an animal show came to the town. For one whole day big white
tents were in the meadow at the rear of the orchard which belonged to
Chalmers' father, and, what with the rumbling red and yellow wagons, the
noise and confusion, the shouting of the men, the roaring of the lions
and howling and snarling of the other animals--well, really, it was
almost like being next door to a jungle! And it was after midnight
before everything was packed up and put on board the long train of cars.

Now the show people left one of their smaller wagons behind them; it was
a very old one and something was the matter with it so that they didn't
think it worth while repairing. So the next morning, there it stood near
the elm tree out in the meadow. Then, what do you suppose? Well, it was