CHAPTER VI

THE WHAT-DO-YOU-THINK?--KNIGHT OF THE WHISTLE--"CAN DO LITTLE"--
THROWING LIGHT


"THE WHAT-DO-YOU-THINK?"

The exhibitor begins, in proper showman style: "Ladies and gentlemen,
I have the pleasure of exhibiting to your notice the celebrated
'What-do-you-think?' or Giant Uncle-Eater. You have all probably heard
of the Ant-Eater. This is, as you will readily perceive, a member of
the same family, but more so! He measures seven feet from the tip of
his snout to the end of his tail, eight feet back again, five feet
around the small of his waist, and has four feet of his own, making
twenty-four in all. In his natural state he lives chiefly on blue-bottle
flies and mixed pickles, but in captivity it is found that so rich a
diet has a tendency to make him stout, and he is now fed exclusively
on old corks and back numbers of some daily paper. His voice, which
you may perhaps have an opportunity of hearing (here the
'What-do-you-think?' howls dismally), is in the key of B fiat, and is
greatly admired. People come here before breakfast to hear it, and
when they have heard it, they assure us that they never heard anything
like it before. Some have even gone so far as to say that they never
wish to hear anything like it again,"' etc. The "What-do-you-think?"
is manufactured as follows: The performer, who should have black kid
gloves on, places on his head a conical paper cap, worked up with the