he was back in his old native town.

While he was washing his face in the brook he saw some of the boys
who had come out from the town to catch the first glimpse of the
circus, and he saw at once that he was the object of their admiring
gaze. He heard one of the boys say, when they first discovered him:

"There's one of them, an' he's only a little feller; so I'm going
to talk to him."

The evident admiration which the boys had for Toby pleased him,
and this pleasure was the only drop of comfort he had had since
he started. He hoped they would come and talk with him; and, that
they might have the opportunity, he was purposely slow in making
his toilet.

The boys approached him shyly, as if they had their doubts whether
he was made of the same material as themselves, and when they got
quite near to him and satisfied themselves that he was only washing
his face in much the same way that any well regulated boy would do,
the one who had called attention to him said, half timidly, "Hello!"

"Hello!" responded Toby, in a tone that was meant to invite
confidence.

"Do you belong to the circus?"

"Yes," said Toby, a little doubtfully.

Then the boys stared at him again as if he were one of the strange