The hotel horses were just getting
rubbed down after their day's work, and others were coming in. The men
were talking and laughing, and there was no sign of strange animals, so
I went around to the back of the yard. Here they were, in an empty cow
stable, under a hay loft. There were two little ponies tied up in a
stall, two goats beyond them, and dogs and monkeys in strong traveling
cages. I stood in the doorway and stared at them. I was sorry for the
dogs to be shut up on such a lovely evening, but I suppose their master
was afraid of their getting lost, or being stolen, if he let them loose.
They all seemed very friendly. The ponies turned around and looked at me
with their gentle eyes, and then went on munching their hay. I wondered
very much where the gander was, and went a little farther into the
stable. Something white raised itself up out of the brownest pony's
crib, and there was the gander close up beside the open mouth of his
friend. The monkeys make a jabbering noise, and held on to the bars of
their cage with their little black hands, while they looked out at me.
The dogs sniffed the air, and wagged their tails, and tried to put their
muzzles through the bars of their cage.
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