Speaker 1: Juno lived in a great park where there was a menagerie,
Speaker 1: and neither the park nor the menagerie could have done
Speaker 1: without Juno. Now, who do you think Juna was. She
Speaker 1: was a dear old black and brown dog, the best
Speaker 1: natured dog in the world, and this was the reason
Speaker 1: they could not do without her. In the park, a
Speaker 1: lioness died and left two little lion cubs with no
Speaker 1: one to take care of them. The poor little lions
Speaker 1: curled up in a corner of the cage and seemed
Speaker 1: as if they would die. Then the keeper of the
Speaker 1: menagerie brought Juno and showed her the little lion cubs
Speaker 1: and said, now, Juno, here are some puppies for you.
Speaker 1: Go and take care of them. That's a good dog.
Speaker 1: Juno's own puppies had just been given away, and she
Speaker 1: was feeling very badly about it, and was rather glad
Speaker 1: to take care of the two little lions. They were
Speaker 1: so pretty, with their soft striped fur and yellow paws
Speaker 1: that Juno soon loved them. She took the best care
Speaker 1: of them till they grew old enough to live by themselves.
Speaker 1: Many people used to come and stand near the big
Speaker 1: lion's cage and laugh to see only a quiet old
Speaker 1: dog and two little bits of lion cubs shut in it.
Speaker 1: It was very pretty to see Juno playing with the cubs,
Speaker 1: and all the children who came to the park wanted
Speaker 1: first to see the doggie that nursed the lion puppies.
Speaker 1: But when they grew large enough, they were taken away
Speaker 1: from her and sold to different menageries far away, and
Speaker 1: poor Juna wondered what had become of her pretty adopted children.
Speaker 1: She looked for them all about the menagerie and asked
Speaker 1: all the animals if they had seen her two pretty
Speaker 1: yellow striped lion puppies. No one had seen them, and
Speaker 1: nearly every one was sorry and had something kind to say,
Speaker 1: for Juno was a favorite with many, to be sure.
Speaker 1: The wolf snarled at her and said it served her
Speaker 1: right for thinking that she, a miserable, tame dog could
Speaker 1: bring up young lions, but Juno knew she had only
Speaker 1: done as she was told, so she did not mind
Speaker 1: the wolf. The monkeys cracked jokes and teased her, saying
Speaker 1: they guessed she would be given another family to take
Speaker 1: care of sea lions most likely, and she would have
Speaker 1: to live in the water to keep them in order.
Speaker 1: This had not occurred to Juno before, and it made
Speaker 1: her quite uneasy. It is not possible they would want
Speaker 1: me to nurse young sea lions, said she. They are
Speaker 1: so rude and so very slippery. I could never make
Speaker 1: them mind me. You may be thankful if you don't
Speaker 1: get those two young alligators in the other tank, said
Speaker 1: a gruff voiced adjutant. Good gracious, exclaimed Juno. You don't
Speaker 1: think it possible. Of course, it is possible, said a pelican,
Speaker 1: stretching his neck through his cage bars. You'll see what
Speaker 1: comes of being too obliging. We all think you are
Speaker 1: a good creature, Juno, said a crane. Indeed, I should
Speaker 1: willingly trust you with my young crane children. But really,
Speaker 1: if you will do everything that is asked of you,
Speaker 1: there's no knowing whose family you may have. Next. Juno
Speaker 1: went and laid down in a sunshiny place near the
Speaker 1: elephant's house and thought over all these words. Very soon,
Speaker 1: she grew sleepy in spite of her anxiety, and was
Speaker 1: just dropping off into a doze when she heard the
Speaker 1: keeper whistle for her. She ran to him and found
Speaker 1: him in the hippopotamus's cage. Juno said, he, I guess
Speaker 1: you'll have to take charge of this young hippopotamus. The
Speaker 1: poor little fellow has lost his mother. Dear, Dear, sighed Juno.
Speaker 1: I was afraid it would come to this. I'm thankful
Speaker 1: it isn't the young alligators. So Juno took charge of
Speaker 1: the young hippo. She called him hippo for short, and
Speaker 1: only when he was naughty she called him hippopotamus. Aren't
Speaker 1: you ashamed of yourself? But he was a great trial.
Speaker 1: He was awkward and clumsy, and not a bit like
Speaker 1: her graceful little lion puppies. Then he got sick, and
Speaker 1: she had to give him peppermint. His mouth was so
Speaker 1: large that she lost the spoon in it, and he
Speaker 1: swallowed spoon and all, and was very ill afterward. But
Speaker 1: he grew up at last. And just as Juno had
Speaker 1: made up her mind not to take care of other
Speaker 1: people's families any more, the keeper came to her with
Speaker 1: two young giraffes and told her she really must be
Speaker 1: a mother to the poor little scraps of misery, for
Speaker 1: their mother was gone and they would die if they
Speaker 1: weren't cared for immediately. These were a dreadful trouble. And besides,
Speaker 1: they would keep trotting after her everywhere, till the pelican
Speaker 1: and the adjutant and the cranes nearly killed themselves laughing
Speaker 1: at her. Poor Juno felt worse and worse till one
Speaker 1: day she heard the keeper say she certainly would have
Speaker 1: to take care of the young elephant. She felt that
Speaker 1: she could stand it no longer and made up her
Speaker 1: mind to run away. So she said good bye to
Speaker 1: all her friends and ran to the wall of the park.
Speaker 1: There she gave a great jump and waked up and
Speaker 1: found herself in the sunshiny grass near the elephant's house.
Speaker 1: Oh how glad I am, said Juno. What in the
Speaker 1: world has been the matter, asked the elephant. You've been
Speaker 1: kicking and growling in your sleep at a great rate.
Speaker 1: I've been watching you this long time. Such dreadful dreams,
Speaker 1: said Juno. Lion puppies are all very well, but when
Speaker 1: it comes to hippopotamus and giraffes and elephant, what are
Speaker 1: you talking about? Said the elephant. I guess you'd better
Speaker 1: go to your supper. I heard the keeper call you
Speaker 1: long ago. So Juno went to her supper very glad
Speaker 1: to find she had only dreamed her troubles. But she
Speaker 1: made up her mind that if the old hippopotamus should die,
Speaker 1: she would run away that very night. End of Juno's
Speaker 1: Wonderful Troubles by E. Mueller