Johni sighed and climbed carefully out of the tree. He picked his schoolbag up. But nothing on earth would get him to go back for his lunch tin. Who would ever believe that he saw a flying fish and a Bengalese tiger on one day? And suddenly a new thought made him start running. If he was late for school again, he would be shut in his room for a week!
He arrived at school out of breath. In a rush he began to tell his teacher all about the tiger. About the Bengalese tiger, like the one on the Jungle Oats box. She tried to calm him down, but he was far too excited. She have the class work to do and took Johni to the laboratory. She took spirits from the shelf and tried to get the gum from the tree off his hands and clothes.
When they got back to class Johni started his story all over again.
"I saw a tiger," he said, "He was lying in the Turners' rockery."
At that moment the headmaster came into the classroom. Johni repeated his tale. "Johni is quite right," said Mr. Greystone. "A tiger escaped from the circus. The police have just phoned. Everyone must stay inside until they have caught the tiger. And now I can tell them where the tiger is!"
"But how will they catch the tiger?" all the children wanted to know.
"Maybe his tamer will be able to persuade him to go into his cage. Or maybe they will have to dart him with a tranquilliser," said Mr. Greystone. "The main thing is, we mustn't go out onto the streets until the circus people and the police have the situation under control."
At the door the headmaster turned to Johni. "Johni," he said, "today I know that you were not dreaming." He winked at Johni and walked off with a smile to go and phone the police.
And I won't say a word about the flying fish, though Johni with a sigh.
Later the teacher asked them all to draw a tiger and to find information about tigers in books. But first Johni had to describe the tiger and how it was lying in minute detail again.
"What did its eyes look like?" asked one of Johni's friends nervously.
Johni didn't need any encouragement, "Like coals of fire," he said, "coals that are still burning."
Suddenly he got in his head to growl and roar. He roared so hard that few of the boys in the class screamed with fright. Even his teacher slapped her hand to her mouth.
