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+Project Gutenberg's Little Bear at Work and at Play, by Frances Margaret Fox
+
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+**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
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+
+Title: Little Bear at Work and at Play
+
+Author: Frances Margaret Fox
+
+Release Date: March, 2005 [EBook #7764]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on May 14, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE BEAR AT WORK AND AT PLAY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Ted Garvin
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _Little Bear walked up and shook hands with Grandpa
+Tortoise_ ]
+
+LITTLE BEAR
+AT WORK AND AT PLAY
+
+By
+
+FRANCES MARGARET FOX
+
+Author of "Doings of Little Bear," "Adventures of Sonny Bear"
+and "The Kinderkins"
+
+Illustrated by
+
+WARNER CARR
+
+Lovingly dedicated to the
+FIRST GIRLS
+
+Who lived in the Martha Cook Dormitory,
+Ann Arbor, Michigan, because they loved
+
+LITTLE BEAR
+
+CONTENTS
+
+WHEN LITTLE BEAR BRAGGED
+
+WHEN MOTHER SKUNK HELPED LITTLE BEAR
+
+WHEN LITTLE BEAR WOULD NOT WORK
+
+HOW LITTLE BEAR LEARNED TO SWIM
+
+LITTLE BEAR AND THE LOST OTTER BABY
+
+WHEN LITTLE BEAR VISITED SCHOOL
+
+LITTLE BEAR GETS HIS WISH
+
+THREE BEARS COME TO BREAKFAST
+
+LITTLE BEAR'S PROMISE
+
+LITTLE BEAR'S SURPRISE PARTY
+
+
+ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
+
+Thanks are extended to the _Youth's Companion_ for
+permission to reprint the following stories: "When
+Little Bear Bragged," "When Mother Skunk Helped Little
+Bear," "When Little Bear Would Not Work," "How Little
+Bear Learned to Swim," "Little Bear and the Lost Otter
+Baby," "When Little Bear Visited School," "Little Bear
+Gets His Wish," and "Little Bear's Surprise Party"; and
+to the _Christian Observer_ for permission to reprint
+the following stories: "Three Bears Come to Breakfast"
+and "Little Bear's Promise."
+
+[Illustration: _Between times Little Bear asked questions_ ]
+
+LITTLE BEAR
+AT WORK AND AT PLAY
+
+WHEN LITTLE BEAR BRAGGED
+
+One rainy day the three bears were sitting by the fire
+in their comfortable house in the woods, telling stories.
+First Father Bear would tell a story, and then Mother
+Bear would tell a story, and then Father Bear would
+have a turn again. Between times Little Bear asked
+questions.
+
+The three were happy and merry until Mother Bear
+told the old story about the race between the hare and
+the tortoise, and how the slow-going tortoise was the
+first to reach the goal because the hare took a nap and
+did not wake up until after the tortoise had passed him
+and had won the race.
+
+"You see," Mother Bear explained, "the hare was so
+sure he could win that he did not even try to reach the
+goal quickly. He was so swift-footed that he thought
+he could go to sleep if he chose and still come out ahead
+of the patient tortoise."
+
+"Wasn't he silly!" exclaimed Little Bear. "If I were
+going to run a race with Grandpa Tortoise, I should go
+this way until I reached the goal!" And Little Bear
+pranced up and down the room until he made even the
+porridge bowls rattle in the cupboard. "I guess I should
+know enough to know that Grandpa Tortoise would
+keep stepping ahead and stepping ahead and get to
+the goal in time! You would not catch me taking any
+naps if I started out to run a race with anyone! No,
+sir-ree!"
+
+Mother Bear laughed heartily, but Father Bear looked
+very solemn. He did not like to hear Little Bear brag
+at all.
+
+"So you think, Son Bear," said he, "that, if you
+should run a race with Grandpa Tortoise, you would be
+wiser than our old friend, Peter Hare? Is that what
+you mean?"
+
+"I know I should," bragged Little Bear. "I'd say,
+'Good-by, Grandpa Tortoise!' and off I'd start, and I
+should beat him before he had time to think. Then,
+afterward, if I were sleepy and wanted to, I should take
+a nap."
+
+"Very well," said Father Bear, "I shall see Grandpa
+Tortoise, and if he is willing to run a race with a silly
+little fellow like you, you shall have your chance, and
+Peter Hare shall be the judge."
+
+So it came about that, when the rain was over, the
+friends of the Three Bears and of the hare and the
+tortoise met in the woods to see the fun.
+
+Little Bear noticed that, before the race began, the
+hare and the tortoise were laughing about something,
+but he did not even wonder what it was. He had nothing
+to worry about.
+
+At last the word was given: "One, two, three, go!"
+
+[Illustration: He was out of breath before he had passed the first
+oak tree]
+
+Away went the tortoise, slow and easy. Off started
+Little Bear, running so fast that he was out of breath
+before he had passed the first oak tree, and was glad to
+stop a second and have a drink of dew from an acorn cup
+that Friend Treetoad offered him.
+
+"Thank you," remarked Little Bear, as he returned
+the cup, "but that was not enough. I shall have to step
+over to the spring."
+
+"Remember how the hare lost the race," Friend
+Treetoad warned him.
+
+"Oh, I shall not go to sleep," answered Little Bear,
+"and, really, Grandpa Tortoise walks slower than I
+thought he did."
+
+Beside the spring were a number of Little Bear's
+old friends dressed in green satin coats, who were playing
+leapfrog. They asked Little Bear to play with them,
+and soon he was showing the frogs what long leaps he
+could make. And then, in a little while, many baby
+rabbits came and joined in the fun. The next that Little
+Bear knew, he was chasing baby rabbits over the rocks
+and catching nuts that the squirrels threw to him from
+the tree tops and having a joyful playtime.
+
+An hour passed quickly, and then Little Bear suddenly
+remembered that he had started out to run a race.
+Back he ran to the path and away he flew toward the
+goal, while the baby rabbits laughed and danced and
+danced and laughed. Father Bear had sent them to
+play with Little Bear, but they did not know why he
+had sent them until that minute.
+
+[Illustration: Grandpa Tortoise had reached his goal]
+
+Stepping along, stepping along, slowly but surely,
+Grandpa Tortoise had reached the goal, just as he had in
+the long-ago day when he ran the race with the hare.
+Little Bear, as he came near the goal, heard the neighbors
+shouting, "Hurrah for the champion! Hurrah
+for the champion! Hurrah for Grandpa Tortoise!"
+Even Father Bear was shouting.
+
+Little Bear remembered his manners and, as his
+father had told him what to do if he lost the race, straightway
+walked up and shook hands with Grandpa Tortoise.
+And the hare, although he must have been laughing in
+his sleeve, remembered his manners, too, and did not
+let anyone see him laugh.
+
+After that the old friends and neighbors went home
+with the Three Bears to eat blackberries and honey and
+to tell stories round the fire. Grandpa Tortoise went
+too. He had traveled so slowly that he was not even
+tired. Little Bear asked a few questions, as usual,
+that afternoon when the stories were told, but he did
+not brag. And when Peter Hare winked at him once
+or twice he laughed.
+
+
+WHEN MOTHER SKUNK HELPED
+LITTLE BEAR
+
+Once upon a time Little Bear went for a long walk
+along the river path. He was alone, and so did not
+know that he had gone far from home until Father Kingfisher
+saw him and called:
+
+"It is time for you to turn round and go back, Little
+Bear! You must remember that it will soon be dark
+in the woods, and you might get lost, for you have no
+wings with which to fly home quickly."
+
+Little Bear looked for the sun. Sure enough, it was
+sinking behind the trees and leaving a long, shining
+trail on the river. It was time to go home.
+
+"Thank you, Father Kingfisher," answered Little
+Bear. "I was having such a good time that I forgot
+I was far from our little house, but I shall run back
+fast now. So good night!"
+
+And away he ran. But before he had passed more
+than three bends of the river he saw a man fishing,
+and in the woods near by was a tent, with a bright
+camp fire burning, and beside the camp fire, a man
+cleaning a gun.
+
+Little Bear was so frightened that he sat down and
+
+[Illustration: Father Kingfisher saw him]
+
+cried. Mother Skunk heard him, for she and her six
+children were out hunting beetles for supper.
+
+"What is the trouble?" she asked. "What is the
+matter, Little Bear?"
+
+Little Bear told her about the two men, one on either
+side of his path. "And I am afraid to go by them!"
+he wailed.
+
+"Come, come, child, dry your eyes," said Mother
+Skunk. "You have always been kind to my children, and
+now I will take care of you. Stop crying and follow me."
+
+"But won't the men catch you?" asked Little Bear.
+
+"Oh, no," answered Mother Skunk, "They will not
+touch us. You follow me. Come, children."
+
+On walked Mother Skunk, slowly and comfortably,
+with Little Bear and her six pretty children following
+one behind another, as she had told them to do.
+
+When the man who was fishing saw Mother Skunk walking by
+with her children and Little Bear, he sat still as a
+mouse. All he did was wink. The man by the fire stopped
+cleaning his gun when he saw Mother Skunk walking by
+with her children and Little Bear, and he, too, sat
+still as a mouse.
+
+All he did was wink. "Now, Little Bear," said Mother
+Skunk, when they had gone a few steps more, "The
+children and I will [Illustration: On walked Mother
+Skunk] stay here a while and catch beetles, but you must
+run along home. The men will not trouble you while we
+are in their path, never fear!" "I thank you, Mother
+Skunk!" Little Bear called over his shoulder, as he pit-
+patted for home as fast as he could travel. And when he
+reached home, he told what had happened to him and
+walked up and down in front of the fireplace to show
+Father Bear and Mother Bear how Mother Skunk had walked
+past the two big men, as if she were not afraid of
+anyone in the woods. And how the Three Bears laughed!
+
+But when Mother Bear tucked Little Bear into bed
+that night, she kissed him and said:
+
+"Let us always be thankful for good, kind friends!"
+
+One morning when Little Bear wanted to play, his
+mother sent him out to pull weeds in the blackberry
+patch. When his mother went out to see how he was
+getting on, she found him lying on the ground and
+looking at the sky.
+
+"Little Bear," said his mother, "Have you finished your
+weeding?"
+
+"No, Mother Bear," was the answer, "It is too hard
+work. I shall pull no more weeds."
+
+Never before had Mother Bear heard Little Bear
+speak like that. So she took him by the hand and
+led him into the house, where Father Bear sat in his
+big chair.
+
+"Father Bear," she said, "Little Bear will not work."
+Then behind Little Bear's back she made motions that
+meant, "But please do not spank him!"
+
+"Ah-hum! Ah-hum!" began Father Bear, gazing
+hard at Little Bear. "Do I understand that you will
+not pull weeds, Son Bear?"
+
+"It is too hard work," explained Little Bear. "I
+am not big enough to pull weeds in the blackberry
+patch."
+
+[Illustration: She found him lying on the ground ]
+
+"Ah-hum! Ah-hum!" repeated Father Bear, who was really
+too surprised at first for words. Then he said, "Son
+Bear, I ought to spank you and send you out to work, and
+that is what I will do if your mother is willing. But--"
+Father Bear said "But" in such a loud, loud voice that
+Little Bear jumped at the tone. "But little bears who
+will not pull weeds in the blackberry patch shall not
+eat blackberries." So upstairs went Little Bear,
+followed by his mother, who carried a plate of bread and
+a brown pitcher full of water from the spring. Mother
+Bear said nothing when she left Little Bear upstairs
+with the bread and the water, but he did not mind that,
+because at first he thought it was all a joke. At dinner
+time, when he smelled fish frying he felt hungry. But
+his mother did not bring him any fish, and his father
+said nothing. So Little Bear ate bread and drank water.
+
+The afternoon lasted a long, long time. Little Bear
+was asleep when his mother brought him more bread
+and water.
+
+When he awoke, he again smelled fish frying. He
+felt hungry, but still his mother did not bring him any
+fish, and his father said nothing. Then he called his
+mother and his father.
+
+"What is the trouble with Son Bear?" inquired
+Father Bear, when Mother Bear led the little fellow
+downstairs.
+
+"I am hungry!" wailed Little Bear.
+
+"Have you no bread?" asked Father Bear.
+
+"I cannot eat just bread," answered Little Bear,
+"not when I smell fish. Besides, I am lonesome. I
+will weed the blackberry patch and the whole garden,
+and I'll hoe the corn, and I'll work like Sally Beaver,
+if you'll just let me have fish for my supper, and
+blackberries, and honey, and milk."
+
+"Very well, Son Bear," agreed Father Bear. "You
+shall sit down to supper, and weed the blackberry
+patch before dark."
+
+Little Bear passed his plate, and Father Bear filled
+it with trout, and mashed potatoes, and currant jelly.
+Mother Bear passed him the johnnycake, and gave
+him a big dish of blackberries and a brown mug full
+of milk.
+
+Little Bear was so hungry that he ate two whole
+speckled trout, and five pieces of johnnycake, and three
+heaping dishes of blackberries, and drank two mugfuls
+
+[Illustration:"I am hungry!" wailed Little Bear]
+
+of milk before he went out and weeded the blackberry
+patch. He was tired when he went to bed that night,
+and on many other nights afterward, but he said
+nothing about it, nor did he ever stop his work in the
+garden until he had done it all as well as he could. For
+he soon found out that when he had worked hard, even
+bread and water tasted good, but that when he had not
+worked, there was no taste in fish, or honey, or milk,
+or in a heaping dish of blackberries.
+
+Last summer Little Bear went on a long journey
+with his father and mother. The Three Bears had a
+beautiful time traveling through the big forest until
+they reached the banks of a deep, swift river. Then
+there was trouble, for Little Bear could not swim, nor
+did he wish to learn how to swim. He said he was
+afraid of the water.
+
+"Father Bear can easily carry me over the river," he
+suggested.
+
+"Nonsense!" replied big Father Bear in gruff tones.
+"Nonsense, my son! You are old enough and strong
+enough to learn to swim. I will not carry you across
+the stream. Neither shall your mother."
+
+Just then there came Father Otter, swimming like
+a seal, and twisting and turning in the water like a
+fish.
+
+"Perhaps the good otter will teach Little Bear to
+swim," Mother Bear said, and then called to him.
+
+"It is the easiest thing in the world to teach a little
+bear how to swim," answered Father Otter. "Just
+throw him in!" And away he went, laughing over his
+shoulder.
+
+[Illustration: "Just throw him in!" said Father Otter. ]
+
+"He must be joking," observed Mother Bear quickly,
+because she was afraid that Father Bear would toss
+Little Bear into the river, and she did not like the idea.
+
+At that moment Mother Otter came swimming
+down the river with her children. One of them climbed
+upon her shoulders and stared solemnly at Little Bear
+on the river bank.
+
+"Good morning!" said Mother Bear.
+
+"Good morning!" answered Mother Otter.
+
+"Your children are fine swimmers," added Mother
+Bear.
+
+"Certainly," answered Mother Otter. "Every one of
+them knows that our people have all been famous
+swimmers for centuries."
+
+"I suppose, then," ventured Mother Bear, "that
+your children were born swimmers. You probably had
+trouble in keeping them out of the water when they were
+babies."
+
+Mother Otter laughed. "The trouble was to get
+them into the water," she said, "because the silly little
+things were afraid. All young otters are afraid of the
+water and have to be put into it by force."
+
+"You do not mean it!" exclaimed Mother Bear, with
+great amazement in her tones.
+
+"Indeed I do," replied Mother Otter. "We had to
+push every one of our children into the water. Does
+Little Bear know how to swim?"
+
+"No," answered Mother Bear, shaking her head, "he
+is afraid to try."
+
+"Duck him," advised Mother Otter, "duck him.
+There is no other way to teach a little bear to swim."
+
+And away she went, down the stream, intending to
+overtake Father Otter.
+
+The little Otters kept looking back, hoping to see
+Father Bear toss Little Bear into the river. But Mother
+Bear begged him not to teach Little Bear to swim that
+day, and so the little Otters missed the fun.
+
+That night the Three Bears camped beside the deep,
+swift river. After Little Bear was cuddled down in his
+bed of leaves and springy boughs, Mother Bear made
+Father Bear promise not to toss Little Bear into the river
+unless Little Bear said he wanted him to.
+
+The next morning Father Bear was sorry that he had
+made the promise, because an honest-looking polecat
+who came across the stream and went into the woods
+told Father Bear and Mother Bear that the largest,
+sweetest blackberries in the forest were ripe on the other
+shore.
+
+"And now," whispered Mother Bear to Father Bear,
+"aren't you sorry that you told him that we wouldn't
+carry him over?"
+
+"Sure enough, I am," agreed Father Bear. And then
+he laughed at the joke on himself.
+
+"Well," suggested Mother Bear at last, "I shall coax
+Little Bear to let you toss him gently into the river, and
+I shall catch him if he finds he cannot swim."
+
+"Nonsense!" grumbled Father Bear, and stopped
+laughing. "While you coax," he said, "I shall go for a
+walk."
+
+Coaxing did not do any good. When Little Bear saw
+his father wander away, he told his mother that he
+did not feel like going into the water that morning. He
+hoped she would please excuse him. And so she excused
+him.
+
+Soon Father Bear came back, smiling and happy. "I
+have found a bridge," said he. "An old log has fallen
+across the river a little way upstream, where, on the other
+side, blackberries are almost as big as ducks' eggs.
+Little Bear can walk across on the log."
+
+"All right, I'll do it," promised Little Bear, and gladly
+followed his father until the Three Bears reached the
+bridge.
+
+[Illustration: In a little while he bobbed up]
+
+But while Little Bear was skipping joyfully over the
+log, trying to reach the opposite bank before his father
+and mother could swim across, the log turned over and
+sent Little Bear head first into the river. Fortunately,
+he knew enough to keep his mouth shut, and in a little
+while he bobbed up, shaking his head to get the water
+out of his eyes and his ears and paddling like a duck.
+That was all there was to it, because, ever after, Little
+Bear could swim.
+
+Mother Bear believes to this day that Father Bear
+knew that the log would roll over. She believes it
+because, whenever anyone asks him, he says nothing,
+but just laughs.
+
+One morning, while Little Bear was out camping with
+his father and mother, he went into the woods to pick
+daisies and bluebells with which to decorate the entrance
+to their cave. His hands were full of flowers, and he was
+ready to go back with them to his mother, when he
+heard a baby crying. Little Bear stood still and listened.
+Then he knew that the child who was crying was an Otter
+baby. He had heard Otter babies cry before.
+
+"What is the matter, baby one?" called Little Bear.
+"What are you crying about and where are you? Did
+you bump your nose?"
+
+"I am lost! Come and find me!" answered Baby Otter.
+
+"You are hiding behind the oak stump!" exclaimed
+Little Bear, as he scrambled through the thicket and
+fairly pounced upon Baby Otter. "I spy!" he shouted.
+
+"It isn't a game!" wailed the Otter baby. "I tell
+you I am lost! I don't know where my mother went
+and I can't find my father! I want to go home. Oh,
+boo-hoo-hoo!"
+
+"There, there, don't cry!" said Little Bear. "Tell
+me where your camp is, and I will take you home just as
+fast as we can go."
+
+"But we do not live here!" complained the lost baby.
+"Our home is Brookside, a long way off across country,
+and we are only camping out, and I do not know where
+our camp is! Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"
+
+"Come, come, cheer up!" said Little Bear, using the
+very words his father often used when speaking to him.
+"I tell you I will take you home, and if it is too far away
+I'll ask my father to go. We are camping out, ourselves,
+down the river a little way. Now tell me how you
+happened to get lost."
+
+So the Otter baby told him that the Otter family had
+gone out together after breakfast that morning, and that
+while they were laughing and chatting Baby Otter had
+strayed away from the path to pick flowers. The next
+thing that he knew he had been alone, and, not knowing
+what else to do, he had sat down and cried.
+
+"Well, wipe your eyes now, and give me your paw!"
+said Little Bear in big, grown-up tones. "My father
+showed me your camp only yesterday, and, if you are
+one of the campers, you live only a little way from here
+and I can take you home."
+
+Of course Baby Otter wiped his eyes and walked
+happily behind Little Bear. He wished to travel in
+single file, Otter fashion.
+
+[Illustration: Baby Otter walked happily behind Little Bear]
+
+It happened that Father Bear had been teaching Little
+Bear how to follow the woods trails, and Little Bear knew
+the Otters' path, because they always went round stumps
+and under logs; besides, their legs were short and their
+bodies so heavy they left well-worn trails behind them.
+
+At last Little Bear reached the end of the crooked
+path, and Baby Otter, without so much as saying "Thank
+you!" to Little Bear, ran to the cave by the river bank
+where his family was camping out.
+
+"Some people always forget their manners," said Little
+Bear to himself, as he ran home to tell his father and
+mother what he had done.
+
+"I am glad you were good to the baby," said Little
+Bear's mother, as she took the bluebells and daisies that
+he had brought and put them into a hollow stump beside
+the cave door. She had filled the stump with water from
+the spring while Little Bear was gone.
+
+"The flowers are lovely!" said Mother Bear. "Now
+please run into the woods for some green leaves and vines
+to put with them, Little Bear."
+
+Before he could do as she told him, Uncle John Kingfisher
+came flying to invite the Three Bears to a party.
+"The Otters," said he, "request your presence at a fish
+dinner. Come now."
+
+"We thank you, Uncle John Kingfisher," said Father
+Bear. "We will start at once. Come, Little Bear, wash
+your hands and face and get ready."
+
+That is how it came about that the Three Bears dined
+with the Otters that day, on trout, salmon, and eels, and
+were served with only one bite from each fish, and that
+bite taken from the meat just behind the head. Mother
+Bear thought that the Otters chose only one dainty morsel
+from each fish just because they had invited company
+for dinner. But Father Bear told her afterward that she
+was mistaken; Otters always serve fish in that way when
+fish are plentiful.
+
+After dinner the Otters and their guests rested for a
+while, and then Father Otter urged the children to come
+out and play with him and with Mother Otter. Much
+surprised, the Three Bears followed the Otters to their
+playground. And the next Father Bear and Mother
+Bear knew, Little Bear was sliding down the Otters'
+toboggan slide and shouting with glee. All the Otters
+went down that slide, one behind the other, and landed
+splashety-splash! in the river below.
+
+It was a wonderful sight to see the Otters swimming
+about in the stream, because they are beautiful swimmers.
+But what Father and Mother Bear liked best
+was the picture of Little Bear running up the roundabout
+path to the top of the bank and going down the slide
+three times as fast as the Otter children and their
+parents. The Otters were more at home in the water than
+Little Bear was, but they could not run on land as he
+could.
+
+Their next game they played with sticks. One Otter
+took the end of a stick in his mouth and another Otter
+took the other end, and then they pulled and pulled to
+
+[Illustration: Little Bear was sliding down the Otter'
+toboggan slide.]
+
+see which was the stronger. Little Bear did not like
+that game so well as he did the toboggan slide.
+
+"We have had a delightful time at your party," said
+Mother Bear to Mother Otter, at last, "and we thank
+you for inviting us over. If you ever wander into our
+home woods, come to our little house and have porridge
+with us."
+
+"We shall be glad to do so," said Mother Otter, "and
+we shall always think kindly of Little Bear because he
+brought our baby home when he was lost. If we do go
+to visit you, you must let us make Little Bear a toboggan
+slide."
+
+"Ask them to come as soon as we get home!" urged
+Little Bear in a whisper to his mother so loud that the
+Otter children heard it, and laughed.
+
+And that night Little Bear dreamed of taking home a
+baby otter and of being invited to slide down that baby
+otter's toboggan slide all the afternoon.
+
+Once in midsummer when wild roses were blooming
+along the river bank behind the Three Bears' house in
+the forest and wild birds were singing from every thicket,
+Father Bear built a raft and took his family floating
+downstream. The raft was made of logs firmly fastened
+together. It was big and strong, and had three rustic
+chairs on it--a big, big chair for the big Father Bear,
+a middle-sized chair for middle-sized Mother Bear, and
+a wee, wee chair for wee Little Bear. There were also
+poles to keep the raft from bumping against the river
+bank: a rather heavy pole made just for huge Father
+Bear, a middle-sized pole for middle-sized Mother Bear,
+and a long, light pole for Little Bear.
+
+Soon they were far from home, but it was afternoon
+before anything special happened. There was a bend in
+the river, and when the raft came swishing and tumbling
+round that bend the Three Bears saw a little log house
+on a hillside and many children playing outside the
+door.
+
+At that very moment, bump! went the raft into
+the bank, and there it stuck among the willows!
+
+"Oh, please do not push the raft into the stream
+
+[Illustration: Father Bear took his family floating
+downstream.]
+
+for a few minutes!" whispered Little Bear. "Let us
+watch the children!"
+
+"Yes, let us watch the children," added Mother Bear.
+
+So Father Bear, being willing to please his family,
+seated himself in his huge chair, and Mother Bear
+seated herself in her middle-sized chair. But Little
+Bear stood on his tippytoes in his little chair, so that
+he could see better.
+
+"Oh, I wish those children would let me play with
+them!" cried Little Bear, as the youngsters joined
+hands and danced round and round in a circle.
+
+Plainly, the log building was a schoolhouse, for a
+moment later out stepped the schoolmaster and began
+to ring a bell.
+
+The children straightway formed in line, boys first,
+girls behind. Then they all marched into the schoolroom,
+saying, "Left foot, right foot, left foot, right
+foot," and their feet made a merry stamping.
+
+After the children were all in the schoolhouse and
+the door was closed, a song came floating through the
+open windows.
+
+When the singing was over, and the only sounds
+that the bears heard were the song of birds, the lapping
+of the water, and the humming of bees, Little Bear
+said to his father and mother, "I see a little path leading
+from the river to the schoolhouse, and I see bushes
+beside one of the windows. If I will go softly, softly,
+and climb softly, softly into the bushes, may I go and
+peep into the schoolhouse and see the children?"
+
+"Oh, I do not know about that!" began Mother Bear.
+
+But Father Bear said, "Oh, let him go! Only, Son
+Bear," he added, "if one of the children should happen
+to see you, and should say 'Bear,' you run straight
+down to the raft, and we shall be ready to push into
+the stream and get away!"
+
+[Illustration: Little Bear crept softly up the path]
+
+So Little Bear crept softly up the path on the hillside,
+climbed softly into the bushes, and peeped into the
+schoolroom. All the children were in their seats with
+their heads bent over books and slates. Then the
+teacher said sternly, "Primer class! Come forward!"
+
+Two little girls and one little boy, with blue-covered
+books in their hands, went to a spot in front of the
+teacher's desk and stood with their toes on a crack in
+the floor. The little girls edged away from the boy
+as far as they could while the master looked at them.
+Little Bear was so much interested that he climbed
+closer to the window.
+
+"Open your books," said the schoolmaster.
+
+The three opened their blue-covered books.
+
+"Joan, you may read the lesson first, if you please."
+
+So Joan read, "I--see--a-cat."
+
+"Good!" said the master. "Mary, you may read."
+
+"I-see-a-cat," read Mary. She knew every word
+of that lesson.
+
+"Now, Simon," spoke the master to the boy, "let
+us hear you read."
+
+Little Bear was sure that Simon did not know his
+lesson. He was sure of it because Simon acted so
+foolish and looked so unhappy. He stood on one foot
+
+[Illustration: Little Bear leaned forward until his paws
+rested on the window sill]
+
+and then on the other and twisted and squirmed until
+the girls giggled.
+
+"Come, Simon," urged the master, "we are waiting."
+It happened that Little Bear felt so sorry for Simon
+that he forgot all about himself, and leaned forward
+until his paws rested on the window sill. No one noticed
+him then, because bushes clustered close round that
+window and he had made no sound.
+
+"Simon," the master commanded at last, "read the
+lesson!"
+
+"I-see," began Simon, "I-see-a-" Then he
+looked up, but instead of saying "cat," as the primer
+said, Simon, with eyes as large and round as saucers,
+dropped his book and cried, "Bear! I see a bear!"
+
+Sure enough, he did. So did all the children. So
+did the master, because Little Bear was right up in
+the window, trying to tell Simon the word "cat"!
+
+Down the hill ran Little Bear as fast as he could go,
+and scrambled on board the raft. Father Bear and
+Mother Bear used their poles and quickly pushed the
+raft into the middle of the stream, and away went
+all three of them, laughing. But Little Bear did not
+wish to visit school again that day-or that summer.
+
+One morning, when the Three Bears were floating
+downstream on their raft, they saw a farmhouse in the
+distance.
+
+"Perhaps we shall never be so near a farmhouse
+again," said Mother Bear to Father Bear, "so I think
+we should buy some eggs of the farmer's wife."
+
+"Do be sensible!" exclaimed Father Bear. "Remember
+that we have no money and that farmers do not
+love bears."
+
+"That does not matter," said Mother Bear gently.
+"To-night, when we build our camp fire for the evening,
+we must have hens' eggs to roast for supper, and how can
+we have hens' eggs unless we buy them at the farmhouse?"
+
+Father Bear made no answer, but pushed the raft
+against the bank and tied it to the willows with a rope
+of wild grapevine. He knew that Mother Bear would
+have her way, so he wasted no time trying to argue
+about the matter. "Now, then!" was all Father Bear
+said after that, as he sat in his huge chair and folded
+his arms to watch the fun.
+
+'"Now, then,' is what I say, too," added Mother
+Bear, laughing. "Honey Cub," she said to Little
+Bear, who was wondering what would happen next,
+"jump off the raft and bring me many long, slim leaves
+of the cat-tails growing over there, and I will weave
+two baskets, one for the money, one for the eggs."
+
+Little Bear hastened to obey. But when he returned
+with his arms full of cat-tail leaves, he said, "Mother
+Bear, I have made a wish. Please let us have the eggs
+for dinner, and let us have them scrambled. Father
+Bear and I like scrambled eggs better," and Little
+Bear winked at Father Bear and Father Bear winked
+back.
+
+"We shall not make camp at noon so near a farmhouse,"
+answered Mother Bear, "and the eggs shall
+be roasted. Now run along after some long grasses,
+Honey Cub, for me to weave into the baskets with
+the cat-tails."
+
+Little Bear obeyed his mother, but he neither danced
+nor sang as he gathered the grasses. "Noon is the
+time for dinner," he told a big green frog, "and I wish
+for scrambled eggs at noon."
+
+"Ker-plunk!" said the frog.
+
+Quickly Mother Bear made two pretty green baskets.
+"One is for wild strawberries," she explained. "We
+will fill it to the brim and leave it for the farmer's wife,
+
+[Illustration: "Mother Bear, I have made a wisk"]
+
+instead of money. She will find it in a nest when she
+goes to gather the eggs."
+
+"I'll gladly pick the berries," said Little Bear, "and
+I 'll go with you to find a hen's nest that has eggs in it
+to scramble."
+
+"You will stay with your father while I go for the
+eggs," answered his mother.
+
+So after Little Bear had filled one green basket with
+delicious wild strawberries, he stayed with his father
+while Mother Bear went for the eggs.
+
+"Noon is the time for dinner," Little Bear said in
+grumbling tones, "and roasted eggs are not so good
+as scrambled."
+
+"Son Bear," answered Father Bear sternly, "Mother
+Bear is always right!"
+
+Soon back came Mother Bear, walking fast. And
+when Little Bear saw the eggs in her green basket,
+he was so much pleased that he forgot to be cross,
+although he did not forget his wish. While Father
+Bear untied the grapevine rope, Little Bear helped
+Mother Bear to cover the eggs with big green leaves,
+to keep them cool. He danced and sang as he worked.
+
+"And now we are off for a morning's good fishing!"
+exclaimed Father Bear, as he pushed the raft into the
+middle of the stream and passed a wee fish pole to
+Little Bear, a middle-sized fish pole to Mother Bear,
+and straightway began fishing himself with his own
+huge pole and line.
+
+The Three Bears fished all the morning and caught
+nothing. At noon, without warning, there was a great
+splashing in the river, and Father Bear exclaimed,
+"I have a bite!"
+
+Well, he pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and could
+not land his fish. There was great excitement on
+
+[Illustration: Father Bear answered sternly, "Mother Bear is always
+right"]
+
+[Illustration: Back fell Father Bear]
+
+the raft, until suddenly Father Bear almost caught the
+fish. Up came the line, up bobbed the fish-a
+huge fish, almost the biggest fish Father Bear had
+ever caught. But back fell Father Bear, and bumped
+into Mother Bear, and she bumped into Little Bear,
+and he sat down in the basket of eggs, because the three
+were standing one behind another. Then the fish
+flopped back, splash! into the water--and the Three
+Bears were hungry!
+
+"Something has happened to the eggs!" exclaimed
+Little Bear. "I am afraid they are all squashed."
+
+Sure enough! When Mother Bear took the leaves
+off the basket of eggs, what a sight she beheld! Every
+shell was broken. Then said Father Bear, laughing:
+"Roasted eggs are not so good as scrambled, and noon
+is the time for dinner! Mother Bear, let us go ashore
+and make camp. We have come a long way from
+the farmhouse."
+
+"Father Bear is always right," said Mother Bear,
+as she emptied the broken eggs into the frying pan
+and began picking out pieces of the shells and tossing
+them into the water.
+
+That is how it came about that the Three Bears
+built a camp fire at noon and dined on scrambled eggs.
+They had a jolly time eating dinner in the woods and
+talking about what a huge fish it was that Father Bear
+had almost pulled out of the stream in the morning.
+
+But after dinner Little Bear laughed and sang:
+
+  "I had my wish!
+  Because Daddy lost his fish!
+  Ta-de-dum,
+  Ta-de-dum,
+  Ta-de-dum-dum-dum!"
+
+until at last the three bears joined hands and danced
+round the camp fire singing together:
+
+  "Little Bear had his wish
+  When Father Bear lost his fish!
+  Ta-de-dum,
+  Ta-de-dum,
+  Ta-de-dum-dum-dum!"
+
+
+Three Bears Come to Breakfast
+
+From the day when the Three Bears discovered the
+Enchanted Land where bears may walk without fear of
+harm, and may safely poke their noses into any man's
+tent if they choose, from that day, Little Bear teased to
+go back.
+
+"Then let us be off," exclaimed Father Bear at last.
+"Let us be off on a holiday journey, Mother Bear.
+Come, son, close the door of our little house and away
+we go!"
+
+And away they went. Little Bear was so happy when
+the three jolly companions finally reached the Enchanted
+Land that he went to bed at sunset so that he might
+be up early in the morning to explore a country where
+rocks were painted in all colors of the rainbow, where
+springs of hot water bubbled through the earth, and
+where crystal-clear waterfalls filled his little heart with
+wonder.
+
+Sure enough, Little Bear awoke in the early dawn, gave
+his father a friendly poke in the side, gave his mother's
+nose a friendly tweak, and thus merrily the day began.
+
+"Let us take a walk before breakfast," suggested
+Little Bear.
+
+[Illustration: He lifted the cover and peeped in]
+
+"Very well," agreed Father Bear, "and let us catch
+fish for breakfast in a mountain stream!"
+
+"And we shall cook the fish in the first hot spring along
+the way," added Mother Bear.
+
+On through the glorious dawn went the Three Bears,
+crooning an old song and joyfully sniffing the air, when
+suddenly they came upon a sleeping camp, where the
+tents of the campers formed a big circle. In the center
+of the circle were the ashes of a campfire, and not far
+away was a cookstove standing near a covered wagon.
+
+On that stove was a kettle. Over to that kettle
+pranced Little Bear. He lifted the cover and peeped in.
+
+The kettle was full of something Little Bear had never
+seen before. Over walked Father Bear, over walked
+Mother Bear. They peeped in the kettle and shook their
+heads.
+
+"It is something the cook forgot to put away!"
+remarked Father Bear in pompous tones.
+
+"You may taste of it if you wish, Son Bear," said his
+mother.
+
+Into the kettle went Little Bear's paw, and out it
+came filled with soft, brown, juicy fruit. He ate it, and
+it was good-so good he ate more and more. Father
+Bear ate the fruit, Mother Bear ate the fruit.
+
+"What is it?" they said one to another. But although
+they could not answer the question, they liked that fruit
+so well they ate and ate until they ate it all up. They
+even forgot their manners and smacked their lips.
+
+Suddenly there was a noise in one of the tents, and out
+popped the cook's wife, calling, "Oh, the bears are eating
+our prunes! Oh, the bears are eating our prunes! Shoo!
+Shoo! Shoo! They were eating our prunes!"
+
+"So we were eating prunes!" exclaimed Mother Bear,
+as away went the Three Bears, laughing.
+
+"And prunes are good!" piped up Little Bear, in his
+shrill, shrill voice.
+
+But Daddy Bear pranced through the forest singing:
+
+  "Oh, let us sing some new, new tunes!
+  All about her prunes, prunes, prunes!"
+
+And "Prunes, prunes, prunes," the Three Bears sang
+all that merry day. "Prunes, prunes, prunes, prunes
+we had for breakfast!"
+
+Little Bear had never heard of the Pied Piper of
+Hamelin who rid the town of rats, and then, when he
+went back for his promised pay, was only laughed at,
+so that he piped away all the children of Hamelin town
+and never piped them back again. Mother Bear had
+never told Little Bear that story. However, she had
+taught her child to keep his promises, which was very
+fortunate, because one day the Pied Piper appeared
+when Little Bear was alone in the sunbright clearing
+which was his favorite playground.
+
+It happened that day that Little Bear found his playground
+full of caterpillars, and he did not like caterpillars.
+They were everywhere--on the ground, on the
+grass, on flowers, on the trees, humping along and
+humping along, eating green leaves.
+
+"Oh, you old humpty-humps," exclaimed Little Bear,
+"I wish you would go away!"
+
+But the caterpillars would not go away. They even
+began crawling over Little Bear. He shook them off
+and was about to run away when along came that man,
+tall and thin, with a sharp chin and a mouth where the
+smiles went out and in, and two blue eyes each like a pin.
+
+And he was dressed half in red and half in yellow, and
+as we have often been told, he really was the strangest
+fellow. Around his neck he wore a red and yellow ribbon,
+and on it was hung something like a flute, and his fingers
+went straying up and down it as if he wished to be
+playing.
+
+"I understand that you do not like caterpillars,"
+said this queer fellow to Little Bear. "Men call me the
+Pied Piper," he went on when he saw that Little Bear was
+too surprised to speak. "And I know a way to draw
+after me everything that walks or flies or swims! What
+will you give me if I rid your playground of caterpillars?"
+
+"I shall give you my porridge bowl," answered Little
+Bear, "if you can take away these caterpillars."
+
+Little Bear afterward told his father and mother that
+he did not believe that the Pied Piper could do it.
+
+Straightway the Pied Piper put the long pipe to his
+lips and began to play a tune--a strange, high little tune.
+And before the pipe had uttered three shrill notes the
+caterpillars humped after the Piper--thin ones, plump
+ones, skinny ones, woolly ones, striped ones, plain ones,
+great caterpillars, small caterpillars, lean ones, brawny
+ones, brown caterpillars, black caterpillars, gray ones,
+tawny ones, they all followed the Piper for their lives
+until they came to the edge of the river. Then the
+Piper suddenly stepped aside and down they tumbled
+and--were--drowned!
+
+Only one too-plump caterpillar came humping slowly
+back to the playground, making great lamentation.
+
+"What is the matter with you?" asked Little Bear,
+who had laughed until he was obliged to wipe away tears
+with the back of his paw at the sight of so many caterpillars
+following the Pied Piper.
+
+"Oh me, oh my!" wailed the mournful caterpillar.
+"He said we should sleep in cradles of silk and wake up
+with wings of purple! It has been the dream of my life
+to be a butterfly with wings of gold and purple!"
+
+"Cheer up," comforted Little Bear, "you just spin
+yourself a cocoon caterpillar fashion and go to sleep,
+and you will surely find yourself turned into a butterfly
+when you wake up! Mother said so! Now there! Why
+didn't I remember that caterpillars turn into butterflies,
+before I promised to give away my porridge bowl! I
+should like to have my playground full of butterflies! I
+wish I had thought of that! Now those poor old caterpillars
+are gone and I promised to give away my bowl!
+Maybe the Pied Piper will not come back!"
+
+But he did. "I should like my bowl!" said he.
+
+[Illustration: "Oh, you old humpty-humps"]
+
+"I know that a promise is a promise," agreed Little
+Bear promptly and sorrowfully. "You wait here until
+I run home after it and I shall give you my little bowl!"
+
+And he did. As the Piper took the bowl and turned
+away, Father and Mother Bear came into the clearing.
+
+"What are you doing with Little Bear's bowl?" they
+demanded, and would have followed the Pied Piper, but
+he put the pipe to his lips and began to play a little tune
+-a soft little tune, sweet and strange. And the music
+made Father Bear and Mother Bear stand still as if their
+feet had been tied to the ground.
+
+"Oh, Little Bear!" they cried in terror. "It is the
+Pied Piper! Oh, Little Bear, do not follow him!"
+
+"Indeed I could not if I wished to do so," answered
+Little Bear, "because my feet will not go! The music
+has made me stand still too, and I hear voices singing,
+'Stay home with your father! Stay home with your
+mother! Stay home, Little Bear!'"
+
+As the music grew faint in the distance, the Three
+Bears were once more able to walk about, and then Little
+Bear explained that he had promised to give his bowl to
+the Pied Piper if he would take away the caterpillars,
+and that he had kept the promise, sad as he felt about
+losing his treasure.
+
+"Come," said Mother Bear, "I believe we better go
+home now before we meet any more strangers!"
+
+When the Three Bears reached home, there was
+Little Bear's bowl on the doorstep, and the Pied Piper's
+pipe was heard playing softly far away.
+
+After Father Bear told Little Bear the story of Hamelin
+town he was more glad than ever that he had kept his
+promise. So was his mother. So was his father.
+
+[Illustration: There was Little Bear's bowl on the doorstep]
+
+Little Bear did not like to hear any talk about Sleepy
+Cave, which was the name of the Three Bears' winter
+home, the year Jack Frost came late. There were three
+beds in Sleepy Cave, ready and waiting for the Three
+Bears-a big, big bed of boughs and moss for huge
+Father Bear, a middle-sized bed of fir boughs and moss
+for middle-sized Mother Bear, and a deep, deep bed
+of feathery moss for Little Bear.
+
+There were also feathery moss blankets taken from
+fallen logs in the forest--one for huge Father Bear, one
+for Mother Bear, and the softest, warmest moss blanket
+of all for Little Bear.
+
+Sleepy Cave was big and warm and dry. There was
+no chance for snow to drift in the doorway because it
+was sheltered by a broad overhanging rock, and its back
+was toward the wind. There was blackberry jam put
+away in that cave, and combs of honey and other good
+things to eat in case the family should wake up and feel
+hungry before spring.
+
+But Little Bear did not like to hear a word about Sleepy
+Cave. It was the same old story with him, beginning,
+"I don't want to sleep all winter! Mrs. Maria Wildcat,
+she said, "Young cub, you won't be anything but a Baby
+Bear, eating porridge out of a little bowl, and sitting in a
+wee, wee chair, and sleeping in a wee, wee bed, for another
+hundred years if you lie around and sleep all winter!
+You'll never grow up!' She always says that! And
+Mr. Bob Wildcat, he said--"
+
+"There, there," Mother Bear interrupted, "don't let
+me hear another word about Maria Wildcat or any of
+the Wildcat family! I think I said this to you once
+before!"
+
+"But I don't want to sleep all winter," wailed Little
+Bear. "I want to stay in our own little house in the
+woods and see the snow in the evergreens. I'd love to
+play in the snow and go sliding on the ice. I want to
+stay here and eat porridge out of my little bowl and sit
+in my little chair and sleep in my little bed! Father
+Deer's children do not sleep all winter. They make
+tracks in the snow, and they lie down to rest in the evergreens
+and watch for their enemies in the middle of the
+day! Father Deer told me about it all over again! I
+want to stay here and play all winter like other folks!
+Sally Beaver's mother, she said--"
+
+"Hush," advised Mother Bear, "you have said
+enough!"
+
+Mother Bear spoke severely, but a moment later when
+the little fellow went out and sat on the doorstep to think,
+she said to Father Bear, "Suppose we have a surprise
+party for Little Bear?"
+
+[Illustration: "I don't want to sleep all winter"]
+
+"A good idea!" agreed Father Bear. "But there is
+snow in the air, and if there is to be a party it had better
+be this afternoon. Whom do you wish to invite?"
+
+Mother Bear smiled as she answered, "Let us invite
+the children of our hibernating friends. I think that will
+be pleasanter. We'll invite Auntie Cinnamon's children,
+and Uncle Brown Bear's family, and the Porcupine
+twins, and the Field Mice children, and the young Musk-rats.
+If you will do the inviting, I will make blackberry
+jam and honey cakes and get the house in order!"
+
+Little Bear didn't even ask a question as Father Bear
+started out, looking rather proud of his new fur overcoat.
+
+In the afternoon, as Father Bear and Mother Bear
+were happily waiting for Little Bear's company, there
+came a knock at the door, followed by the entrance of
+Auntie Cinnamon.
+
+"I came to say," said she, "that my children cannot
+come to the party because they have gone to sleep for
+the winter. No, I cannot stay, I thank you, but I am
+glad to stop in a minute to say good night until spring."
+
+"Sleepy heads!" exclaimed Little Bear when Auntie
+Cinnamon had gone on her way.
+
+Next came Uncle Brown Bear. He was so plump he
+was out of breath from walking fast and had to rest a
+minute before he could say, "Our children are all asleep
+and cannot come to the party, but Auntie Brown sent
+me over to say we thank you, and good night until
+spring!" And away he went.
+
+[Illustration: "I came to say that my children cannot
+come to the party," said Aunty Cinnamon]
+
+"The sleepy heads!" exclaimed Little Bear again,
+and how he laughed. "But where is the party, Mother
+Bear, and am I invited?"
+
+Just then came another knock at the door, and Mother
+Porcupine walked in to say that the twins were tucked
+away in bed for the winter and so could not come to
+Little Bear's surprise party.
+
+Little Bear was so delighted when he learned he was
+to have a surprise party that he wasn't disappointed
+when the laughing Blue Jay came with a message from
+the Field Mouse mother saying that the Field Mice
+children just couldn't keep their eyes open, they were
+so sleepy, and so of course they could not come to the
+party.
+
+"I'll sit by the window and see who does come,"
+said Little Bear, happy as he could be thinking of the
+party.
+
+Now it happened that no one else had been invited
+to the party, so Mother Bear took Little Bear to the
+cupboard to show him the blackberry sandwiches and
+honey cakes, while Father Bear stepped out to ask the
+Blue Jay to please fly quickly away and invite the wildcat
+children and the young squirrels and chipmunks and
+foxes to come immediately to the party.
+
+[Illustration: They found Little Bear sound asleep]
+
+The Blue Jay flew to do this joyful errand, and soon
+came dozens of chattering, noisy wildwood children to
+the party.
+
+But when they reached the house they found Little
+Bear sound asleep with a contented smile on his face,
+dreaming of the party! The merry children could not
+awaken him, although they tried their best because they
+wished to share with him the blackberry jam and honey
+cakes.
+
+Late that afternoon when the party was over and the
+frolicking children had gone, Father Bear took Little
+Bear in his arms, and Mother Bear closed the house.
+Then away went the Three Bears to Sleepy Cave.
+
+When Little Bear was snugly tucked in his feathery
+moss bed, Mother Bear kissed him and said, "I am so
+glad the little fellow was happy when he went to sleep!"
+
+And that very night it snowed, and snowed--and
+snowed!
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Bear at Work and at Play
+by Frances Margaret Fox
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE BEAR AT WORK AND AT PLAY ***
+
+This file should be named 7764.txt or 7764.zip
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Ted Garvin
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
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