xt7zpc2t5463 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7zpc2t5463/data/mets.xml Fox, Frances Margaret, 1870- 1915  books b92-208-30909490 English Rand McNally, : Chicago ; New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Bears Juvenile fiction. Doings of Little Bear  / by Frances Margaret Fox ; illustrated by Warner Carr. text Doings of Little Bear  / by Frances Margaret Fox ; illustrated by Warner Carr. 1915 2002 true xt7zpc2t5463 section xt7zpc2t5463 












DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR

 This page in the original text is blank.

 

DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



               By
      FRANCES MARGARET FOX



  Illusirated by
WARNER CARR



RAND MCNALLY  COMPANY



NEW YORK



CHICAGO

 



                     Copyright, 1915. by
                 RAND M7,NALLY  COMPANY
                      All rights reserved





                  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  Acknowledgments are due the following publishers for permission to
reprint the following stories in book form:
The Youth's Companion
    What Woke Little Bear
    When Little Bear Was III
    A Joke on Father Bear
    Little Bear's Bee Tree
    Little Bear and Circus Man
    Little Bear and the Water Barrel
    Little Bear's Toad
    Little Bear's Adventure
    When Little Bear Went Fishing
    When Little Bear Went Sailing
Woman's Home Companion
    Little Bears Dough
The Continent
    When Baby Bear Visited the Beavers
.St. Nicholas
    When Little Bear Had His Own Way
The Churchman
    When Little Bear Went to Play with the Foxes












                        Made in U. S. A.



CS--10-32

 














                  To
     Let and Alan's bab sister5s
LAURA ALICE and MARY ANNA JOSLYN
  And to all little children who love the
             Three Bears


 












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CONTENTS



WHAT WOKE LITTLE BEAR
WHEN LITTLE BEAR WAS ILL .
A JOKE ON FATHER BEAR .
LITTLE BEAR'S BEE TREE.
LITTLE BEAR AND THE CIRCUS MAN .
WHEN LITTLE BEAR HAD HIS OWN WAY
LITTLE BEAR'S VISIT TO THE FOXES .
LITTLE BEAR'S TOAD
WHEN LITTLE BEAR WENT FISHING .
LITTLE BEAR'S ADVENTURE
WHEN LITTLE BEAR SAT UP LATE  .
WHEN LITTLE BEAR VISITED THE BEAVERS .



 . . .9
. ...    12
 .  . .  17
          23
 .  . .  27
  .  . 31
 .  ..   38
..   ..  43
 . .  .  47
 .  . .  51
. . . . 55
..  . . 58


 

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"See what daddy's doing!"


 

   DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR


          WHAT WOKE LITTLE BEAR

  Before Little Bear learned to walk and long before
Goldilocks ate his porridge, broke his chair, or slept in
his bed, the Middle-sized Bear used to rock him to sleep.
One day when Little Bear was cutting a new tooth,
his mother rocked and cuddled him half an hour before
he fell asleep. Gently she carried him upstairs and put
him in his bed. Suddenly Big Bear began dancing and
prancing about the kitchen. He sang in a big voice:
               "Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!
               Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!
  "Why, father!" exclaimed Mother Bear. "You'll
wake Little Bear!"
  Immediately Big Bear put a big paw over his big
mouth and stopped singing.
Just then a flock of ducks waddled past the Three
Bears' home. It seemed to Mother Bear as if every duck
tried to say "Quack!" louder than every other duck.
                        9

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



  "Oh, ducks, please don't!" begged Mother Bear.
"You'll wake Little Bear!"
The ducks hid their heads under their wings.
  Soon after that three black crows sat on a tree near
L'Wtle Bear's window, and began to call, "Caw! caw!"
  "Oh, please don't shout so loud!" begged Mother
Bear, who was making apple pie.
  The pie was in the oven when down the green road
came the forest band; then Little Bear stirred in his sleep,
for the rabbit was beating his drum with might and main:
              "Diddy-bum, diddy-bum!
                Diddy-bum-bum! "
  Two hundred crickets and three hundred grasshoppers
were playing their fiddles:
              "Fiddle-de-dee!
              Fiddle-de--dee!"
  The frogs were playing their banjos:
               "Plunkety, plunk!
               Plunkety, plunk!"
  Katydids were singing, " Katy-did!"
  Beavers were beating time with their tails:
              "Ker-splash-bump, bump!
                Ker-splash-bump, bump!"



10

 
WHAT WOKE LITTLE BEAR



11



s,



Little Bear woke up
and cried for his mother,
and she carried him
downstairs.
  "Here, take daddy's
watch!" offered Father Bear; but the
band was making such a din baby
could not hear the watch tick.
  "See what daddy's doing!" said his
father, and he waltzed round, singing:
      "Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!
      Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!



No wonder Little Bear stopped cry-   A  E ,
ing and laughed through his tears!
And Mother Bear laughed, too.
Little Bear was happy after that; but he did not go to
sleep again that day.



11



ff


 

WHEN LITTLE BEAR WAS ILL



  Once Father Bear went away on a journey. He had
been gone two days when Mother Bear noticed that the
wood box was nearly empty, and asked Little Bear to
fill it. But instead of doing as his mother had asked,
Little Bear sat on the back doorstep, with his chin in his
front paws, and looked at that woodpile.
  "What is the trouble" asked Mother Bear. "Don't
you feel well"
  "Not very," answered Little Bear, but a little twinkle
shone in his eye.
  "You poor little fellow, you must be ill!" Mother
Bear went on. "How do you feel"
  "Kind of tired," confessed Little Bear, with a glance
at the woodpile.
  "Come in and lie down," advised Mother Bear.
  It was warm, and Little Bear fell asleep the minute
his head touched the pillow.
  Mother Bear stepped to the door when she saw Father
Deer passing. "What do you do for your children
when they are ill" called Mother Bear.
  "We give them   salt," advised Father Deer. "Is
Little Bear ill"
                        12


 




















































"Oh, don't make me lake any mediczne!"



/' I I
  M I



... .
I t

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



  "I fear that he is," was the reply.
  " Well, give him a lump of salt," repeated Father
Deer, and as he went on, he told every one that Little
Bear was ill.
  Bad news travels fast. Before Little Bear awoke
from his nap the house was full of neighbors, and the
table was full of medicine; Peter Rabbit's mother had
sent camomile tea; Mother Deer brought salt; Sally
Beaver was there with willow twigs.
  "My mother says that he must nibble at the willow
bark," Sally Beaver advised.
  "Father says that you must roll him in deep mud,"
put in severe Mrs. Reynard.
  "Oh, Mother Bear, Mother Bear," wailed Little Bear,
"don't make me take any medicine! Oh, don't!"
  By this time Little Bear was so scared that he felt
positively ill.
  " I '11 give him the catnip tea," promised Mrs. Wildcat.
"If he makes any fuss, I will hold his nose."
  "And I'll hold his nose and make him take the salt!"
declared Mother Deer. " It is the best medicine there is! "
  "Perhaps I might coax him to take a taste of the
camomile tea," began Mother Bear. " You'll take
the camomile tea for dear mother, won't you"



14

 
WHEN LITTLE BEAR WAS ILL



  "No, no, no, I don't want any medicine!" protested
Little Bear.
  "You'll have to hold his legs and arms, and I'll hold
his nose," said Mrs. Wildcat, "and of course we shall
begin with catnip tea."
A t that moment
Father Bear came home,
having returned from
hisjourney. "Let me see
Little Bear," he said.
Straightway all the
neighbors     edged  
toward the door, inbo
order to make room for       b
Father Bear.
  "How did this sudden
illness begin " ques-
tioned Father Bear.
Then Father Bear looked at Little Bear's tongue,
and felt his pulse; then he heard about the empty wood
box, and he said, "I know what will cure him right
away. Little Bear, what you need to do is to get up
and fill the wood box!"'
  " Oh, I 'd like to fill the wood box," answered Little



15

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



Bear. And with a leap and a bound, he sent the med-
icines flying as he ran toward the woodpile, and took
off his little outside coat.
Soon the neighbors heard the sound of wood falling
bumpety, bang! bumpety, bumpety, bump, bump!
bang, bang, bang! into the wood box.
  When the wood box was filled, Mother Bear wiped
her eyes. She had been crying for joy.
  " If your baby ever should be ill again, give him
catnip tea," advised Mrs. Wildcat, as she walked out.
  "Salt-salt is the thing," corrected Mother Deer
gently, as she bowed, and left the house.
  "I 'm glad that he is well again," remarked Sally
Beaver, as she nibbled at her own willow twigs. And
Mother Bear kissed Sally Beaver.
  As for Little Bear, he filled the wood box the next day
without being reminded.



16


 

A JOKE ON FATHER BEAR



The morning that Father and Mother Bear went to
Seven Mile Point they put Little Bear in his cart and took
him along.
  "Because we may not get home to-night," explained
Mother Bear. "Besides, it will be easier to bring our
blackberries home in a cart."
All the way to Seven Mile Point Little Bear sang and
asked questions, and asked questions and sang. He
was the happiest and the most bothersome little bear
in the big forest that morning.
Later in the forenoon, when Father Bear and Mother
Bear were busy picking blackberries, Little Bear spied
Goldilocks, with her mother, her aunt, and her little
cousin. They were picking blackberries on the other
side of the clearing.
Straightway Little Bear began to dance up and
down, and shout, " I am going to scare somebody!
I am going to scare women and children, women and
children! "
  " Where are there any women and children" asked
Father Bear.
  "Over there, over there! " answered Little Bear. " And
                        17

 
18          DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR


                  12       -  



          I'llA






one is Goldilocks, and I'll scare her! I 'm going to
scare Goldilocks! "
  "Are you sure that there isn't a man with them"
inquired Mother Bear.
  "No, they are all alone! Goody, goody! I'm going
to scare them!"
  "How do you think you are going to scare them"
demanded Father Bear.
  " I am going to creep along under the bushes, so that
they can't see me, and then when I am close to Goldilocks,

 
A JOKE ON FATHER BEAR



I shall jump up and say, 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' And then
I shall watch them run, and maybe I shall say 'Boo!'
again."
  Father and Mother Bear smiled; but Father Bear
stopped picking blackberries and said, in severe tones,
" Young Bear, you must never scare women and children.
Do you understand You must never scare women and
children! "
  "But I should so like to see them run!" said Little
Bear. " But," he added, quickly, " c f course I won't
scare them-but-it would be all right to scare a man,
wouldn't it"
  " Oh, yes, there would be no harm in scaring a
man, but women and children-no, you must never
do that."
  Little Bear ran back to his play, and forgot Goldilocks
and her mother and her aunt and her little cousin
until an hour later, and then he looked down from a
hilltop and saw a strange sight.
  On one side of a clump of blackberry bushes he saw
his father and mother; on the other side of that same
clump of bushes he saw Goldilocks and her mother and
her little cousin and her little cousin's mother. They
were all picking blackberries!



19

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



  Father Bear and Mother Bear did not know that
Goldilocks and her family had crossed the clearing, and
you may be sure that Goldilocks and her family did not
know that they were so near a big, big bear and a middle-
sized bear.
  Little Bear watched with delight. Presently he saw
Goldilocks, move toward her mother.
  "I think I heard somebody on the other side of the
bushes," whispered Goldilocks. Of course Little Bear
could not hear what either of them said; he could see
only that they were speaking together.
  Her mother answered, "My child, you hear the wind
in the bushes."
  "But, mother," Goldilocks said again, as Big Bear
stepped on a dry twig, "I am sure I heard a noise."
  "My child," answered Mother Goldilocks, "you hear
the squirrels."
  Again Goldilocks whispered, "Mother, I know that
I heard somebody on the other side of the bushes."
  " My child, you probably hear the birds flitting about."
  Hardly had Mother Goldilocks spoken these words
when a funny thing happened. Father Bear suddenly
stepped around the bushes, and almost bumped into
Mother Goldilocks. My, but she was scared! When



20


 



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Mother Goldilocks seized little Golditocks by the arm and ran,
                   screaming, fron the spot



 ,I
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         1

 

DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



Mother Goldilocks saw that huge brown bear standing
close beside her, she dropped her blackberries, seized
little Goldilocks by the arm, and ran, screaming, from
the spot.
  Aunt Goldilocks and little Cousin Goldilocks dropped
their baskets and ran, too, as if all the lions and tigers
in the jungle were after them. They did look funny
as they ran away from two friendly bears!
  At first Father Bear was too astonished for words,
but Little Bear ran down the hillside, laughing hilariously,
and Mother Bear laughed, too.
  "Never, never scare women and children!" quoted
Mother Bear, while Little Bear began to dance up and
down for joy.
  " Well, that is a joke on Daddy Bear, I must say!"
admitted Father Bear, and then he laughed, too.
  "But," he added after a moment, "it is not right to
scare women and children. I certainly should never
do it on purpose."
  Then the Three Bears joined hands and danced
round and round, and sang, "Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!
Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!" and they kept it up until the
Goldilocks family was well out of sight.



22


 


















          LITTLE BEAR'S BEE TREE
 Whenever Father Bear and Mother Bear went after
 honey they left Little Bear at home. Little Bear
wondered about that honey, and why he was always
left at home.
"Where do you find honey, Father Bear" Little
Bear asked, one day.
"In a bee tree, Son Bear, in a bee tree, to be sure!"
answered Father Bear.
"What is a bee tree like" asked Little Bear. "Is
                       23



-- _1 . )



--l"

 
DDOIrNGS OF LITTLE BEAR



it like a needle-ey pine tree, or a maple tree, or is it like
a birch tree with leaves that flutter, or what is a bee
tree like, Father Bear, and how does it grow"
  "A bee tree," answered Father Bear, "is any kind of a
hollow tree where bees build nests and store honey."
  "How do you find a bee tree, Father Bear" said
Little Bear, trying to look wise.
  "How do you find a bee tree" repeated Father Bear,
trying to look wise, too. " Why, Son Bear, you find a bee
tree by-well, a bear knows where to look for a bee tree;
that's all-you find it because you find it! Yes, yes!"
  "Could I find a bee tree" asked Little Bear.
  "Oh, no, Son Bear," Father Bear answered, "not
even in the way Goldilocks's father found his bee tree!"
  "Please tell me about it!" begged Little Bear.
  "Well, Goldilocks's father found his bee tree the way
most men do in the north woods. He filled a little box
with honey made of sugar and water. Then he caught
a bee and shut it up in the box. When the bee had
gathered all the sweetness he could carry, Father Goldi-
locks opened the box and let the bee go. You must
know, Son Bear, that bees fly in a straight line to their
nests; that is what is meant by a 'bee line.' Goldilocks's
father followed the bee as far as he could see the right



24


 

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And down he went into a bees' nest!

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



direction; and at last Father Goldilocks reached the
bee tree and helped himself to honey."
  " Oh, I wish I could find a bee tree! " cried Little Bear.
  "No, no, Little Bear, no, no!" Father Bear insisted.
"You won't know how to find a bee tree until you grow
to be a big, big bear!"
  Now that very day Little Bear did find a bee tree,
and this is how it happened: he was playing in the woods
between the house and the river when he jumped upon
a long, moss-covered log, and began to dance and sing:
  "When I'm big, I'm going to find a bee tree!"
  Just then Little Bear danced straight through the roof
of that old rotten log, which had once been a tree, and
down he went into a bees' nest! Out came the bees after
Little Bear's nose! Home ran Little Bear, fast, fast!
  "I found a bee tree! I found a bee tree!" shouted
Little Bear, brushing the bees from his nose, first with
one paw, then with the other. " Oh, I did find a bee tree! "
  "Son Bear found a bee tree!" echoed Father Bear.
Out came Mother Bear, and the three ran back after
the honey. And that honey was so sweet Little Bear
did not care if the bees did sting his nose!
  After that happy day the Three Bears always went
together in search of honey.



26


 

LITTLE BEAR AND THE CIRCUS MAN



One morning Father Bear and Mother Bear went
away to pick blackberries. Mother Bear told Little
Bear to stay in his own yard. After his father and
mother went away, Little Bear was dancing a bear
dance beside the lilac bush, when a stranger looked
through the railing, and said, "Are you one of the
Three Bears Is your father called the Big Bear and
your mother called the Middle-sized Bear"
" Yes," said Little Bear, "we are the Three
Bears family."
"Then open the gate, and come with me,"
said the stranger. " I am Mr. Circus Man." P
Now the circus man went into the forest
on purpose to catch Little Bear. In his
hand he carried a chain and a collar. He wished to put
the collar around Little Bear's neck, and drag him by
the chain from the forest. He wanted to put him in a
tent with this sign:
                    SIDE SHOW!
           BRING THE CHILDREN TO SEE THE
       LITTLE BEAR, WHOSE HOME WAS VISITED BY
                    GOLDILOCKS!
              Only Ten Cents Admission!
                        27

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



  " You should go to the circus and hear the band
play, Little Bear," said the man. "And you should see
the circus tents! You should see the clowns do tricks
inside the biggest circus tent! You should see the big
animals that belong to the circus! You should see the
elephants from India! They are bigger than your
house, Little Bear! You should see the great hippopot-
amus and the huge rhinoceros with the horn on top of
his nose! You should listen to the lions roar, and hear
the tigers growl! Will you come with me to the circus,
Little Bear"
  "I should like to see the circus," spoke Little Bear,
"but I can't go until my father and mother come back
from the blackberry patch. Mr. Circus Man, I should
think you would be afraid of the big elephants bigger
than our house."
  " Oh, no," answered Mr. Circus Man. " I am so brave
I am not afraid of the elephants."
  "I should think," went on Little Bear, "that you
would be afraid of the great big hippopotamus and the
big, big rhinoceros."
  "Oh, no, Little Bear," the circus man said. "I
am so brave that I am not afraid of anything. You
come with me. You see, I am not afraid of -"



28


 















































Mr. Circus Man suddenly looked terribly frightened

 
30          DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR

  Mr. Circus Man never finished that speech,
because at that moment Father and Mother 7
Bear returned, and Mr. Circus Man suddenly
looked terribly frightened. For half a second he
stared at the Middle-sized Bear and the Big
Bear, and then he turned and ran so fast that his
coat tails stood straight out behind!
  Little Bear laughed until he had hiccoughs.
  "What is the matter with Mr. Circus Man"
asked Little Bear, at last.
  "He must have been afraid of us," answered
Mother Bear.
  "Afraid of you!" exclaimed Little
Bear; and then he laughed
harder than ever, because he
thought it was so funny that
any one could be so afraid of
his good father and mother.
  And that night, Little Bear
laughed in his sleep, and
Mother Bear smiled, and said,
Maybe he is dreaming of
Mr. Circus Man running away
from us. It was funny!"


 

WHEN LITTLE BEAR HAD HIS OWN WAY



  One fine morning the Three Bears-Father Bear,
Mother Bear, and Little Bear-went for a long walk,
early, before little boys and girls were out of bed.
  "Let's go over to the park," said Father Bear, reaching
for his cane.
Baby Bear danced for joy. He was always glad to
visit the park.
That day the Three Bears were in such haste they
did n't say good morning to the toads or the butterflies
or the birds. Baby Bear didn't even look at the
bluebells and buttercups by the roadside. He had no
time to pick flowers when he was on his way to the park.
  When they came to the park the three had a merry
time until Little Bear discovered the children's hill.
He had never seen it before. After that, he did n't
care to swing in the swings, or teeter, or dance
around the May-pole. He wished to do what the chil-
dren did all day long in that lovely park. He wished
to climb to the top of the hill and run down the hard,
hard path.
  "If you should try to run down that hill by yourself,
you would fall," said Father Bear.
                        31

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



  "Yes, you would surely fall," said Mother Bear.
  So the Three Bears climbed the wee, wee hill together,
Little Bear in the middle, Father Bear on one side, and
Mother Bear on the other.
  "Now, down we go!" began Father Bear, when the
three stood at the top of the tiny hill, looking down the
hard, hard path where children played all the long
summer days.
  " Down we go! " said Mother Bear, keeping tight, tight
hold of Baby Bear's little paw.
  "One, two, three, go!" counted Father Bear, keeping
tight hold of Baby Bear's other paw.
  Downhill ran the Three Bears -plunk, plunk, plunk!
plunkety, plunkety, plunkety, plunk! At first, Little
Bear kept his feet on the path and made them run fast,
fast; but before he reached the bottom of the hill
his feet did n't touch the path, and he seemed to be
flying, with Mother Bear on one side and Father Bear
on the other.
  Over and over again, Mother Bear and Father Bear
climbed the little hill to run down again with Baby Bear,
until they were both tired and out of breath. Father
and Mother Bear were too big and heavy to enjoy what
Little Bear thought was such fun. Besides, Mother



32


 




                                      7


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tried to hit him in the face



                     N 0,
                     iZ, ., ,

It seemed as if the path

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



Bear wished to see the peacocks, and Father Bear wanted
a drink of water.
  "Let me run down the hill alone!" begged Baby Bear.
"The children do it all day long!"
                '"Not little children!" said Mother
              Bear.  "Their fathers and   mothers
              always run down the hill  n
              with them. You are too
              small to run down
                the hill alone!"     9
                    "But I want
                    to run down
the hill                  alone!.
I want to
run down the
hill alone!" howled
Baby Bear, in a tantrum.
  "You shall have your own
way!" thundered Father Bear.
"You shall run down the hill alone!"'
  "Oh, but he will get hurt!" put in Mother Bear.
  "It will do him good!" said Father Bear. "It will
teach him that fathers and mothers know best. Now
we will go and see the peacocks."



34

 
WHEN LITTLE BEAR HAD HIS OWN WAY 35



Away tramped Father Bear and Mother Bear, leaving
Little Bear climbing the hill alone. Up and up climbed
Little Bear. The hill seemed longer to him than before.
At the top he waited a minute, then waved his arms and
counted, "One, two, three-here- I-go!"
  Little Bear started down the hill all right. His feet
came plunk, plunk, plunk! on the hard path, exactly
as if his father were on one side and his mother on the
other. But the next thing Little Bear knew, his feet
were going too fast! Plunk, plunk, plunk! plunkety,
plunkety, plunkety, plunk! Little Bear wished his
father were on one side and his mother on the other.
He was afraid he was going to fall! It seemed as if the
path tried to hit him in the face! And the next that
Little Bear knew, his feet got away and landed him
bump, bump! ker-smash! on the hard, hard path, and
over he rolled in the dust and dirt until he reached the
bottom of the hill!
  Mother Bear had been looking over her shoulder, and
that is how it happened that she reached the bottom
of the hill almost as quickly as did Baby Bear.
  "Poor little lamb!" she said, and she took him up and
tried to comfort him.
  "Oh, my nose, my nose, my nose!" wailed Baby Bear,

 
96          DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR

and, sure enough, Little Bear's pretty little nose was
black and blue in three places, and his head was covered
with bumps. Mother Bear kissed every one of those
bumps.
  Baby Bear cried so loud, loud, loud, Father Bear was
afraid the keeper of the park might waken and come
running. "There, there!" comforted Father Bear,
"didn't I tell you fathers and mothers knew best"
  Just then, a voice from across the duck pond called,
"Papa! Papa! Papa! Come quick! Here are three bears!
And, oh, oh, one of them is a little bear!"
  When Father Bear looked around, there was Goldilocks
pointing toward Little Bear, and shouting, louder than
ever, "Oh, come and catch the little bear! I want him
for a pet!"
  Quick as a wink, Father Bear snatched up Little Bear
in his arms, and ran out of that park, with Mother Bear
close at his heels. The two big bears did n't stop running
until they were in the woods.
  There they stopped to take breath and to look behind
them, and then, when they saw that no one was following
them, and that they were quite safe, Father Bear stood
Little Bear up in front of him and brushed the sand
and dirt off of Little Bear's fur coat, and then he

 
WHEN LITTLE BEAR HAD HIS OWN WAY 37



took Little Bear down to the brook and washed his
face. After that, Mother Bear put some leaves on
his poor, hurt nose; and he was a good Little Bear the
rest of that day.
And now, when Little Bear sometimes remembers
that day in the park, he takes his little brown paw and
gently rubs his head where the bumps were, and says:
"Fathers and mothers always know what is best for
their children."


 
LITTLE BEAR'S VISIT TO THE FOXES



  Late one afternoon when the sun was low in the forest
and birds and bees and good little bears were thinking of
bedtime, a family of seven sharp-nosed little Foxes went
out to play. Baby Bear heard their shrill, happy barks,
and wished to go too. He knew that the Fox family
lived in a burrow not far away from the Three Bears'
house, but he had never seen the children. Their
mother kept them at home daytimes.
Many and many a time when Baby Bear was cuddled
                                      in his bed he
                                      had heard
                                      the Foxes
                                      barking, now
                                      near the
                                      house, now
                                      faraway;but
                                      his mother
                                      never, never
                                      allowed him
                                      to get up
                                      and go to
                 55V see them.



38

 
LITTLE BEAR 'S VISIT TO THE FOXES



  " I don't know what Mother Fox is thinking of to let
those children sit up so late!" middle-sized Mother Bear
used to say.
  She was stirring the porridge for supper when Baby
Bear heard the little Foxes. Instead of asking his mother
if he might go, Baby Bear opened the gate softly and
ran as fast as he could to the playground. There he saw
seven little Foxes playing leapfrog; at least the game
seemed to be leapfrog.
Mother Fox was watching them. When she saw Baby
Bear, she said, kindly enough, "You better run home,
Baby Bear!"
  But Baby Bear didn't go home. When the seven
little Foxes saw him they laughed slyly, for he was so
slow and so clumsy, while they were light-footed and
nimble.
  "Let's play tag, now," suggested one little Fox, with
bright eyes full of mischief. "Baby Bear, you are It!
You must catch us if you can!"
  Mother Fox laughed until she almost cried, while
watching those children play. Baby Bear could n't
catch one of her lively youngsters, no matter how hard
he tried.
  Suddenly Mother Fox heard a sound that put an end



39

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



to the game; it was Father Fox warning her of danger.
  "Run for home, children," said she, "run for home!
Baby Bear, you must go with us! Run, run! Faster,
faster, faster! "
Baby Bear stumbled along as best he could with the
Fox children, and crowded after them into the burrow.
Scarcely were they in the house when close behind them
rushed Father Fox. He was all out of breath and
dreadfully tired.
  "What is the matter" asked Baby Bear, who was
much frightened.
  "Nothing unusual," answered brave Father Fox when
he could speak; "the farmer was after me, that is all.
Don't ask any more questions!"
Baby Bear didn't ask any more questions, but he
began to cry.
  "Are you homesick already" asked Mother Fox, not
unkindly. "Poor child! I suppose you are hungry,
but we have nothing for supper."
  "Nothing for supper! Nothing for supper!" wailed
the baby Foxes.
  "There, there," comforted Father Fox, "don't cry,
children, don't cry! Daddy '11 go hunting again. Come,
Baby Bear, I shall take you to your mother!"



40


 











































"Let's play tag now "

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



                                    Baby Bear was
               - i  'W  Ac faglad to get home,
                                a nd middle-sized
                                Mother Bear was
                            he  glad to see him; but
                                she put the little
                                fellow to bed that
                                night before sunset.
                           " Did you thank Father
    E.    Fox for bringing that naughty child home
           safely " asked big, big Father Bear when
he sat down to think, after supper.
  "Yes. indeed! " answered middle-sized Mother Bear.
"Father Fox means well, he certainly means well,
although you can't blame the farmer for calling him
bad names! If Foxes would only eat blackberries and
honey, like other folks, we might allow Baby Bear to
play with the little Fox children, but as it is, Baby Bear
must learn to stay at home when they are out! "
  "I '11 never go to play with the little Foxes again unless
you go, too," promised Baby Bear, calling from his bed.
"I like my home better, and my father and my mother
and my porridge for supper!"



42


 
LITTLE BEAR'S TOAD



  One morning, when Little Bear was playing in the
forest near his home, he heard a toad calling for help.
  "Where are you, Mr. Toad" asked Little Bear.
  "I have fallen into a deep hole, and I can't get out.
Is that you, Little Bear"
  "Yes, and I will get you out, Mr. Toad."
  "Please do, Little Bear, and be quick, because I
can't live much longer in this dry, sandy place. There
is n't a bit of moisture here. If you '11 help me out of
this trouble, I'll be your pet, and work for your father."
Little Bear was too polite to say that he did not care
to have a pet toad, nor did he laugh at the idea of a wee
toad working for big Father Bear. Gently he lifted
Mr. Toad from the hole and placed him on the ground.
  "Why, Mr. Toad, you are ill! What is the matter"
inquired Little Bear, when he saw that the toad was thin
and weak.
  " Water! Water! " begged the toad. " Water, please!"
  Without stopping to talk, Little Bear ran to get his
tin pail, which he filled at the river, and carried to the
sufferer. "Here, Mr. Toad," said he, "take a good
big drink."
                        43

 
DOINGS OF LITTLE BEAR



  " Toads never drink with their mouths," answered
the toad. " Please, Little Bear, pour the water over me.
I take water in through my skin."
  Greatly wondering, Little Bear did as he was told,
and soon Mr. Toad was sprawling in a puddle of water,
and drinking it in through his skin, and in a little while
he was a plump and happy toad once more. Then
out went Mr. Toad's tongue, and gone was the fly
Little Bear had seen only a moment before. Another
fly disappeared down Mr. Toad's throat, and then
another.
  "How do you do it, Mr. Toad" asked Little Bear.
"I never saw such qu