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Title: The Tale of Cuffy Bear


Author: Arthur Scott Bailey

Release Date: April 4, 2005  [eBook #15528]

Language: English

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Sleepy-Time Tales

THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR

by

ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

Illustrated by Harry L. Smith

New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers

1915







[Illustration: Cuffy Gave It One Good, Hard Cuff]



     +-------------------------------+
     |                               |
     |      _SLEEPY-TIME TALES_      |
     |              by               |
     |      ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY      |
     |             ----              |
     |  THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR       |
     |  THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL  |
     |  THE TALE OF TOMMY FOX        |
     |  THE TALE OF FATTY COON       |
     |  THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK  |
     |  THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT     |
     |  THE TALE OF PETER MINK       |
     |  THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK   |
     |  THE TALE OF BROWNIE BEAVER   |
     |  THE TALE OF PADDY MUSKRAT    |
     |                               |
     +-------------------------------+





CONTENTS


CHAPTER

    I  CUFFY WAKES UP

   II  CUFFY BEAR FINDS A PORCUPINE

  III  CUFFY AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING

   IV  CUFFY LEARNS SOMETHING

    V  CUFFY AND THE MAPLE-SUGAR

   VI  CUFFY MEETS A MAN

  VII  THE ICE GOES OUT OF THE RIVER

 VIII  CUFFY LEARNS TO SWIM

   IX  A SURPRISE

    X  CUFFY CLIMBS BLUE MOUNTAIN

   XI  MRS. EAGLE IS ANGRY

  XII  CUFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET

 XIII  HAYING-TIME

  XIV  CUFFY LIKES BAKED BEANS

   XV  HUNTING FOR A BEE-TREE

  XVI  THE BEES STING CUFFY

 XVII  CUFFY BEAR GOES SWIMMING

XVIII  CUFFY FRIGHTENS HIS MOTHER

  XIX  THE LITTLE BEAR PETER

   XX  LEARNING TO BOX

  XXI  THE FOREST FIRE

 XXII  THE RAIN COMES

XXIII  CUFFY BEAR GROWS SLEEPY





I

CUFFY WAKES UP


Far up on the side of Blue Mountain lived Cuffy Bear with his father and
mother and his little sister Silkie. Mr. Bear's house was quite the
finest for many miles around. It was what people call a cave, being made
entirely of stone, and so there was no danger of its ever catching fire;
and since it was built straight into the side of the mountain the roof
was so very, very thick that Cuffy's father never had to worry for fear
a tree would fall upon his house and hurt his family. No matter how hard
the wind blew, Mr. Bear was never afraid of that.

Little Cuffy was not a bad bear at heart. But often when he was playing
with Silkie, his sister, he would lose his temper and cuff her on the
head and make her cry. Then his father or his mother would cuff _him_.
Somehow, he never could learn not to strike out when he became angry.
That was why he was called Cuffy. It happened sometimes that a day or
two would pass without Cuffy's cuffing his sister. And Mr. Bear and Mrs.
Bear would begin to think that at last Cuffy had been cured of his bad
habit.

"I do believe the child is growing better mannered," Mrs. Bear would say
to her husband, as they watched their son and daughter playing upon the
floor. And then just as likely as not, the first thing they knew Cuffy
would give Silkie a good, hard box on the ear, or a slap right on the
end of her nose.

But for a long time every winter Cuffy was never naughty. You might
think that that was just before Christmas. But no--it was not then. All
winter long Cuffy was just as good as any little bear could be. He was
good because he was asleep! You see--when cold weather came, Mr. and
Mrs. Bear and their children stayed in their cozy house, which was snug
and warm, and slept and slept and slept for weeks and weeks until spring
came.

Now, this tale begins on the very first day of spring. And on that day
Mr. Bear waked up. He rose slowly to his feet, for his bones felt stiff
because he had been asleep for such a long time. And he was hungry--oh!
very hungry, because he had not eaten anything for months and months,
since he went to sleep at the beginning of winter.

He went to the door of his house and looked out. And he saw that the
weather was warm and fine. So he stepped back into the bedroom and
said--

_"Ou-e-e-ee!"_ Just like that. And then Mrs. Bear awaked. "Spring has
come," Mr. Bear told her, "and I am going out to fetch something to eat.
Wake up Cuffy and Silkie and tell them that it is time to get up."

Gently Mrs. Bear roused Cuffy and Silkie.

"Come, children! Run out and play and get your lungs full of nice, fresh
air. Now, be good and don't go far away!" she said.




II

CUFFY BEAR FINDS A PORCUPINE


For a few minutes Cuffy stood in the doorway and blinked and blinked. He
rubbed his eyes, for the bright sunlight hurt them. But soon he and
Silkie were frisking and tumbling about in the front-yard.

After a little while Cuffy remembered that there was an old tree over in
the pine woods--just the finest tree to climb that anybody could want.

"Let's go over to the old tree and play," Cuffy said.

"But Mother told us not to go far away," Silkie reminded him.

"Oh! I don't care," Cuffy said. "Besides, we'll be back before she
knows it."

But Silkie would not go with him. So naughty Cuffy started off alone for
the pine woods. He found the old tree. It seemed smaller than he
expected. The reason for that was because Cuffy himself had grown tall
during the months that he had spent in sleep.

He climbed the tree to the very top and as he looked down over the snow
he saw something moving a little way off. Whatever it was, it was much
smaller than Cuffy himself, so he was not afraid. And he scrambled down
to the ground and ran as fast as he could go to the place where he saw
the small thing moving. Cuffy wanted to see what it was. He was always
like that.

Cuffy found a little animal covered with stiff, sharp quills and he knew
that it was a porcupine. And all at once Cuffy felt very hungry. He
remembered that his father had sometimes brought home porcupine meat
and--yes, Cuffy actually smacked his lips! His mother was always telling
him not to smack his lips, but Cuffy forgot all about it now.

As Cuffy came running up Mr. Porcupine rolled himself into a round ball
and lay perfectly still. Now, Cuffy remembered that his father had often
told him never to touch a porcupine, because if he should he would get
his paws stuck full of quills. But now Cuffy decided that he would show
his father that he too was clever enough to kill a porcupine. So he
stepped close to the little round, prickly ball and gave it one good,
hard cuff.

The next instant Cuffy gave a howl of pain. He was so angry that he
struck the porcupine once more with his other front-paw.

Again Cuffy howled! Now both his front-paws were full of quills. They
looked just like pincushions. And as Cuffy saw what had happened he
began to cry. He wanted his mother.

So home he started. All the way he had to walk on his hind legs, because
it hurt him terribly whenever he put one of his front-paws on the
ground.

Cuffy wept very hard when Mrs. Bear pulled out the quills. And his paws
were so sore that he could not feed himself. His mother had to put into
his mouth bits of the frozen turnips that his father found in Farmer
Green's field. And though afterward Cuffy did many things that he ought
not to have done, he never, never touched a porcupine again.




III

CUFFY AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING


The pricks of the porcupine's quills made Cuffy Bear's paws so sore that
it was several days before he could run about again. And during all that
time Cuffy was a very good little bear. He did not cuff his sister
Silkie once. You see, he knew it would hurt his sore paws if he did.

The days were still fine. Cuffy loved to feel the bright sunshine upon
his black coat. It warmed him through and through and he did not care at
all if his feet _did_ get wet in the melting snow.

At last one afternoon when his paws were quite well again Cuffy strayed
some distance down the side of Blue Mountain, He was alone, because
Silkie was asleep. You know, she was younger than Cuffy and still had to
take naps. Cuffy had slid and tumbled down the mountainside until he was
further from home than he knew. It did seem good to be able to put his
paws upon the ground again without whimpering with pain. And coming to a
short, steep place, Cuffy felt so glad that he actually turned a
somersault and landed in a heap at the foot of the bank. He sat there
for a moment, brushing the soft snow out of his face, when a flash of
light dazzled his eyes. It came from a tree right in front of him. And
Cuffy at once jumped up and ran to see what it was. He found that some
one had fastened a shiny, new tin bucket to the trunk of the tree.

Cuffy felt that he _must_ have that bucket to play with. He knew that he
could have heaps of fun rolling it about on the ground. And he was just
going to knock it off the hook that held it when he noticed that a small
spout had been driven into the tree just above the bucket. And as Cuffy
stood there on his hind legs, reaching up as high as he could, he saw a
tiny drop fall from the spout and go splash! into the bucket. Then, as
he watched, another drop fell; and another and another and another.
Cuffy wondered where they came from. It must be--he thought--that there
was a spring inside that tree. Yes! he was sure of it, for the bucket
was half full of water. He felt thirsty, for he had not had a drink
since lunch-time. And so Cuffy stuck his head into the pail and took a
good, big swallow.

The next instant he squealed with joy. It was the nicest water he had
ever tasted in all his life, for it was quite sweet--just as if
somebody had left a heap of honey in the bottom of the bucket. But when
Cuffy licked the end of the spout with his little red tongue he found
that that tasted sweet too. Yes! it certainly was a wonderful spring.
Cuffy was very glad that he had found it. And he decided that he would
drink all he could of the delicious, sweet water and leave the pail
hanging there. Then he could come back the next day and there would be
more of that wonderful water all ready and waiting for him to drink up.




IV

CUFFY LEARNS SOMETHING


After leaving the wonderful spring Cuffy Bear was so long getting home
that he decided he would not say anything to his father and mother about
what he had found. You see--he was afraid they would tell him not to go
so far away from home again. But Cuffy had not been long in the snug
little house before he had a terrible stomach-ache. He stood the pain as
long as he could without saying anything. But he simply _had_ to hang
onto his little fat stomach with both his front paws. And at last he
began to cry softly. Then Mrs. Bear asked him what he had been doing;
and before Cuffy knew it he had told all about finding the delicious,
sweet water.

"How much did you drink?" asked his mother.

"Oh--only a little," Cuffy answered faintly.

Then Mrs. Bear nodded her head three times. She was very wise--was Mrs.
Bear. And she knew quite well that Cuffy had drunk a great deal too much
of that nice-tasting water. So she made Cuffy lie down and gave him some
peppermint leaves to chew. In a little while he began to feel so much
better that before he knew it he had fallen asleep.

When Cuffy waked up he found that his father had come home. And soon Mr.
Bear had Cuffy on one knee, and Silkie on the other, and he was telling
them all about maple-sugar. For of course you knew all the time that
what Cuffy had found was not a spring at all--but a sugar-maple tree,
which Farmer Green had tapped so that he might gather the sap and boil
it until it turned to maple-sugar. If Cuffy had gone further down the
mountainside he would have found a great many other trees, each--like
the one he discovered--with a tin bucket hanging on it to catch the
sweet sap.

"So you see there are many things for little bears to learn," Mr. Bear
said, when he had finished. "And the one _big_ lesson you must learn is
to keep away from men. Farmer Green visits those trees every day to
gather the sap. So you must not go down there again."

A cold shiver went up and down Cuffy's back at these words. Farmer
Green! Cuffy had heard a great deal about Farmer Green and he certainly
did not want to meet him all alone and far from home. But as soon as the
tickle of that shiver stopped, Cuffy forgot all about his fright.

"This maple-sugar--does it taste as good as the sweet sap?" he asked his
father.

"Yes, my son--a hundred times better!" Mr. Bear replied. "I ate some
once And I shall never forget it."

_A hundred times better!_ After he had gone to bed that night the words
kept ringing in Cuffy's ears. _A hundred times better! A hundred times
better!... A hundred_--And now Cuffy was fast asleep and--I am sorry to
say it--sucking one of his paws for all the world as if it was a piece
of Farmer Green's maple-sugar.




V

CUFFY AND THE MAPLE-SUGAR


Another day had come and all the morning long Cuffy Bear and his sister
Silkie played and played as hard as they could. They played that they
were making maple-sugar. And they pretended to hang buckets on all the
trees near Mr. Bear's house. There were no maple trees about Cuffy's
home--only pine and hemlock and spruce--but if you are just _pretending_
to make maple-sugar any sort of tree will do.

While they were playing Cuffy kept wishing for some _real_ maple-sugar.
After all, the little cakes of snow that he and Silkie made and _called_
maple-sugar seemed very tasteless, no matter how much Cuffy pretended.
And later, when Silkie was taking her nap, and Cuffy had no one to play
with, he became so angry with the make-believe sugar that he struck the
little pats of snow as hard as he could and spoiled them. And then,
after one look toward the door of his father's house--to make sure that
his mother did not see him--Cuffy started on a trot down the
mountainside.

What do you suppose he was going to do?

To tell the truth, Cuffy himself did not quite know. When he came to the
tree that he had found the day before he stopped and drank some of the
sap once more; and he tried to imagine how sugar would taste _a hundred
times sweeter_. Then Cuffy went on down the mountainside.

At last he spied a little house in a clearing. From its chimney a
stream of smoke rose, and as Cuffy peeped from behind a tree he saw a
man come out and pick up an armful of wood from the woodpile nearby.
While Cuffy watched, the man carried in several loads. Soon the smoke
began fairly to pour out of the chimney; and then the man came out once
more, picked up an axe near the woodpile, and started off toward the
other side of the clearing.

Cuffy was trembling with excitement. The wind blew right in his face and
brought to him two odors that were quite different. One was the
man-scent, which Cuffy did not like at all, and which made his legs want
to run away. The other smell was most delightfully sweet. And it made
his nose want to go forward.

Which do you think won--Cuffy's nose or his legs?... Yes! His nose won!
Pretty soon Cuffy slipped from behind the tree and scampered as fast as
he could run to the door of the sugar-house--for that was what he had
found. He stuck his head inside and oh, joy! there was no one there.

Just inside the door stood a tub full of something brown. One sniff told
Cuffy that it was maple-sugar and he began to gulp great mouthfuls of
it. Yes! his father was right. It certainly was a hundred times sweeter
than the sap.

In the middle of the room was a big pan which gave off clouds of steam.
Cuffy wanted to see it. And with his mouth full of sugar he walked up to
the pan and looked into it. He saw a golden liquid, and Cuffy felt that
he simply _must_ taste that too. So he dipped both his front paws right
into the bubbling syrup.




VI

CUFFY MEETS A MAN


And then how Cuffy Bear did roar--just one second after he had stuck his
paws into the steaming pan. You see--he was so greedy that he had never
once stopped to think that the syrup was boiling hot.

Now, usually if you pick up anything hot you can drop it at once. But it
is not so with hot maple syrup. Cuffy's paws were covered with the
sticky brown stuff. He rubbed them upon his trousers, and he roared
again when he saw what he had done.

Then Cuffy had a happy thought. He would go out and shove his paws into
a snowbank. That would surely cool them. So out of the sugar-house he
dashed and across the clearing he ran, screaming _"Ough! ough! ough!"_
at the top of his voice, for the hot syrup made his paws smart terribly.
In his haste Cuffy did not notice that he was headed in the direction in
which the man had disappeared.

Now it happened that the man who tended the sugar-house fire had gone
only to the edge of the clearing; and when he heard Cuffy's shrieks he
looked around in great surprise. He and Cuffy saw each other at the same
time. And like a flash Cuffy turned and fairly flew the other way.

The man ran after him for a few steps. But he soon saw that he could
never catch Cuffy. So he stood still and watched the little bear bob
into the woods and vanish.

Poor Cuffy's heart was beating as if it would burst. He was so
frightened that he forgot all about his burned paws and he ran and ran
and ran up the steep mountainside. He did not mind the climb; he was
used to that. But to his great alarm the snow clung to his sticky paws
until each was just a great, round lump. They looked like the hands of a
snow-man.

Cuffy found it very hard to run with his paws like that. But he kept on
and on, until at last he came in sight of his father's house. Then he
stopped and sat down, right behind a knoll, where his mother could not
see him. He was very tired. And though he was no longer afraid that the
man would catch him, he began to be afraid of something else.... A
punishing? No--no! He had not thought of that. Cuffy was afraid that he
could never get rid of those big heavy lumps. He was afraid his paws
would always be covered with those hard balls of snow. You must
remember that he was a very _young_ little bear.

Well! After he had got his breath again Cuffy began to nibble at his
snow mittens. And little by little--to his delight--he removed them. And
still he kept on nibbling at his paws, and--yes! he actually put them
right inside his mouth and sucked them. He forgot all about his
_manners_, for underneath the snow he found the most beautiful, waxy
maple-sugar you can imagine. Each paw was just one big lollypop! And
though his burns still hurt him, Cuffy did not care very much. For those
lollypops were _two hundred times_ sweeter than anything he had ever
tasted in all his life!




VII

THE ICE GOES OUT OF THE RIVER


Farmer Green had taken his sap-buckets off the maple trees and _that_
meant the spring was fast going. At least, that was what Mr. Bear said.
And Cuffy noticed that every day there was a little less snow than there
had been the day before.

"The ice will soon go out," Mr. Bear said to Cuffy's mother at breakfast
one morning, "and then when I cross Pleasant Valley I shall have to swim
the river."

Cuffy knew that his father meant Swift River. In summer Cuffy could look
down from Blue Mountain and see the stream as it flashed through the
valley.

"Will the ice go out of the river to-day?" Cuffy asked.

"Well, now--" Mr. Bear said, "it might. And then again, it might not."
Mr. Bear never said a thing was _so_ unless he was sure of it.

Now, Cuffy thought it would be great fun to go down into the valley and
find out for himself if the ice really did go out. He had an idea that
it caused a terrific splitting and crashing and thundering noise and he
thought that perhaps some fish would be tossed up on the bank and then
he would have a good lunch.

When Mr. Bear had gone off down the mountain, "to see a bear," as he
explained to his wife, little Cuffy sneaked away from the house. His
mother was making the beds, and Silkie was pretending to help her. Now,
nobody _sneaks_ unless he knows he is doing something wrong. Cuffy knew
that his parents would not let him go down into the valley alone, so he
went without asking. And when he did at last come to the river there
was ice along both banks; but between them ran a broad stream of swift
water.

"The ice must have gone out in the night," Cuffy said to himself. And he
looked about in the hope of finding some fish on the banks. But not one
fish could he find.

He was disappointed. And he crept out onto the ice as far as he could go
and peeped over the edge into the water. He thought maybe he could at
least catch a fish with his paw.

Cuffy lay quite still for a long time. And then at last to his delight
he saw a fish right before him. He made a quick reach for it. And then
there was a sharp _crack!_ The ice tipped and Cuffy clung to it with all
his claws to keep from falling into the river. He backed away from the
edge and looked around. The bank was moving past him. He had never seen
such a thing and he was surprised.

Then he gave a cry which sounded in his throat like _"Oug!"_ and ended
with _"I-s-s-s!"_ through his nose. It meant that Cuffy was frightened.
For he saw that the ice he was on had broken away and was floating
rapidly down the stream.

He had not caught the fish, either. But he forgot all about that now.




VIII

CUFFY LEARNS TO SWIM


Yes! Cuffy Bear was floating down the river on a cake of ice! How he
wished he had been a good little bear and stayed at home, instead of
running away to the river all alone! He was huddled up in a little black
heap in the center of the cake, and crying as if his heart would break.
For Cuffy thought he would never see his mother and father and Silkie
again. If only he knew how to swim, like his father! But he didn't; and
there he was, being swept away down the valley, right toward Farmer
Green's house. It certainly was enough to make anybody weep.

When Cuffy thought about Farmer Green he was more frightened than ever
and he began to scream. He remembered all the dreadful things he had
heard about men and the things they do to little bears.

Pretty soon Cuffy saw something move up on the bank ahead of him. And he
stopped screaming. He was afraid that it was Farmer Green himself and he
thought he had better keep still. Then perhaps Farmer Green wouldn't see
him. But to his dismay the big black thing began to slide down the steep
bank right toward the river.

Cuffy's heart seemed to stand still. He shut his eyes tight and tried to
make himself as small as he could. And he hardly breathed.

Then somebody called his name. Cuffy was so surprised that he looked up,
and there was his father standing on the edge of the stream. Cuffy was
_so_ glad to see him!

Mr. Bear seemed very cross, but Cuffy did not mind that, he was _so_
glad to see his father.

"Oh, Father! What shall I do?" Cuffy cried.

Mr. Bear said just one word. It was _"Jump!"_

Cuffy could hardly believe his ears.

_"Jump!"_ said Mr. Bear again.

"I don't know how to swim," Cuffy whined.

_"Jump, jump, jump!"_ Mr. Bear repeated very sternly.

Still Cuffy did not jump. He was so afraid of that rushing water!

Then Mr. Bear became very, very angry. He gave a great roar and plunged
into the icy water. With a few strong strokes--for Mr. Bear was a fine
swimmer--he reached the middle of the river. And as he swam close up to
Cuffy he reached out and gave that naughty, frightened little bear a
shove that sent him flying into the stream.

Cuffy started to scream. But his shriek was cut off short as he sank,
head and all, into the cold, cold river. In another moment his nose came
up out of the water. It was only an instant, but to Cuffy it seemed a
long, long time before he could breathe again. And now, to his great
surprise, he found that he was swimming as well as his father.

Now, little bears are different from little boys and girls. They don't
have to _learn_ to swim. Cuffy didn't know it. But his father did. That
was why Mr. Bear told him to jump. He knew that as soon as Cuffy found
himself in the water he could swim as well as anybody.

In another minute Cuffy and his father were safe on the bank, and in
another second after that they were running toward home as fast as Cuffy
could go, so they wouldn't take cold, you know.

Cuffy had to go to bed for the rest of the day, as a punishment. And as
he lay on his little bed he could hear his father and mother laughing in
the next room. He didn't see how they could laugh. But you know, Cuffy
didn't realize how funny he had looked, floating down the river on the
cake of ice.




IX

A SURPRISE


One day Cuffy Bear and his little sister Silkie had been making sand
pies. And now, having grown tired of that, they were squatting down on
the ground and had covered their legs with the clean white sand. Perhaps
they would have heaped the sand all over themselves, if Silkie had not
spied her father as he came climbing up the mountain. When they noticed
that he was carrying something they both sprang up and ran to see what
Mr. Bear was bringing home.

Mr. Bear's mouth was stretched quite wide in what Silkie and Cuffy knew
to be his most agreeable smile. You and I might not have felt so
comfortable if we had looked past Mr. Bear's great white teeth into his
big red mouth. But it was different with Cuffy and Silkie. They saw at
once that their father was feeling very pleasant.

"What's that?" Silkie asked. As for Cuffy, he had not stopped to ask any
questions. He was already smelling of the small white animal his father
had, and he poked it gently with his paw. He had not forgotten about the
porcupine. But this strange animal seemed quite harmless. It was covered
with things that looked a little bit like quills, only they were ever so
much shorter and smaller. And Cuffy found that they were much softer,
too, for they did not prick him at all.

"What is it?" This time it was Cuffy who asked.

"You'll see," Mr. Bear said again.

"Is it a new kind of rabbit?" Silkie inquired.

"Huh! A rabbit!" Cuffy laughed. "Of course it isn't a rabbit," he said.

"Well--it's white, and its tail is short--" Silkie began, "and--"

"Its ears are too small," Cuffy told her, "and its tail is all curled
up."

"You'll see, children," Mr. Bear said again. "It's a surprise."

"A surprise!" Cuffy and Silkie both shouted. They thought that was the
name of the--oh! I almost told what the little animal really was.

Well! As Mr. Bear walked on toward his house, Cuffy and Silkie ran ahead
and burst in upon their mother, both of them shouting at the top of
their voices, "A surprise! A surprise! Father's bringing home a
surprise!"

"Why, Ephraim Bear!" Mrs. Bear exclaimed, as soon as she saw her
husband. "Wherever did you get that lovely little pig?"

There--now you know what it was that Mr. Bear had.

"It came from Farmer Green's, my dear," Mr. Bear said. "I remembered
that this was your birthday, and so I thought I would bring home
something 'specially nice, so that we could have a real feast."

Cuffy and Silkie had never eaten any pig before. And when there was
nothing left of the surprise except a few bones, Cuffy couldn't help
wishing that every day could be a birthday.




X

CUFFY CLIMBS BLUE MOUNTAIN


Cuffy Bear had never been very far up Blue Mountain beyond the place
where his father's house nestled among the evergreens. You know, the
summer before he had been a very small little bear indeed, and the
higher one goes up Blue Mountain the harder the climbing becomes. But
now Cuffy was growing very fast; and he was able to scramble up places
he could never have even crept a year ago. Each day now Cuffy climbed a
little nearer the top of Blue Mountain. And at last the day came when he
reached the very top. It was so high that the trees did not grow there.
He found nothing but rocks everywhere, with just a little earth to fill
the cracks.

Cuffy thought it great fun to clamber about all by himself and look down
at the hills and valleys that stretched away in all directions. Indeed,
he hated to leave that delightful spot. But he noticed that the sun was
getting low in the west and he knew that he must hurry home. So Cuffy
started down the mountainside.

He did not pick out the easiest way to go. Oh, no! He chose the very
steepest places to slide down. And as he went slipping down the steepest
cliff of all he came upon something that gave him a great surprise. For
he saw, built right in the crack of a ledge, a big bird's nest made of
sticks. It was the biggest bird's nest Cuffy had ever seen; and in it
were two great white eggs. They were the greatest white eggs Cuffy had
ever seen, too.

How lucky! At least, that was what Cuffy thought then. For he was very
fond of birds' eggs, and his climb had made him even hungrier than
usual. He stopped then and there and with one rap of the paw he broke
one of the eggs and began to eat it.

Cuffy was enjoying his lunch very much. He had almost finished the first
egg and was just about to turn to the other when he heard a deafening
scream.

Cuffy looked all around. He thought that perhaps there was a pig up
there on the mountain. But no! He couldn't see a thing. Then came that
cry again. This time it was louder. And it seemed to come from right
over Cuffy's head. He looked up then. And there was an enormous bird
dropping right down on top of him! It seemed to Cuffy that its wings
stretched as wide as the branches of the great pine tree in his
father's front-yard. He never even dreamed that there could be as big a
bird in the whole world. And during that one instant that Cuffy's little
beady bright eyes were turned upwards he saw that the great bird had a
wicked, hooked beak and claws that were as sharp as his own, and ever so
much longer.

One look was enough for Cuffy. He turned and tumbled down the steep
cliff, head over heels, with the eagle following him.




XI

MRS. EAGLE IS ANGRY


Yes! It was an eagle's nest that Cuffy Bear had found, And Mrs. Eagle
had caught him eating her eggs. It was no wonder that she was wild with
rage. And it was no wonder that Cuffy ran for his life.

He landed in a heap at the foot of the first cliff, jumped up like a
flash and in a twinkling he was rolling heels over head down another
cliff.

Again Cuffy fell in a heap at the bottom. Again he jumped up. And again
he started to run. But this time, alas! Mrs. Eagle seized him. She
pounced down upon his back; and she sunk her claws right into Cuffy's
neck. Then Mrs. Eagle flapped her wings as hard as she could flap them.
And Cuffy felt himself rising.

Soon the earth was far, far beneath Cuffy. And he was the most
frightened little bear you could imagine. He was afraid Mrs. Eagle would
drop him, and that he would fall down, down, down onto the rocks below.
And he was afraid that Mrs. Eagle wouldn't drop him, too. Because if she
didn't Cuffy felt only too sure that she would take him home and that
she and Mr. Eagle would eat him for their dinner.

You see, Cuffy Bear was in a sad fix. And for my part, when I first
heard of his plight I did not see how he was ever going to get out of it
alive.

Well--this was what happened. Mrs. Eagle _did_ intend to take Cuffy home
with her and serve him up for dinner that very night At first, after
she had seized Cuffy, she mounted higher and higher into the air, so
that she could at last swoop down on the top of the mountain, right
beside her nest. But Cuffy was a very fat little bear. And soon Mrs.
Eagle found that she had a heavy load. And it was only a few minutes
before she discovered that she couldn't fly up any higher with Cuffy. In
fact, she began to sink, little by little. Yes, Cuffy was so heavy that
as Mrs. Eagle grew tired his weight dragged her down toward the earth
again.

Mrs. Eagle saw what was happening. But she didn't want to let Cuffy go.
So she flew far out from the side of the mountain, hoping that she would
soon feel stronger. But all the time she kept growing weaker and weaker.
And all the time she kept falling faster and faster, until all at once
Mrs. Eagle was afraid that she would lose her balance and go tumbling
down onto the ground herself.

She was still very angry. And she hated to lose the fine dinner she had
been counting on. But she saw nothing else to do but let go of Cuffy
Bear. So she gave one last scream of rage; and the next instant Cuffy
felt himself dropping through the air like a stone.

Now, Cuffy had shut his eyes tight, just as he did when he was drifting
down the river on the cake of ice; so he did not see what was happening.
But as luck had it, when Mrs. Eagle let him go she was flying right over
the top of a big fir-tree. And as Cuffy fell, he dropped _plump!_ into
the branches, and down he went, crashing through the soft, springing
boughs.

Cuffy clutched wildly at the branches. And though he tumbled through
them one after another, at last he managed to hold tight to a big limb.
And then, after he had caught his breath again, he crept carefully down
to the ground.

He wondered where he was. The place had a strangely familiar look. It
seemed to Cuffy that he must have been there before. And then, as he
peered cautiously around, what should he see but the door of his
father's house, right in front of him! Yes! Mrs. Eagle had dropped Cuffy
right in his father's door-yard! And Cuffy wasn't even late for dinner.

As he grew older Cuffy often went to the top of Blue Mountain. But
never, so long as he lived, did he get home again so quickly.




XII

CUFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET


"Mother! When is my birthday?" Cuffy asked, a few days after his father
had brought home the little pig.

"Why, your birthday comes on the day the wild geese begin to fly south,"
Mrs. Bear said.

"Is that soon?" Cuffy asked.

"Bless you, no! Not for months and months!" his mother said.

"And when is Silkie's?" he continued.

"The day of the first snow," she told him.

Cuffy knew that that was a long way off--not until summer had come and
gone.

"And Father's?" he inquired once more.

Mrs. Bear shook her head.

"Your father hasn't many birthdays," she said. "He was born on the day
of the great forest fire. It may be a long time before he has another
birthday. I hope so, anyhow," she added, "for a great forest fire is a
dreadful thing."

Now you see, having a birthday like that is a good deal like being born
on the twenty-ninth of February, when you have a birthday only once in
four years. Yes--it's a good deal like that, only worse. For you may
have to wait years and years before another great fire comes. You
understand, of course, that having no clocks or calendars or anything
like that, the wild animals can keep track of birthdays only by
remembering things that happen.

All this made Cuffy Bear feel very sad. He had been hoping that some
member of the family would have a birthday soon, and then perhaps his
father would bring home another little pig for another nice feast. But
now he saw that there was no chance of that happening for a long, long
time.

[Illustration: Mrs. Eagle Rose Higher and Higher]

Cuffy went out of doors then and thought and thought and thought. I'm
almost ashamed to have to say it--he was planning to go down to Farmer
Green's and get another fat, tender, little pig like the one his father
had brought home.

Now, when a very young bear starts out to steal a pig there are many
things to think of. In the first place, there was Farmer Green, and
Farmer Green's boy Johnnie, and Farmer Green's hired man. Cuffy knew
that he must be very, very careful not to meet them.

To his great relief, when he had gone down into Pleasant Valley Cuffy
saw all three ploughing in a field. They did not see him at all. And so
he felt very brave as he went on toward the farm buildings.

Farmer Green's pig-pen was in a little, low building next the cow-barn.
Cuffy had no trouble in finding it. And he walked inside quite boldly
and before you could have winked, almost, he had seized a little, white
pig in his mouth and was loping off across the barnyard.

The pig had looked very small to Cuffy when he first saw and seized it.
But now it seemed to be as many as twenty times bigger than Cuffy was
himself. That was because the pig made the most frightful noise Cuffy
had ever heard in all his life. Cuffy felt as if he had a hundred pigs
in his mouth, with their hundred snouts squealing right in his ears.
Though Farmer Green was at least a mile away, Cuffy was sure he could
hear. Indeed, Cuffy thought that all the world must hear that dreadful
racket. And he was so frightened that he let go of the little pig and
ran away towards home as fast as he could jump.

That squealing rang in his ears for a long time. And if Cuffy's father
had brought home a pig that night Cuffy couldn't have eaten a mouthful
of it. He never wanted to see or taste of a pig again. And you may be
sure he never wanted to _hear_ one, either.




XIII

HAYING-TIME


After Cuffy Bear's adventure with Mrs. Eagle he did not stray far from
home for several weeks. You can see, from that, that he had been badly
frightened. Yes--just to look at a crow flapping through the air made
Cuffy dizzy now; and nothing would have tempted him to go up the
mountain again.

But Cuffy became very tired of playing near his father's house all the
time. And at last he wandered down into the valley one day. There was
something down there that Cuffy wanted to see. You'd never guess what
it was; so I'll tell you. Cuffy Bear wanted to see a mowing-machine.
You may think that was queer. But you see, it was summer now. And
down in the valley Farmer Green was making hay as fast as ever he
could. Early and late there sounded far up the mountainside the
_click-clack-click-clack_ of Farmer Green's mowing-machine.

When he first heard it Cuffy Bear had been very much alarmed; and he had
come running into the house in a great fright. But his mother explained
what the sound was. And after that Cuffy had been very curious to see
that wonderful machine, which was pulled back and forth through the
meadows by horses, leaving behind it a broad path of grass which lay
flat on the ground.

So that was the reason why Cuffy stole away from home. He felt that he
simply _must_ see a mowing-machine. Nothing but the sight of a
mowing-machine would make him happy. He was sure of that.

Now, where Farmer Green's meadow met the forest, Cuffy paused. He hid
behind a tree and looked out over the field. The _click-clack_ sounded
quite loud now. And from the other side of the meadow Cuffy could see
two horses coming towards him. There was a man driving them. And Cuffy
thought that they must be drawing the mowing-machine. So he waited
quietly. And all the time the _click-clack-click-clack_ grew louder than
ever. And pretty soon, as he peeped slyly around the tree, Cuffy Bear
saw the mowing-machine. It came delightfully close to him, stopped,
turned about, and moved away again toward the opposite side of the
field.

Cuffy gave a great sigh of satisfaction. He had seen a mowing-machine.
He was glad that he had come down into the valley. He was not the least
bit sorry that he had disobeyed his parents and stolen away from home.

Yes, Cuffy was feeling very happy as he went prowling along the border
of the forest. He crept in and out of the bushes that fringed the
hay-field, and was having altogether a most pleasant time; until all at
once he stopped short. Cuffy's nose sniffed the air for a moment, and
the hairs on his back bristled just like those on a dog when he is
startled. Cuffy had caught a strange odor in the air.

At first he was frightened. But after he had sniffed the air a few times
he decided that whatever it was that he smelled, it had a good, pleasant
odor, and made him think of something to eat.

So Cuffy Bear began to nose about among the bushes. And presently he
discovered, hidden away beneath a clump of ferns, a basket of delicious
food. It was the haymakers' lunch that Cuffy had found. And he lost no
time. He began to eat as fast as he could. Yes--I am very sorry to say
that Cuffy actually _gobbled_ Farmer Green's lunch. And he was so greedy
that a strange thing happened to him.




XIV

CUFFY LIKES BAKED BEANS


Cuffy Bear found many good things in Farmer Green's lunch basket. He
bolted all the bread-and-butter, and the doughnuts; and he found the
custard pie to be about as enjoyable as any dainty he had ever tasted.
And then, with his little black face all smeared with streaks of yellow
custard, Cuffy began to poke a small iron pot which stood in one corner
of the big basket. Presently the pot tipped over, its cover fell off,
and soon Cuffy was devouring the daintiest dish of all! Baked beans! Of
course, he didn't know the name of those delicious, brown, mealy
kernels. But that made no difference at all to Cuffy. So long as he
liked what he was eating the name of it never troubled him. The only
thing that annoyed Cuffy now was that the pot was not bigger. There were
still a few beans which clung to the bottom; and try as he would, Cuffy
could not reach them, even with his tongue.

He was sitting on the ground, with the pot between his legs, and his
nose stuck into it as far as Cuffy could get it. But still he could not
reach those beans in the bottom. And pretty soon Cuffy began to lose his
temper. He stood up and gave a good, hard push against the ground. And
so he managed to squeeze his nose a little further into the bean-pot.
And now, to his huge delight, he could just reach the bottom of the pot
with his long under-lip. In a twinkling Cuffy had all the beans in his
mouth. And he would have grinned--he felt so happy--if his nose hadn't
been wedged so tightly into the pot that he couldn't even smile.

Since there were no more beans to be had out of _that_ pot, Cuffy lifted
his head. And to his great astonishment the bean-pot came right up off
the ground too, almost as if it were alive. It startled Cuffy, until he
saw that it was he who lifted the pot, on his own nose.

He seized the bean-pot and pulled. But his paws were so greasy with
butter that he couldn't get a good grip on it. The pot still stuck on
his nose as fast as ever.

Cuffy grunted. He couldn't really have said anything, with his mouth
deep in the iron pot. So he just grunted in a pouting sort of way; and
then he gave the pot a sharp rap against a rock. That hurt his nose. And
this time he growled--as well as he could. But all his grunting and
growling didn't frighten the bean-pot the slightest bit. There it
stayed, perched on his nose just as if it would never come off.

All this time the mowing-machine kept up a _click-clack-click-clack_!
And Cuffy thought that he had better get out of sight. So he plunged
into the forest and started toward home. He felt very uncomfortable, for
he began to wonder whether he would ever get rid of that troublesome
pot. What puzzled him most was this thought: How would he ever be able
to eat again, with that horrid thing over his nose? Cuffy was very fond
of riddles; but here was one that he did not like at all.

When he reached home his father and mother and Silkie all laughed so
hard at the sight of him that Cuffy began to whimper. And a big tear
rolled from each eye, ran down the bean-pot, and dropped off the bottom
of it.

And then, with just one tug Mr. Bear pulled the bean-pot off his son's
nose; and Cuffy was himself again.

He escaped a punishing, too, that time. And Mrs. Bear was very glad to
get such a nice iron pot. She had wanted one for a long time.




XV

HUNTING FOR A BEE-TREE


It was a very hot summer's day. Even up on Blue Mountain Cuffy Bear felt
the heat. And he wished that he might get rid of his thick coat. But
though Cuffy was beginning to believe himself a very wise little bear,
he could think of no way to slip off his heavy black fur. So he sat down
in the shade of a big tree, where the breeze blew upon him, and tried to
be as cool as he could.

Except when he was asleep it was not often that Cuffy was still for so
long. But now he sat motionless for some time, with his bright red
tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog's. Yes, he was quite
still--all but his little, beady, bright eyes. _They_ kept moving about
all the time. And they saw many things, for something or other is always
happening in the forest.

Cuffy saw a gray squirrel stick its head up from the crotch of a tree
nearby and peep at him. And he watched a wary old crow as he rested high
in a tree-top and cawed a greeting to some of his friends who were
flying past on their way to Farmer Green's cornfield. And Cuffy noticed
a bee as it lighted on a wild-flower right in front of him and sucked
the sweetness out of it. But Cuffy didn't pay much attention to that.
And since he soon began to feel cooler he was just wondering what he
would do next when it occurred to him that several bees had lighted upon
the flowers near him, and that they had all flown off _in the same
direction_.

All at once Cuffy forgot how hot and uncomfortable he had been; for now
he was wondering if those bees weren't all of them flying home to make
honey out of the sweet juices they had drawn from the flowers. And if
they were--and if he could only follow them--then he would find the tree
where they lived and he could have all the honey he wanted to eat.

So Cuffy followed on a little way in the direction in which the bees had
disappeared. And then he sat down again and waited and watched very
carefully.

For a long time nothing happened. And Cuffy was just about to give up
his plan when a bee came buzzing past him and lighted on a mulberry
blossom right above his head. And when the bee flew away, Cuffy followed
him until he lost sight of him. And then Cuffy sat down once more. Again
he waited and watched. And again, just as he was getting discouraged,
another bee flew past him and Cuffy jumped up and followed _him_ just
as fast as he could.

[Illustration: The Bees Were Right There Waiting for Cuffy]

Cuffy Bear must have spent as much as two hours doing that same thing
over and over again. But he didn't mind that. In fact, it didn't seem
long to him, at all, because he kept thinking of _honey_ all the time,
and it made a sort of _game_ of what he was doing. If he won the game,
you know, it meant that he was going to have something very nice for a
prize.

And sure enough, finally one of the bees Cuffy was following lighted on
an old tree, and Cuffy saw him crawl into a hole in a queer nest which
hung from a limb, and vanish. And as Cuffy stood there, looking up at
the nest, he saw as many as seven bees come out of that hole and fly
away.

Then Cuffy smiled all over his face, he felt so happy. At last he had
found a bee-tree. There was no doubt about it. The time he had always
wished for had come. He was going to have all the honey he could eat.




XVI

THE BEES STING CUFFY


As Cuffy Bear stood there on his hind legs looking up at the nest in the
old tree he saw so many bees come out and fly away that he thought that
there could not be any bees left at home--at least, not more than a
half-dozen. And Cuffy didn't believe that six bees would trouble him.
There was one good thing in having a coat like his, he told himself:
even if it was warm in summer, it was so thick that he didn't see how a
bee could sting him through it.

And with that, Cuffy started to climb the old tree. It took him no time
at all to hitch himself up the trunk. He shinned up just as any little
boy would climb a tree. And in less time than it takes to tell it, Cuffy
had reached the limb from which the nest hung, and he had stuck his paw
right through the side of it.

You remember that something is always happening in the forest?
Well--something happened now. Suddenly a terrible roar came from inside
the nest. It was a queer, far-off sort of sound, and it made Cuffy think
of the noise Swift River made, where it tumbled over the falls. But
Cuffy knew that there could be no water-fall inside the nest. He
wondered if there was some strange animal in there.... And he drew back
his paw very quickly. And then there came pouring out of the nest a
perfect cloud of bees, every one of them buzzing as loud as ever he
could.

Cuffy was startled at the sight. And he was more startled when they
flew right into his face and lighted on his nose and began to sting.

Cuffy roared with the pain. Yes--he gave such a great roar that he
couldn't hear the bees at all. But the bees didn't seem to mind that.
_They_ weren't afraid. They just kept on stinging. And they went for
Cuffy's eyes, too. And some of them even crawled down his ears. _That_
was the worst of all.

Just for a few moments Cuffy slapped at the bees. And he tried to brush
them off his face. But as fast as he swept them away from one spot they
settled on another. And Cuffy felt exactly as if somebody was sticking
him with pins and needles. He forgot all about taking any of the honey
to eat. He only wanted to get away from those bees. So he began to slide
down the tree.

But Cuffy soon saw that the bees intended to go right along with him.
They seemed to have no idea at all of staying at home, and as he
scrambled down the tree Cuffy thought very quickly. He hadn't put a paw
on the ground before he knew what he was going to do. Cuffy Bear ran
straight for the brook that goes tumbling down Blue Mountain to meet
Swift River.




XVII

CUFFY BEAR GOES SWIMMING


As Cuffy Bear tore through the forest, with the bees clustering all
about his head, he thought he never would reach the brook. He was going
straight for the deep pool, which he had often visited in order to watch
the speckled trout darting about in the clear water.

Now and then Cuffy paused in his mad rush, to bury his face in the thick
blanket of dead leaves that covered the ground. But just as soon as he
raised his head the bees would settle on his face again. And Cuffy would
rush off once more as fast as he could go.

At last he came to the brook. And he leaped right off the big boulder
that hung high over the pool and landed _ker-splash!_ right in the
middle of it. How the water did fly in all directions! And Cuffy went
right down out of sight.

Of course, the bees wouldn't go down into the water too. They knew
they'd be drowned if they did. So they lingered in a swarm above the
water. They hovered there in the air and waited. And when, after a
moment, Cuffy's head came up out of the pool, they swooped down and
began to sting him again.

Cuffy promptly ducked his head. And he swam under water to the further
side of the pool and came up once more. To his surprise the bees were
right there waiting for him. And he ducked under again, and swam to the
opposite side, near the big boulder. And once more, when he came up to
breathe, he found the buzzing bees all ready to pounce upon his nose.

So poor Cuffy had to keep pulling his head down into the pool. He would
keep it there just as long as he could hold his breath; and then he
would simply _have_ to stick his nose out of the water in order to draw
some fresh air into his lungs.

It was not long before Cuffy became very tired from so much swimming. So
he found a shallow place where he could stand on the bottom of the
brook, with just enough water to cover him, and where he could poke his
nose out whenever he had to. And just as often as his little black nose
came up above the surface of the pool the bees lighted on it and stung
Cuffy again.

All the rest of the afternoon poor Cuffy had to stay there in the water.
For the bees did not leave him until sundown. And then, when the last
one had gone, Cuffy crawled out of the brook and started toward home.
His little round body and his sturdy little legs were not warm now, as
they had been when he sat down beneath the tree to get cool. For the
mountain brook was ice-cold; and Cuffy felt quite numb from standing in
it so long. But cold as he was, his face felt like fire. And for some
reason, which Cuffy couldn't understand, he could hardly see to pick his
way through the shadows of the forest.




XVIII

CUFFY FRIGHTENS HIS MOTHER


When Cuffy Bear reached home, after his adventure with the bees, he
found that his father and mother and his sister Silkie were just sitting
down to their evening meal. Cuffy didn't speak to them as he came into
the room where they were. He felt too miserable to say a word, with his
face aching and burning, and a terrible smarting in his eyes. So he just
stumbled inside the room and tried to make himself as small as he could,
so he wouldn't be noticed.

Cuffy's parents and his little sister all looked at the little bear who
had come into their house without even a knock. And his father said, in
a cross voice--

"Go away, little bear. Where are your manners?"

Cuffy didn't know what to make of that. He didn't know what his father
meant. So he just stood there and stared.

"What do you want?" his father asked him. "Whose little bear are you?
And whatever is the matter with your face?"

Actually, Cuffy's own father didn't know him. And neither did his mother
or his sister. You see, Cuffy's face was so swollen from the bees'
stings that his face did not look like a little bear's face at all. His
nose, instead of being smooth and pointed, was one great lump. And he
hadn't a sign of an eye--just two slits.

"What's the matter with you?" Mr. Bear asked again. "Are you ill? Have
you the black measles?"

At that, Mrs. Bear rose hastily from the table and snatched Silkie up
from her high-chair and took her right out of the room. The thought of
black measles frightened Mrs. Bear. You know, they are ever so much
worse than _plain_ measles. And she was afraid Silkie would catch them.

Well, poor Cuffy felt more miserable than ever. He saw that his own
family didn't know him. And he wondered what was going to become of him.
Then, when his father told him very sternly to leave his house at once,
Cuffy began to cry.

"Oh! oh! oh!" he sobbed. "It's me--it's only me!" he cried. That very
morning, at breakfast, his father had told him to say "It is I," instead
of "It is _me_." But Cuffy forgot all about that, now.

"What! Are you my Cuffy?" his father exclaimed. For he knew Cuffy at
last. You see, the bees hadn't stung Cuffy's _voice_. And in no time at
all Cuffy was tucked into his little bed and his mother was gently
licking his poor, aching face with her tongue. Among bears that is
thought to be the very best thing to do for bee-stings.

After a while Cuffy stopped crying. And it was not long before he had
fallen asleep.

But it was two days before Cuffy Bear felt really himself again. And
then his father went off into the forest with him and Cuffy led the way
to the bee-tree; for Mr. Bear knew enough about bees so that he could
take their honey away from them without getting stung badly. He didn't
mind just a _few_ stings, you know.

Well--what do you think happened? When they came to the old tree Mr.
Bear took just one look at the nest into which Cuffy had thrust his
paw. And then he began to laugh, though he was somewhat disappointed, as
you will see.

"Those aren't bees!" he told Cuffy. "That's a hornets' nest!... We'd get
no honey there."




XIX

THE LITTLE BEAR PETER


One day late in the summer Cuffy Bear went blackberrying. And on his way
home he stopped at the deep pool where the hornets had chased him. He
stayed there for a little while to watch the speckled trout as their
bright sides flashed out of the depths of the clear water. As Cuffy
stood on the big boulder and looked down, he could see himself quite
plainly, reflected in the still surface of the water. He waved a paw.
And the little bear in the brook waved _his_ paw too. Of course Cuffy
knew that it was himself he saw. But he pretended for a time that it was
some other little bear who was playing with him. And he was having lots
of fun.

[Illustration: Cuffy Received a Slap on His Nose]

You see, Mr. Bear's family was the only bear family for miles and miles
around. And Cuffy often wished he had other little boy-bears to play
with. To be sure, he had his sister, Silkie. But she was a girl, and
younger than he was, besides.

Well! Cuffy danced a jig on the top of the big boulder. And the little
bear down below danced a jig, too. And Cuffy waved his paw again at the
little bear in the water. And once more the little bear in the water
waved a paw at _him_. It was great sport. And then Cuffy happened to
look up.

To his great surprise, there stood a little bear on the other bank of
the brook, right opposite. Cuffy was astonished. The other little bear
and the little bear in the brook looked as much alike as two peas.
Cuffy had never known that he could see a picture of himself by looking
anywhere except into water. It was very strange, he thought. He waved a
paw. And the little bear on the other bank waved _his_ paw. Cuffy kicked
up one of his hind legs. And the other little bear kicked up, too.

Cuffy was puzzled. Was it really himself he was looking at? He nodded
his head. And the other little bear nodded _his_ head.

Then Cuffy tried something else. He stared very hard at the little bear
opposite him, and called "Hello!"

"Hello, yerself!" the other little bear said. And then Cuffy knew that
it was a real, live boy-bear over there, and not just a reflection of
himself. Cuffy was so delighted that he jumped down off the boulder and
splashed through the brook, he was in such a hurry to get over there
where the strange bear stood.

"What's yer name?" the strange bear asked.

Cuffy told him. And he learned that the strange bear's name was Peter,
and that he lived around on the other side of Blue Mountain, as many as
ten miles away.

"Aw--call me _Pete_," the new bear said, as Cuffy began to talk to him.
"They all calls me Pete." He stuffed his front paws into the pockets of
his ragged trousers. "Say, Cuff--what was yer doin' up on that rock?"

"Playing!" Cuffy told him.

Pete gave a grunt. "That's no way ter play," he said. "I'll show yer how
ter have fun. Watch me!" He led the way to the bank. And sitting down,
he slid and rolled all the way down the steep slope and landed _plump!_
in the deep pool.

Now, Cuffy was not going to have Pete think that he couldn't do that,
too. Although he was wearing his best trousers that day (for his mother
was mending his every-day pair), Cuffy sat down on the top of the bank.
And in another moment he had slid and slipped down the bank and landed
_ker-splash!_ in the water.




XX

LEARNING TO BOX


For some time Cuffy Bear and his new friend Pete, as he preferred to be
called, continued to slide down the bank of the brook into the water.
They became plastered with mud from head to foot. And Cuffy's best
trousers had two big holes in them. But Cuffy was having a splendid
time.

"Let's box, Cuff!" Pete exclaimed, after a while.

"What's that?" Cuffy asked. He liked to be called "Cuff." Nobody had
ever called him by that name before. He felt quite grown up.

"I'll show yer," Pete said. "Stand up in front of me."

Cuffy stood up on his hind legs.

"Now, hold up yer paws--so."

And Cuffy did as he was told.

"Now hit me!" Pete ordered.

And Cuffy struck out at his new friend. But to his surprise he didn't
succeed in touching Pete at all. Instead, he received a stinging slap
right on the end of his nose.

Cuffy didn't like that. In fact, it made him somewhat angry. And he
struck out at Pete once more. But Pete dodged; and he gave Cuffy a good,
hard blow in the eye. And while Cuffy was holding onto his poor eye,
Pete hit his other eye. And then Cuffy couldn't see a thing, except
bright spots that made him think of stars. He tried not to cry. But a
few tears _would_ go rolling down his cheeks. And he did not like it at
all when Pete began to laugh.

"Huh! Don't be a cry-baby!" Pete said. "Yer want ter learn ter box,
don't yer?"

"Y-es!" Cuffy answered.

"Well--quit yer cryin' and stand up here, then," Pete commanded.

So once more Cuffy straightened up and held his paws in front of him.
And when he thought Pete wasn't watching, Cuffy tried again to hit him.
Again Cuffy missed. His paw didn't reach Pete at all. But Pete gave him
a terrible poke right in the stomach, and Cuffy sat down quickly on the
ground and began to groan.

Pete sat down on the ground too and he looked at Cuffy and grinned.

"Want any more?" he asked.

Cuffy shook his head.

"I'll have to go home now," he said. "Of course, I'd like to box some
more; but I haven't time to-day."

"First lesson's over, then," Pete announced. "Come back termorrer and
I'll give yer another."

"How long will it be before I learn to box well?" Cuffy inquired.

"You might learn next time," Pete said, "Better try it, anyhow," he
advised.

"All right!" Cuffy said. He hoped that another time he would be able to
show Pete how it felt to be pounded. "All right--I'll be here at the
same time to-morrow."

So Pete trotted off spryly in one direction; and Cuffy trotted off in
another, but not quite so spryly, for his head ached and one of his eyes
was closed tight.

"Mercy sakes!" Mrs. Bear said, when Cuffy came into the house. "Look at
those trousers!"

Cuffy looked at them as well as he could with his one good eye.

"And you're _covered_ with mud!" his mother added severely. "What's the
matter with your eye?" she demanded.

"I've been having fun--" Cuffy began. "I've been boxing--"

"Fun! Boxing! You've _ruined_ your best trousers," she said. "You're a
naughty little bear and you're going straight to bed. Who has been
playing with you?" she asked.

Mrs. Bear was very much displeased when she learned about Cuffy's new
friend. "I know who he is," she said. "His people are very rough.
They're not nice bears at all. And I forbid you aver to play with that
Peter again."

So Cuffy had to go to bed. And the next day when Pete arrived at the
pool he found no Cuffy there. For some time he waited. But still there
was no Cuffy.

"Huh!" Pete grunted, as he went away at last. "He's afraid, he is. And
it's a good thing for him he didn't come back. If he had, I'd 'a' fixed
him. Yes, sir! I'd--" Whatever it was that Peter would have done to
Cuffy, I am sure it wouldn't have been at all pleasant, because the
rough little bear Peter scowled frightfully as he trotted off.




XXI

THE FOREST FIRE


It was quite late in the fall. And Blue Mountain looked very different
from the way it had looked all summer. The leaves had turned to brown
and yellow and scarlet, except where there were clumps of fir-trees, as
there were around Mr. Bear's house. Indeed, Blue Mountain looked almost
as if it were all aflame, so bright were the autumn colors. Mr. Bear
remarked as much to Mrs. Bear one day.

"For goodness' sake, don't say that!" she exclaimed. "Don't mention fire
to me. The very thought of it makes me nervous. Everything's _so_ dry!
I shall be glad when it rains again."

"It _is_ dry," Mr. Bear agreed. "But don't worry. It's like this every
fall." And he went slowly down the mountain.

Cuffy and Silkie were playing together that morning. Cuffy was teaching
Silkie to box, though, to be sure, he knew very little about boxing. But
he found it easy to tap Silkie on the nose. And he had tapped her so
hard that Mrs. Bear heard a sound very much like quarreling; and she
came to the door to see what was the trouble.

Mrs. Bear was just going to call to her children, when she noticed a
peculiar odor in the air. And she stood quite still, and sniffed, just
as Cuffy had when he smelled the haymakers' lunch. You remember that the
more Cuffy sniffed, the less alarmed he had been. But it was different
with Mrs. Bear. The longer she stood there, with her nose twitching, and
snuffing up the air, the more uneasy she became. And pretty soon she saw
something that gave her a great start.

It was something white that Mrs. Bear saw, and it hung over the
tree-tops; and where the wind had caught it it was spun out thin, like a
veil.

It was exactly what Mrs. Bear had feared--it was smoke! The forest was
afire! And Mrs. Bear was very much alarmed. She sent Cuffy and Silkie
into the house, because she wanted to be sure that they wouldn't wander
off into the woods. And then their mother stood in the doorway and
watched. She was looking for Mr. Bear. While she waited there the smoke
kept rising more and more until there were great clouds of it; and at
last Mrs. Bear could see red flames licking up to the tops of the trees.

Several deer came bounding past, and a great number of rabbits and
squirrels. And then followed other animals that couldn't run so
fast--such as raccoons, and skunks, and woodchucks. Not for years had
Mrs. Bear seen so many of the forest-people--and they were all so
frightened, and in such a hurry to get away from the fire, that not one
of them noticed Mrs. Bear as she stood in her doorway.

"Where are they going, Mother?" It was Cuffy who asked the question. He
had crept up behind his mother and had been looking at the strange sight
for some time.

"They're going over to the lake, on the other side of the mountain,"
Mrs. Bear said.

"Are they going fishing?" Cuffy inquired.

Mrs. Bear shook her head. And then Cuffy squeezed past her and saw what
was happening.

"Oh-h, hurrah! hurrah!" he shouted.

His mother looked at him in astonishment.

"It's father's birthday!" he cried. You remember that Cuffy's mother had
told him that Mr. Bear was born on the day of a great forest fire, and
that he never had a birthday except when the woods caught fire again.
"Now maybe father will bring home another little pig for a feast!" Cuffy
said hopefully.




XXII

THE RAIN COMES


Cuffy Bear was disappointed. For when at last his father came galloping
up to his house he brought no pig with him. Indeed he seemed to have
forgotten that it was his birthday.

"Get the children!" he shouted to Mrs. Bear, as soon as he came in
sight. And pretty soon Cuffy and Silkie and their father and mother were
hurrying along on their way to the lake that lay on the other side of
the mountain.

Cuffy was delighted. He thought that perhaps he would see the naughty
little bear Peter again; for he remembered that Peter lived around the
mountain, right where they were going.

They had travelled several miles when Mr. Bear stopped suddenly. And he
said, "Hah!" And he looked up at the sky. Something had hit him right in
the eye. You might think that Mr. Bear was angry. But no! He was very
glad. For it was a drop of rain that had fallen upon him. And in a few
minutes there were countless drops pattering down. Yes, soon it was
raining hard. And to Cuffy's great disappointment they all started
homewards again, for Mr. Bear knew that the rain would soon put the fire
out.

Mr. Bear had known all the time that his house wouldn't burn; for it was
made of rock, and went straight into the side of the mountain. But he
knew that if the woods all around caught fire it would be several days
before they could go out and get anything to eat, or even a drink of
water. And that was why he had started to lead his family away.

When they were back in their house once more Cuffy could think of only
one thing that would make up for his not having seen the small bear
Peter again. And he climbed up on his father's knees and said--

"Will you go and get a little pig, Father?"

"A _pig_?" Mr. Bear exclaimed. "Well, now--why on earth do you want a
pig? What would you do with a pig?"

"I'd eat it," Cuffy answered promptly. "It's your birthday, you know.
And we ought to have a pig so we can have a real feast."

Mr. Bear smiled. And pretty soon he went out of the house. He was gone a
long time. But at last he came back again, fairly staggering beneath
the load that he carried.

When Cuffy saw what his father dropped down onto the floor he hopped up
and down in his delight. There was no pig there, but Cuffy didn't mind
that. For Mr. Bear had brought home four rabbits, and four squirrels,
and four porcupines, and four raccoons. And Cuffy ate and ate until his
skin grew so tight that he was afraid it would burst. He ate all of one
rabbit, and one squirrel, and one raccoon. But he never touched his
porcupine at all. It made him think of the time he had tried to kill a
porcupine himself, and had got his paws stuck full of quills. But he had
a real feast, just the same.




XXIII

CUFFY BEAR GROWS SLEEPY


Far up Blue Mountain, and down in the valley too, the leaves had long
ago fallen off the trees. And for some time the ground had been white
with snow; for winter had come again. And Cuffy Bear's sister Silkie had
had a birthday-party the very first day it snowed. Cuffy and Silkie
shouted with glee each morning now, when they went out of doors, where
the earth was covered with a snow-blanket. And they played and played
and had just as good a time as little boys and girls have when winter
comes. As they scampered about in the door-yard their feet left tracks
that looked exactly like the foot-prints of barefooted girls and boys.
They played tag, and hide-and-seek, and turned somersaults. And one day,
when Mrs. Bear called them into the house, they ate, each of them,
several quarts of chestnuts which Mr. Bear had gathered and brought
home. In fact, before Mrs. Bear knew it they had eaten a great many more
chestnuts than were good for them. And Cuffy, who had eaten the most,
soon began to have a pain in his stomach.

"That's what you get for being greedy," his mother told him.

"I didn't eat many chestnuts," Cuffy said.

Mrs. Bear pointed to the floor.

"What do you call those?" she asked.

"Chestnut-shells," Cuffy replied, hanging his head. There was a great
heap of shells on the floor where Cuffy had sat.

"Pick them all up--every one of them," his mother ordered. "And when
you have finished you may take a nap--both of you."

Cuffy yawned.

"What do you say?" Mrs. Bear asked severely.

"Excuse me!" Cuffy said hastily.

"That's better!" said Mrs. Bear. "Now do as I say. You'll be asleep
before you know it. And I don't intend to have those chestnut shells
lying on the floor all winter."

You may think that that was a queer thing for Mrs. Bear to say. But when
you see what happened, you'll understand what Mrs. Bear meant.

As Cuffy and Silkie sat down on the floor and began gathering up the
chestnut-shells they both yawned and yawned. And since Mrs. Bear had
left the room they didn't bother to say "Excuse me!" They were _so_
sleepy! And before little Silkie had finished picking up her shells she
just rolled herself up into a round ball and fell fast asleep. As for
Cuffy, being a little older, he managed to stay awake just long enough
to get the floor all nice and clean. And then _he_ rolled himself into a
ball and _he_ went to sleep, right there on the floor.

So Mrs. Bear found them when she came back into the room. She smiled as
she saw them. And picking up first one and then the other she carried
them into their little bed-chamber and put them down gently and covered
them over with leaves, so they would be snug and warm. Yes, Mrs. Bear
wanted her children to be warm, for she knew that they would not wake up
again until spring. She had noticed for several days that Cuffy and
Silkie were growing sleepy. And to tell the truth, Mrs. Bear was
becoming sleepy herself. That very night she and Mr. Bear went to bed a
whole hour earlier than usual. And the next day they never minded at all
how cold it grew outside or how much the wind howled. For not one of Mr.
Bear's family waked up at all! They just slept and slept and slept, the
whole winter long.


THE END




A WORD TO GROWN UPS


To you;--parents, guardians, teachers and all others upon whom devolves
the supremely important responsibility of directing the early years of
development of childhood, this series of TUCK-ME-IN TALES which sketch
such vivid and delightful scenes of the vibrant life of meadow and
woodland should have tremendous appeal. In this collection of stories
you will find precisely the sort of healthy, imaginative entertainment
that is an essential in stimulating thought-germs in the child mind.

Merely from the standpoint of their desirability for helping the growing
tot to pass an idle half hour, any one of these volumes would be worth
your while. But the author had something further than that in mind. He
has, with simplicity and grace, worthy of high commendation, sought to
convey a two-fold lesson throughout the entire series, the first based
upon natural history and the second upon the elementary principles of
living which should be made clear to every child at the earliest age of
understanding.

The first of these aims he has accomplished by adapting every one of his
bird characters to its living counterpart in the realm of biology. The
child learns very definite truths about which the story is woven; learns
in such a fascinating manner that he will not quickly forget, and is
brought into such pleasant intimacy that his immediate sympathy is
aroused.

The author accomplishes the purpose of driving home simple lessons on
good conduct by attributing the many of the same traits of character to
his feathered heroes and heroines that are to be found wherever the
human race made its habitation. The praise-worthy qualities of courage,
love, unselfishness, truth, industry, and humility are portrayed in the
dealings of the field and forest folk and the consequential reward of
these virtues is clearly shown; he also reveals the unhappy results of
greed, jealousy, trickery and other character weaknesses. The effect is
to impress indelibly upon the imagination of the child that certain
deeds are their own desirable reward while certain others are much
better left undone.

If any further recommendation is necessary, would it not be well to
resort to the court of final appeal, the child himself? Simply purchase
a trial copy from your bookseller with the understanding that if it
meets with the disapproval of the little man or woman for whom it is
intended, he will accept its return.


THE TALE OF JOLLY ROBIN

Of course, there is a time when Jolly Robin is only a nestling. Then one
day, after he tumbles out of the apple tree and falls squawking and
fluttering to the ground, he takes his first lesson in flying. So
pleased is Jolly to know that he can actually sail through the air on
his wings, that he goes out into the wide, wide world to shift for
himself. One day, after advising with Jimmy Rabbit, he decides to become
general laugh-maker to the inhabitants of Pleasant Valley, and he
becomes one of Mother Nature's happiest little feathered folk, going
about trying to make things a bit better in the world. True, he falls
into many blunders and has many strange experiences, but his intentions
are always the best, remember.

Slyly tucked away in this story of Jolly Robin and of his adventures, is
much bird lore and philosophy,--both instructive and entertaining.


THE TALE OF BETSY BUTTERFLY

Betsy Butterfly is the owner of a pair of such beautifully colored wings
and her sweet disposition matches them so perfectly that it is a very
common occurrence to hear one of the tiny dwellers in Farmer Green's
meadow remark: "Why, the sun just has to smile on her!" Of course, any
lady so gifted is bound to have many admirers and Betsy is no exception.
But there are a few of her acquaintances who cannot keep from showing
their jealousy of her popularity and these try in various unkind ways
to make her disliked. The story of how she politely overlooks these rude
attempts, in that way causing herself to be all the more thought of, is
the best sort of example to any human girl or boy who wishes to know how
to be sure of making friends. You will find that Betsy is a great girl
for giving parties and perhaps she will give you a few valuable ideas
that will be useful sometime when you have a party of your own.


BUSTER BUMBLEBEE

Buster's intentions are all very good, but he is so awkward and stupid
that he constantly stumbles into trouble, thereby causing his
acquaintances much unnecessary discomfiture and himself no end of
embarrassment. He is, furthermore, a terrific boaster, as you will learn
when you read of his many declarations of the pummeling he would give
the ferocious Robber Fly, if ever he chanced to meet that devouring
assassin. What Buster actually does when the unexpected encounter takes
place will afford you a good laugh at his expense, and, finally, after
you have romped and dallied with him through his many happy excursions
you will close the book with a feeling that it has done you good to have
known him, lazy and blundering though he is, for he is indeed the best
natured fellow, and he is so anxious to buzz into everything that
attracts his attention that you find you have learned a great many
things you never before dreamed of about the tiny creatures of the
fields.


THE TALE OF FREDDIE FIREFLY

Freddie Firefly is most anxious to lighten the cares of his friends in
Pleasant Valley for he is a most unselfish fellow and enjoys nothing
more than seeing other people as happy as he. He has one grave fault,
however, that prevents him from being a very great help, and that is his
inability to remain long in one place. He is so full of spry gaiety that
he never can be quite content unless he is dancing with his relatives in
the hollow near the swamp or darting about Farmer Green's lawn. His
friends often give him advice as to how he may use the wonderful light
which he always carries with him, and finally Mrs. Ladybug tells him he
should go to the railroad and work as a signal-man for the trains. You
will hold your breath as you read about the exciting adventure that
follows this suggestion, and you will no doubt agree with those to whom
he later tells it that he is a very lucky Freddie to escape.


THE TALE OF RUSTY WREN

Rusty Wren is another little neighbor in Pleasant Valley. His particular
home there is Farmer Green's yard where he lives in a bright shiny home
which is really a tin can with a hole in it! And dear me! I forgot all
about Rusty Wren's family--his wife and six baby children who had to be
given Wren food by Rusty and little Chippy, Jr. You will laugh heartily
when you read about Chippy growing so big and fat that he gets stuck in
Rusty's tiny doorway and can't get pulled out. My, what an exciting time
it was! And you will laugh again when you watch Rusty Wren go 'way over
to the bank of Black Creek all ready for a party when there really is no
party. Yes, you will agree with Farmer Green's boy and the rest of our
friends in Pleasant Valley that Rusty certainly is a very interesting
little neighbor.


THE TALE OF DADDY LONG-LEGS

Daddy is a person of such unusual appearance with his eight scrawny legs
in contrast to ordinary people's two, and everything about his private
life is such a mystery to his neighbors that his acquaintances give him
credit for having a marvelous ability to look into the future. In fact,
there are many two-legged humans, even to-day, who think he is a sort of
soothsayer and mystery man. Perhaps, if you are one of these, you will
be inclined to change your mind after reading about his contest with Old
Mr. Crow to see which is really the wiser of the two. And would you not
naturally suppose that anybody with so many legs to carry him would be
the champion walker of the world? Maybe Daddy finds that it takes time
to decide which of his feet he should put forward in taking the next
step, or may be each separate foot has a notion of its own as to the
direction Daddy should choose; at any rate, he proves to be the slowest
traveler imaginable. But he is so popular among his neighbors and you
will like him too--he has so many quaint ideas.


THE TALE OF KIDDIE KATYDID

Kiddy Katydid and his relatives were in possession of a secret that none
of the Pleasant Valley folk can solve, though they waste much time and
energy trying to guess it. Even to this day it is doubtful if anyone
other than Kiddie himself really knows what Katy did! But his friends
are a curious lot and they work their brains over-time to think of some
scheme to make Kiddie tell. If you want to know what they do
accidentally discover about Kiddie himself and how excited every body
becomes as the rare news spreads from mouth to mouth, you will find
that and many other remarkable things about him in this interesting
story of his life in the Maple tree that grows in Farmer Green's yard.
You will like Kiddie. He is very modest and retiring--behaving very much
as any well raised youngster should, and when you understand just how it
happens that he keeps repeating that funny remark about Katy, you can
join him in the hearty laugh he has on his friends.


THE TALE OF OLD MR. CROW

Mr. Crow has a very solemn look--unless you regard him closely. But it
is a very sly, knowing look, if you take pains to stare boldly into his
eyes. Like many human beings, he is fond of clothes, and he particularly
likes gay ones, but perhaps that is because he is so black himself.
Anyhow, so long as he can wear a bright red coat and a yellow
necktie--or a bright red necktie and a yellow coat--he is generally
quite happy. One fall Mr. Crow decides to stay in Pleasant Valley during
the winter, instead of going South, and he remembers all at once that he
will need some warm clothing. Now, Mr. Frog, the tailor, and Jimmy
Rabbit, the shoemaker, know just how to talk to Mr. Crow to sell their
merchandise, playing upon his vanity to buy the latest, and even to "set
the styles," but they have to be pretty keen and sly to get the best of
Mr. Crow in the end. Mr. Crow has his good points as well as his bad
ones, and he helps Farmer Green a lot more than he injures him it is
said. Nevertheless, Farmer Green does not figure that way,--and in
justice to old "Jim Crow," you should read of his adventures for
yourself.


THE TALE OF SOLOMON OWL

All the folks down in Pleasant Valley know Solomon Owl. Well, it's this
way. If you hear Solomon Owl on a dark night when his "Wha-Wha!
Whoo-ah!" sends a chill 'way up your spine, and if you see him you can
never forget him, either. He has great, big, staring eyes that make you
feel queer when you look at his pale face. No, sir, little folks like
Mr. Frog, the tailor, certainly don't like to have any visits from
Solomon Owl when Solomon has a fine appetite. To be sure, Farmer Green
isn't happy when Solomon steals some of his fine chickens, and neither
are the chickens for that matter. But Solomon doesn't have all the fun
on some one else. Oh no! Reddy Woodpecker knows how to tease him by
tapping with his bill on Solomon's wooden house in the daytime, when
every owl likes to sleep and dream of all the nice frogs and fat
chickens they are going to feast on the next night, and then, out comes
Solomon all blinking with his big, black eyes. But this wise owl, who
really isn't as wise as he looks, you know, finds a good way to fool
Reddy and the rest of the folks who like to annoy him, and lives his own
happy life.


THE TALE OF JASPER JAY

Jasper Jay really is a good sort of a fellow even though he does make a
dreadful racket when he is around; but that is his way of talking. He
just likes to tease for the fun of teasing and so naturally he gets into
lots of scraps and seems bound to get into more. Of course, lots of
folks in Pleasant Valley don't like him because he plays tricks and
pranks on them and makes them feel all ruffled up. Why, he even thinks
he can spoil the Singing Society, but do you know, the Society fools
Jasper himself. And that time Jimmy Rabbit teaches Jasper Jay some
manners down by the cedar tree--the poor jay stays there until his feet
are frozen in the water before he finds out--well--you may discover for
yourself what happens next.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]



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