Part 3

"Now, you know that bears always smell of a thing when they want to know what it is, so this little bear said to himself, 'Papa didn't tell me not to smell of the saw; he told me not to _touch_ it. I think that I will smell of this wonderful thing that eats through the logs and makes them into boards.' He went closer and closer. He was a little afraid even to smell of the saw after all that his papa had told him, but he went closer and closer to the saw, until finally he reached out as far as he could with his nose to smell. Ouch! ouch! ouch!! The awfullest howling and squealing that you ever heard from a little bear.

"The Papa Bear ran in as fast as he could, and what do you think he saw? The poor little bear's face was all covered with blood, and he was howling and screaming as hard as he could. You see, the little bear could not see the teeth of the great saw, for they were going around so fast, and he had put his nose too close, and the saw had sawed the end of his nose right in two.

"Well, the poor Papa Bear was very, very sorry. He licked the blood off the little bear's face, and took him over to the house that the man had made for them. After a long time the little bear went to sleep. But his nose hurt so badly that he awoke in the night many times.

"The next morning the little bear said to his papa, 'Papa, I am sorry that I didn't obey you; you knew best; you always do, and I'll try not to be a bad little bear again.' The Papa Bear said, 'That's right, my little one, I am sorry that you were so badly hurt; I will not scold you, for I am sure that you have learned it is really best to do what papa tells you to do, and not to do the things that your papa tells you not to do.' The little bear said, 'I have, papa.' What do you suppose they called the little bear after that. They called him the 'Split-Nosed Bear.'"

When the Papa Bear had finished the story, he said to the Cub Bear, "What do you think of that story?"

And the little Cub Bear answered, "I think that it is best to do what papa says."

Then the Papa Bear said, "That is right. Now you must run back into the cave and go to sleep."

That night the little Cub Bear dreamed a bad dream. I do not know what it was, but he spoke aloud in his sleep and said, "I am always going to mind my papa," and then he felt the end of his nose with his paw. Can you guess what he was dreaming about?

The next morning the little Cub Bear wakened very early and rubbed his eyes and wondered whether any of the animals would come from the circus. He listened and listened.

Pretty soon he heard a very faint little patter, as if made by very small feet, and the Cub Bear listened and listened, and then he went to the door and looked out, and he said:

"I see a very strange animal coming. He has the shortest little legs. He is smaller than a very small dog, about as large as two cats, and he has a funny little sharp nose, and he has black and white stripes down his back."

Just then the owl saw the animal, and he said, "Who-o-o? who-o-o?" but the animal didn't answer him. He came right along to the mouth of the den.

Just as he reached there, the Circus Bear said, "I know who that is. That is Mr. Badger. Ask him to come in."

So the little Cub Bear said very politely, "Come in, Mr. Badger;" and the badger came in.

The Cub Bear said, "We are going to try to build a house large enough for all the animals, so if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay. Can you help us?"

And the badger said, "I would be very glad to help you if I could, because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus."

And the little Cub Bear said, "What can you do?"

And the badger said, "I can dig a round hole, just as big around as I am, and dig very fast."

And the little Cub Bear said, "That is nice. Perhaps you can make us a chimney. Here is a place in the side of the den where there is nothing but earth and dirt."

He took the badger over and showed him, and the badger said, "Yes, I can make you a fine chimney." So he commenced to scratch, and he scratched and he scratched very fast, digging up, instead of down; and he scratched and scratched, and the first thing you know, when the little Cub Bear looked, he didn't see any badger, but he saw the dirt falling out of the hole where the badger was; and the badger scratched and scratched, and more dirt came down. First thing you knew, no more dirt came down, but the little Cub Bear went and looked up the hole, and he could see clear out to the blue sky. Just then they heard a patter at the door, and there was Mr. Badger. He had made a hole clear out into the open air, a nice chimney, and he came in and sat down with the other animals.

That day the animals all worked as hard as ever, and at night when the Papa Bear sat down to rest, the little Cub Bear ran over to him and said, "Papa, please tell me another story about the 'Little-Split-Nosed-Bear-that-would-not-mind-his-papa.'"

"All right," said the Papa Bear, "I will, if you will promise me to go to bed as soon as I have finished."

The little Cub Bear said, "I will, papa." So the Papa Bear told:

THE STORY OF THE "LITTLE-SPLIT-NOSED-BEAR-THAT-WOULD-NOT-MIND-HIS-PAPA"

"You remember that the little bear that had his nose split by the great circular saw lived with a man who owned a large saw-mill. For a long time after the little bear had his nose sawed in two, he kept away from the mill.

"He said to himself, 'I will never go in that mill to be hurt again, and I will mind my papa.' For his papa had told him to keep out of the saw-mill.

"But one day the little Split-Nosed Bear was playing with a dog that belonged to the man who owned the saw-mill. They were having a fine time, playing bear hunt. The little Split-Nosed Bear was playing the bear, and the little dog was playing that he was a big bloodhound dog running after the bear. The dog was really a very small dog, white, with brown ears, and a stub tail. You see he lived in a saw-mill, too. The little Split-Nosed Bear would growl, g-r-o-w-l, g-r-o-w-l, and the little dog would run away as if he was terribly frightened. Then the dog would run after the little Split-Nosed-Bear and bark, and he could bark very, very loud for so small a dog. Bow! wow! wow! Bow! wow! wow! Then the little Split-Nosed-Bear would run away just as if he was terribly frightened. Then the little Split-Nosed-Bear would hide, and it would take the dog a long time to find him.

"They were having a splendid time jumping around and running in and out of the dark places, when the little Split-Nosed-Bear ran into the saw-mill, for he was playing so hard that he forgot all about the saw and what his papa had told him. The little dog was so close to the little Split-Nosed-Bear that the little bear ran as fast as he could, and jumped up on to an iron platform that looked just as if it were made on purpose for a little bear to jump up on, and there the little Split-Nosed-Bear stood looking down at the dog and g-r-o-w-l-i-n-g, g-r-o-w-l-i-n-g, at him. The little dog jumped up as far as he could and bit the Split-Nosed-Bear on his heel. Then the little Split-Nosed-Bear whirled around like a flash, and what do you suppose happened?

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

"And such growling and howling and squealing you never heard. The little dog ran away as fast as he could, for he was really frightened this time. 'K-i-yi! K-i-yi! K-i-yi!' he howled, as he ran out of the door.

"The Papa Bear heard the noise. He was afraid that the Split-Nosed-Bear was really killed this time, so he ran as fast as he could to the little bear, and--what do you suppose he saw? There was the little Split-Nosed-Bear rolling about on the floor, and up on the iron platform where he had been playing was a little brown bear's ear. Oh! how sorry the Papa Bear felt to think his poor little bear had lost his ear, just because he had forgotten to do as his papa had told him to do. You see the little Split-Nosed-Bear had been standing on the iron platform of a band saw. What he thought was a strap whirling around two wheels was really a saw. When the Split-Nosed-Bear had turned around quickly, his ear had come against the saw, and it was sawed off quicker than you could think, with a zip-p-p and a buz-z-z.

"The Papa Bear licked the stump of the ear and said, 'I am so sorry, dear little Split-Nosed-Bear, that you forgot and did not mind your papa.'

"As soon as he could talk the little Split-Nosed-Bear said, 'I'll always mind my papa after this.'

"The Papa Bear put him to bed, but his ear hurt so that he wakened several times in the night. After the little Split-Nosed-Bear got well they always called him the little 'One-Eared-Bear-that-would-not-mind-his-papa.'

"This is the end of my story about the little Split-Nosed-Bear," said the Papa Bear, as he finished. "Now, little Cub Bear, run to bed in the back of the cave, and go to sleep as quickly as you can."

The little Cub Bear ran quickly to bed, and went to sleep in the dark alone, for he wanted to be a brave little bear. But after he had been sleeping a while, he talked in his sleep and said, "I am always going to mind my papa." Then he felt of his ear and m-o-a-n-e-d. Can you guess what the little Cub Bear was dreaming about?

The next morning the little Cub Bear wakened very early, and as soon as he had rubbed his eyes, he wondered if any of the animals would come that day. He listened, the Circus Bear listened, and Susie Bear listened. Pretty soon they heard something coming up the path, and little Cub Bear rushed to the mouth of the den to see what it was, and he said:

"I see a very strange animal coming up the path. It has the most beautiful fur I ever saw, ever so much finer than bear's fur, and the animal looks something like Mr. Badger, only its fur is all one color, and it has the funniest tail, almost as big as a shovel, flat and broad."

Just then the owl saw the animal and said, "Who-o-o? who-o-o?"

But the animal didn't answer at all, except he gave two slaps with his broad flat tail on the ground.

And the Circus Bear said, "I know who that is. That is Mr. Beaver. Ask him to come in."

Mr. Beaver came to the door, and the little Cub Bear said very politely, "Come in, Mr. Beaver."

The beaver came in, and the little Cub Bear said, "We are going to try to build a house big enough for all the animals, so if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay. Can you help us?"

And the beaver said, "I will be very glad to, because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus."

The little Cub Bear said, "What can you do?"

And the beaver said, "I can build dams across streams so as to make beautiful lakes, such as they have in parks, and I can build a nice, round house in the lake to live in and large enough for a little bear to live in, if he can only get inside without getting wet."

And the Cub Bear said, "That would be fine, because we could have a park for the animals to play in, and some of the animals would rather live in the water, anyway, than live in a cave."

So the beaver said, "All right; I will make you a dam and a beautiful lake."

So they all went down to the stream, and the beaver went up to a tree, and he commenced to bite it. He bit, and he bit, and he bit, and the chips just flew, and he bit, and he bit, and he bit, and the chips just flew, and the first thing they knew, the tree fell over. Then he went to another tree, not a very large tree, only about so thick (three inches). Then he went to another tree, and he bit, and he bit, and bit, and the first thing they knew, that tree fell over. So he kept on until he had cut down a great many trees, and then he took them down and put them in the stream, and he put in leaves; and then the water began to rise higher and higher, and the beaver kept piling in and piling in leaves and trees, and soon he had a high dam clear across the stream. The next morning when they looked, the water had filled up above the dam and made a beautiful lake. Soon the beaver went to work, and made a house out of mud. He used his fore feet like hands, walking on his hind feet, and he used his flat tail to make a beautiful mud house, big enough to live in himself, and big enough for little Cub Bear to get in, if he could only get in without getting wet. Could you make so nice a mud house?

And the little Cub Bear said, "Thank you, Mr. Beaver," very politely. "I am very glad my brother was good to Mr. Beaver in the circus."

As soon as they had seen the dam built by the beaver, all of the animals began to work again as hard as they could work to make the cave larger, because it was much too small for the animals that were already there, and the elephant could not get in at all.

At night they were all very tired, but as soon as the Papa Bear sat down, the little Cub Bear ran over and got as close as he could to his papa and asked him to tell another story about the "Little-One-Eared-Bear-that-would-not-mind-his-papa." So although he was very tired, the Papa Bear began the story of:

THE "ONE-EARED-BEAR-THAT-WOULD-NOT MIND-HIS-PAPA"

"You remember that the little bear had promised that he would not go into the saw-mill at all; but one day the little One-Eared-Bear was very lonesome. He wanted to go into the mill, but he remembered that his papa had told him again, that very morning, that he must be sure to keep away from the saw-mill. He thought a while, and then he said to himself, 'Papa didn't tell me to keep out of the _planing-mill_. I think that I will go in there.'

"Now the planing-mill was just as bad a place for little bears as the saw-mill itself, and the little One-Eared-Bear knew this, but you see he _wanted_ to go in, and so he went in any way. What do you suppose happened to the One-Eared-Bear this time?

"He played for a while, and had a very fine time. He enjoyed it so much that he said he would come again; he liked to see the wheels go round and round with a whiz-z-z-z-z-z and whir-r-r-r. Just then the little One-Eared-Bear saw a funny machine with a thing buzzing around that looked like a roller such as a cook uses to roll out cookies with.

"The little bear said, 'I want to feel the wind that must be made by this roller going so fast, but I'll not get close enough to touch the thing, for I might get hurt, and I don't want to get hurt again.'

"So the little One-Eared-Bear reached out his paw very carefully, closer and closer. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Such howling and squealing you never heard. What do you think had happened? The little One-Eared-Bear had touched the sharp knives or planes that whirl round and round in a planer. You see they go around so fast that you can not see them at all, for they look just like a solid roller. Well, the poor little One-Eared-Bear's foot was bleeding and looked terrible.

"The Papa Bear heard the little One-Eared-Bear's howling, and ran in to the mill as fast as he could, and there he saw that the little one had lost all the toes of one foot. The Papa Bear licked the little one's foot, and did everything that he could to make his little bear feel better, but he could not put back those poor little toes. The little One-Eared-Bear was very, very sorry, too. Once he whimpered, and told his papa that he was ever so sorry that he had not done as his papa had told him to do, and said that he would never, never again do anything that his papa told him not to do. But that didn't make his toes grow again.

"The little One-Eared-Bear went to bed that night, but he didn't sleep very well, because his foot hurt him so much. After a long while the foot healed, so that the little bear could walk around, but he always limped as long as he lived. He said that he could never again forget to do as his papa told him to do, because every step that he took he remembered that foot, and how he had lost all his toes by not doing as his papa told him. After that they didn't call the little bear the little One-Eared-Bear any more. They always called him--what do you suppose? The Club-foot Bear."

When the little Cub Bear's papa had finished telling the story of the little One-Eared-Bear, the little Cub Bear said, "I think that it is best to do what papa says."

And the Papa Bear said, "That's right, dear little cub. Now run back into the cave and go to sleep."

The little Cub Bear ran quickly to the back part of the cave, where it was all dark, and went to bed on some roots and brush and was soon asleep. When he was fast asleep, he talked in his sleep and said, "I am always going to do what my papa tells me to do." And then he felt of one of his paws and moaned, m-o-a-n-e-d, a sad little moan. Can you guess what the little Cub Bear was dreaming about?

The next morning the beaver and the owl and the monkey were talking together, and the beaver said:

"I am going down to live in that beautiful mud house that I made yesterday in the lake. The house has several rooms inside, and the door is under the water. I can swim out there, and then dive under the water and come up inside the house. No one could find me in there. When I am swimming around in the lake, or working on the dam, if I see any one coming, I will jump into the water and hit the water two great slaps with my tail."

And the monkey said, "Yes, I know how that sounds. That sounds just like a gun."

The owl said as soon as he saw any one coming he would say, "Who-o-o? who-o-o?"

And the monkey said that he thought he would go out every morning and see if he couldn't find some of the animals and bring them up to the cave, and see if they would like to live there in the cave, if it could be made big enough for them.

So the beaver went down to the dam to work, and the monkey went out to see if he could find any of the animals, and the old owl flew up into the tree, and sat out on the end of a dead limb and waited.

Before very long the little Cub Bear heard, "Bang! Bang!" He knew the beaver had seen some animal coming, and had struck the water with his tail, so he ran to the mouth of the cave to see what it was. Soon he heard a rustling noise and looked down the path.

"I see a large animal coming," he said. "He looks very fierce. He is as large as a large bear, but he is yellow all over, and has long, shaggy hair all over his head, and beautiful, large eyes, and a long tail, with a tassel on the end of it."

Just then the owl saw this animal and said, "Who-o-o? who-o-o?"

The animal opened his mouth and gave the most awful, "Roar!! Roar!! Roar!!! Roar!!!!" you ever heard. It frightened the little Cub Bear so that he didn't stop to hear what the Circus Bear said, or find out what kind of an animal it was at all, but he ran clear back in the very back of the cave, into Jenny's room, and there he waited, almost frightened to death.

As soon as the little Cub Bear got over his fright, he noticed the air blowing through a crack. It seemed to come right out of the mountain. He did not understand, and thought he would ask his brother about it. Just then the Circus Bear said, "Come out, come out, little Cub Bear; don't be afraid; the animal is a lion, and he won't hurt you, because he is a tame lion, and is a very good friend of mine."

So the little Cub Bear came out and went to the mouth of the cave, just in time to meet the lion and the monkey, and he said very politely, "Come in, Mr. Lion." And the lion came in, and the little Cub Bear said, "We are going to try to build a house big enough for all the animals, so if they come to see us, we will have a place for them to stay. Can you help us?"

And the lion said, "I would be very glad to help you if I could, because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus."

And little Cub Bear said, "What can you do?"

And the lion said, "I don't know. I never built a house, because I always lived in the jungle, where there are lots of trees and grass, and we found our houses already built, just like your den. But I will do anything you want me to. I can jump ever so far."

And the little Cub Bear said, "That is nice. Let's see how far you can jump."

Then the Papa Bear and the Mamma Bear, and the little Cub Bear, and the monkey all went out to see how far the lion could jump. The owl flapped his great wings and said, "To-whit! To-whit! To-whit!"

The lion crept away, then he said:

"Now, I will show you how I catch things to eat."

And he pointed to a log of wood ten or fifteen feet away, and he said, "I will show you what I would do if that log were a deer."

The lion crouched and lay as still as a little mouse, and the bears were all still, waiting to see what the lion would do. There was not a sound in the forest. Suddenly, little Cub Bear saw a yellow flash through the air and heard a thud. Then he looked at the log of wood, and there was the lion on the log with his claws stuck into it.

And the little Cub Bear said, "My! I am glad I am not a deer, and that the lion does not want me for his dinner."

The animals worked all morning, trying to make the cave larger, but the Papa Bear went off with little Susie Bear to see what they could find to eat. When dinner time came, the animals all rested for a while.

As they were sitting there talking, little Cub Bear said to the lion, "Mr. Lion, I wish you would tell me a story about the most narrow escape you ever had in your life."

THE LION'S STORY OF HIS MOST NARROW ESCAPE

"Well," said the lion, "you know I used to live in Africa, and used to eat deer and other animals. You remember I showed you this morning how I would catch deer?

"Well, one night it was very dark, and I climbed up on a bank, and there I waited. I could not hear a sound. Everything was just as still as could be. Suddenly, a long way off, I heard a sound as if an animal was moving. Below the bank there was a path that the animals took when they went to get water, and it seemed to me that this animal was coming along the path, and would soon be right under the place where I was waiting. I watched and watched, and the animal came nearer and nearer and nearer; but it was very dark, and I couldn't see a thing, and I was very sure, any way, that it was a deer, and that I could have him for my supper. The animal came nearer and nearer, and, finally, I gave a great leap; and what do you suppose I landed upon? The back of a rhinoceros.

"You know a rhinoceros has a skin almost as hard as iron, and right on the end of his nose two horns, very sharp. If I had landed on those horns, it surely would have killed me. The rhinoceros was terribly frightened, and so was I. He snorted and roared almost like a locomotive. I tried to dig my claws into his back, but I couldn't get through his tough hide at all. It was just like trying to scratch a locomotive. He jumped and rolled over and hurt my foot, and I found I couldn't move, because he had one of his great feet on my claws."

Then the lion pointed to his claw and showed how it was all bent and twisted and scarred, and said, "That is where the rhinoceros stepped on my foot.

"Finally the rhinoceros grew so angry that he put his tongue out. I reached up and bit a hole clear through his tongue, and then he ran away as fast as he could, and I ran away as fast as I could, but I had to run on three feet. And that is the end of my story."

The little Cub Bear looked at the lion, then he looked at the lion's lame foot, and then he scratched his head and said, "I think it is a good plan to 'look before you leap.'"

And the lion said, "I wish somebody had told me that a long time ago."

After the lion had finished his story, and the animals had eaten their dinner, they commenced to work again, and worked all afternoon. Late that night the Papa Bear came home with a lot of strawberries that he had found, and all of the bears had a fine supper. The elephant ate hay and grass and the other animals found something they liked to eat.