Part 7

Then the beaver said he would swim under the water so that nobody could see him, and he would get right under his house, and come up through the little hole that was in the bottom of his house under the water, and hide, and they wouldn't know where he was. And the badger said he would get in a hole and hide. And all the other animals told what terrible things they would do to this man, when he came to try to take them back to the circus, because they all said they would rather live out in the open air under the trees, and in the beautiful cave, than to be taken back to the circus.

And when they had all finished, the little bear said, "Well, I am glad I am not the man, because I wouldn't want to be killed in so many different ways."

While they were talking, they heard a "Bang! Bang!" and the little Cub Bear ran to the mouth of the cave; and what do you think he saw?

A three-legged bear. He called the Papa Bear, and when he came to the mouth of the cave, he saw that the poor bear looked tired out and very thin, but soon he saw that it was Jimmie Bear, his own son that had been away for so long a time from home. So he called the Mamma Bear and the Circus Bear and said:

"Come quick! Come quick! Here is little Jimmie Bear, and he is coming back home."

The old owl said, "Who-o-o? who-o-o?" just as if he had not heard that it was little Jimmie Bear, but no one paid the slightest attention to the owl, they were all so glad that Jimmie Bear was home again.

As soon as he came to the mouth of the cave, the Papa Bear gave him a great big bear hug, and the Mamma Bear gave him a great big bear hug, and the dear little Cub Bear gave him a great big bear hug, at least as big a hug as a little bear could give, and that was much harder than you can hug, you know.

Of course, the Papa Bear wanted to know all about Jimmie Bear, and Jimmie said that he would tell him how he happened to go away from home and to be gone so long.

JIMMIE BEAR'S STORY

"You remember that when I was a little bear, one day I disobeyed my papa. Papa told me that he did not want me to go far away from home that day, because there were some great grizzly bears coming, and they might want to take a little brown bear away with them, if they should happen to see him playing away from his home. I thought that I would be very careful, for I loved my papa and my mamma very much, and I did not want to be taken away by a great grizzly bear. But I was interested in running around, and I thought I would try to see how far I could run without getting tired, so I ran and ran, on and on, for a long time, and before I knew it I was several miles from home, and I began to grow tired.

"Of course, I remembered at once what my papa had told me, and so started home without waiting for anything. Before I had gone very far I looked at the ground, and I saw that some very large animal had come that way. The tracks looked like great bear tracks, and though I had never seen the tracks of a grizzly bear, I thought that these had been made by the great grizzly that papa had told me about. Of course I was sorry that I had been so careless and forgetful. I wanted to get home without seeing the great grizzly, and just as quickly as I could. I went another way; but before I had gone far, I heard a sound that made my heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, for it sounded like a great grizzly bear, and before I could think what to do, the grizzly had caught me and told me that he was going to take me a long, long way into the woods. I asked him to let me go back to the cave to say good-by to papa and mamma, but the grizzly said that he had not time to let me go, and besides that, if both the Papa Bear and the Mamma Bear should try to keep me, he might have trouble in getting me, even if he were bigger than both of the bears put together.

"So he took me into the far-away land that I am going to tell you about. It is a beautiful land, and there are the most beautiful trees there, and many, many caves where bears could live. I learned to love the land very much, and when I grew up, I married the most beautiful brown bear in the whole world. And we have four of the dearest cubs that you ever saw; but I always wanted to see Papa Bear, and Mamma Bear, and little Cub Bear, and Johnnie Bear, so I have come back, and it is a dreadful journey across a desert. There is no water to drink, and nothing to eat, and, as you see, I nearly died."

The animals all wanted to go and see the beautiful land that the three-legged Jimmie Bear told them of, but they were afraid to go for fear that they might die of thirst.

While they were wondering how they would cross the desert, they suddenly heard a loud "Bang! Bang!" and the little Cub Bear ran to the mouth of the cave.

He said, "I see some very strange animals. They have the funniest necks--almost as long as the giraffe's, but curved instead of straight, and their heads are very different from the giraffe. The animals have long hair on their necks, and on their backs they have two hills--small ones of course; and they walk very quietly; you can scarcely hear the animals when they place their feet on the ground."

Just then the old owl said, "Who-o-o-o? who-o-o?"

But the animals did not answer. The Circus Bear said that he knew what the animals were; they were camels.

"How many of them are there?" asked the Circus Bear.

And the little Cub Bear began to count, "One, two, three, four," and so on, until he had counted twelve camels.

When the camels came to the cave, the Circus Bear told the little Cub Bear to tell them to come in. The camels came in, but they said they were not in the habit of living in caves. They lived on the desert.

"How can you live on the desert, when there is no water to drink, and nothing to eat there?" asked the little Cub Bear.

The oldest of the camels replied that the camel was a very strange and peculiar animal, and they were made so that they could live on the desert, where there was nothing to drink and nothing to eat.

Of course, the little Cub Bear wanted to know how it was possible for an animal to live without anything to eat, and with nothing to drink. But the camel told him that they had a place to carry water and a place to carry food. He had ten stomachs for water, and four stomachs for food.

The little Cub Bear thought a while, and then said that it seemed to him that if the camels could live so long on the desert, it would be easy for them to get to that new place where the Jimmie Bear lived. The old camel said that it would be very easy, and that the camels could take not only themselves, but that they could carry some of the other animals, for they were used to carrying big loads. That was why the men wanted them. They used the camels instead of the freight trains. So it was agreed that the little Cub Bear, and some of the other animals, should ride on the camels' backs, and that they would take turns riding. They would start at once, as soon as the camels had a good chance to take a big drink of water, and fill all four of their stomachs with food.

But the camels said, "You must be sure that you do not stick your sharp claws into our backs."

The bears all agreed with the animals that they would be very careful, and not dig their claws into the camels.

So they soon started. All of the animals ate and drank all that they could hold. The little Cub Bear was to ride all of the time, for he was so small and so weak. The three-legged bear, too, was to have a ride most of the way, for he was very tired, and had come so long a journey with only three legs. The lion said that he thought he could walk most of the way. He was used to the desert. And the camel said he was very glad that the lion was going to walk, for his claws were very sharp, and he was afraid that the lion might forget and stick his sharp claws into his back.

Well, you would have laughed to see the little Cub Bear try to get on the camel. The sly old camel knew that the little Cub Bear could not climb up, but the little fellow was in such a hurry to start, that the camel let him try to get on the best way he could.

Finally, the little fellow said, "Dear old camel, please tell me how to get on your back."

Then the camel said, "Why didn't you ask me before? There is only one way that you can get on the back of a camel. I will kneel down and show you."

But as soon as the camel knelt down, the little bear saw at once that he could get on his back, and he scrambled up and said:

"Get up, get up, Mr. Camel."

The camel got up, but it was a very funny way that he did it. When the camel straightened out his hind legs, the little Cub Bear nearly fell off; then the camel gave his hind legs another hump, to get them real straight, and what do you suppose happened to the Cub Bear?

He fell off, and got a great bump on the ground, but it did not hurt him very much, and the camel tried it again. This time the little Cub Bear managed to stick on.

The tiger, the kangaroo, the two rats, the ant-bear, and the leopard all got on the camels.

The hippopotamus tried to get on a camel, and he looked so odd that all of the animals laughed, and told him that he would have to walk anyway, because he was too big to ride on the back of a camel. The hippopotamus said that he thought he would stay in the lake the beaver had made; that he could not go far from water, for he liked to live in the water all of the time. The beaver said that he was going to stay, too, and that if any of the men came, the hippopotamus could hide under the water, and he could go into his little house and stay there out of sight until the men had gone away. So they had to leave the beaver and the hippopotamus behind. But they all said that some time they would come again, to see the hippopotamus and the beaver. The badger, the giraffe, and all of the other animals started on their long journey to that land where the wife and the little cubs of Jimmie Bear lived.

That night they were all very tired, and they had to lie down to sleep without anything to eat or any water to drink. All except the little Cub Bear, who had some berries in a pail that he had carried on the camel's back.

Little Cub Bear wanted them all, but he thought, "Poor papa has walked all day, and has had nothing to eat or to drink, and the way was very hard."

The little Cub Bear was very hungry and very thirsty--hungrier and thirstier than you have ever been; but he said, very sweetly and very politely, "Papa, you may have some of my berries."

But the Papa Bear said that he would not take any of them. Then the little Cub Bear offered some of the berries to the Mamma Bear, but she would not take any of the berries. He offered some to the Circus Bear, and the Circus Bear would not take any. Then he offered some to Jimmie Bear, and Jimmie Bear took just one. Then the little Cub Bear offered some to all of the animals, but no one would take any, except the baby kangaroo.

I rather think that the baby kangaroo would have taken all of them, but his mamma would let him have only three. So the little Cub Bear had all the rest of the berries, and they tasted ever so much better than they would have tasted if he had not been willing to share them with the other animals. Don't you think they did?

The next morning the animals started and traveled all day. That night, just as it was getting dark, they came to the edge of the terrible desert, and they saw a little stream of water and plenty of things to eat, and there they stayed that night. In the morning they started again, and soon came to the most beautiful trees, and grass, and flowers that they had ever seen, and Jimmie Bear pointed up to a cave on the mountain side where his wife and little bears were. And right there were three of the cutest little bears that you ever saw playing in the sun. What a noise they made when they saw their papa and all of the other animals. The Mamma Bear ran to the mouth of the cave, and how happy she was to see Jimmie. The animals were all as happy as could be in the beautiful forest, and what do you think the little bears of Jimmie Bear called the little Cub Bear? They called him "Uncle Cub."

That night the Cub Bear teased the Circus Bear to tell him stories. "I want you to tell me a story about the time you took a ride in a great boat."

And the Circus Bear said, "I will tell you a story about the time we crossed the great ocean and went over to another land."

HOW THE CIRCUS CROSSED THE OCEAN

"You may not believe it, little Cub Bear, because there is so much land, so many trees and rocks, and so little water where we are, but three-fourths of the whole world is covered with water; and I am going to tell you about the time that I crossed the ocean.

"The circus was in a great city. The men said it was New York. And one day, without our knowing anything about it, they rolled the big wagons down on the wharf where there was a great ship lying. This ship was as large as a dozen houses all put together--as large as the circus tents all put together, but a different shape, of course. And then we saw that all the men that belonged to the circus were on board the ship. They began to wheel the wagons on board, and took the animals out, one at a time, and put them in great cages on board the ship.

"When it came time to put Jumbo on the ship, he didn't want to go. And how do you suppose they got him on board? They put great straps under him, and then they lowered a great rope from one of the masts and fastened it into the strap, and they started the engine going, and the first thing Jumbo knew, he was hanging in the air like a little toy elephant, and he waved his trunk around wildly and kicked his legs, but it didn't do him a bit of good. And then they hoisted him way up in the air as high as a house, and then they swung him right over, and lowered him clear through two or three decks, way down to the bottom of the ship. And there they found a place for him.

"Then they brought back the straps, and put them around the hippopotamus, and lifted him way up in the air and swung him over, and lowered him way down into the bottom of the ship. And then they raised the camel and the rhinoceros, in the same way. But the lions they brought aboard, cages and all. After all the animals were on board, and all the people belonging to the circus were on board, we heard a great gong ring, and then the big engines began to turn, and the ship began to move. The engine didn't go, 'Chu-chu,' like a locomotive, and there was no sound, except, 'Throb! throb! throb! throb!' which kept up until we were clear across the ocean, all day and all night, and the great ship quivered as the engine throbbed.

"But this wasn't the worst of it. We hadn't gone very far, until everything began to move. The cages went up and down, and up and down, and up and down, until I got dizzy, and all the other animals seemed to be dizzy. Then I felt so dreadfully, dreadfully sick, that I didn't want to move or say anything to anybody, or look at anybody, or think of anything.

"Once I opened one eye and looked out, and I saw that the men were lying around just in the same way that the animals were, and they looked awfully white and sick, and they didn't say anything to anybody, and they didn't want anything to eat, and we didn't want anything to eat, and I spent all my time wishing that the old boat would stop rocking, and pitching, and turning, and twisting all the time. And the old ship would go down, down, down, and just as soon as we would get used to its going down, down, down, it would turn and go up, up, up, and just as soon as we got used to its going up, up, up, it would turn and go down, down, down again. And when the ship started up, my stomach wanted to stay down, and when the ship would start down, it seemed as though my stomach wanted to stay up. And so I got terribly sore on the inside, and all the other animals seemed to be terribly sore. I hugged myself as hard as I could to keep from coming to pieces. And I saw all of the other bears hugging themselves. All the animals were lying down looking sleepy. Everybody seemed to be sleepy, except some of the men who were dressed in blue.

"They ran about, and whistled, and sang, and blew tobacco smoke in our faces, and this made us feel terribly sick. But they seemed to be having a splendid time. After a while I learned that these were the sailors, and that they didn't mind the ship going up and down, and up and down, all the time.

"After a while we all got so that we didn't mind it much. And then we began to eat. It seemed as though we never would get enough. We ate, and ate, and ate. We ate more than enough to make up for all the time when we didn't eat anything. And some people who looked so pale, and so sick, and so weak, seemed to eat and eat and eat, and some of them got so fat, before we got to the other side of the water, that you would hardly have known them.

"One day the ship pitched and tossed and rolled worse than it ever had, and for some reason the engine stopped. I heard a man say that something was broken, and as soon as the engine stopped, it just seemed as though that old ship would go to pieces. She rose higher and went lower. And one time there was a great splash, and the biggest lot of water you ever saw came right down where the animals were.

"The hippopotamus thought it was fine, until he tasted the water, and then he made up the most awful face that you ever saw; and you can imagine what kind of a face it was, for he is homely enough anyway. His nose is bigger than his face, and his mouth is right on the end of his nose. I asked him what the trouble was, and he said it wasn't the kind of water he liked; it tasted of salt and was bitter. It made him feel as though he never wanted to eat anything again as long as he lived.

"I noticed, though, that the seal and the walrus seemed to enjoy it ever so much. I asked them why, and they said that was the kind of water they liked; that was the kind of water they had always lived in--salt water.

"It seemed a long time, but after a while the engine started up again. Then the ship was more quiet, but it kept going up and down, and up and down, until we got clear across the water, and then we noticed that the deck we were on became as quiet and steady as a floor. I heard one of the sailor men say that we were coming into a harbor. And sure enough, we soon stopped, and the men began to take the animals out again.

"They hung the elephant on the end of a long rope, with straps around him, just as they had before, and the camel, and the hippopotamus, and the rhinoceros, and they took us all out and put us on a train. Everything looked so green and nice. How glad we were to be on shore! But we couldn't understand anything the men said, because they all talked a different language. It sounded like, 'Jabber, jabber, jabber, mum-mum-mum.'

"I asked the lion, who had been in the circus longest, what it meant. He said we were in a new country, where everybody talked a different language, and that there were lots of other countries, where they talked other languages.

"We stayed in this new country a long while, but finally came back. And that is the end of my story."

The little Cub Bear said, "I would like to see the ocean, but I don't think I would ride on a ship, if it makes you feel so terribly bad inside."

And the Circus Bear said, "You would soon forget all about that and just remember the beautiful things there are to see. I am glad I went across."

Then the little Cub Bear went to bed and went to sleep, and that night he dreamed so hard that--what do you think happened to him? He rolled clear out of bed and fell into a stream in the cave--_kersplash!_

The Papa Bear asked him what the trouble was, and he said he dreamed that he was on board ship and was nearly drowned. Some dreams, you see, come true.

When morning came, the Papa Bear called the little Cub Bear to him and said:

"Now, my little cub, it is time for you to go out alone, to see if you can not find something to eat for yourself. I think if you go and search carefully, you will be able to find some strawberries, and if you can not find strawberries, you may be able to find some blackberries. Don't try to eat any of the gooseberries that you will see, because the wild gooseberries you will find are all covered with stickers, and they will stick in your tongue. If you find a tree filled with honey, come back and tell Papa Bear, because I think you had better not try yet to get the honey out of the tree, for the bees might sting you. And if you find any bumble-bees, be sure to let them alone, for they have holes in the ground, where they make their honey, and they have very long stingers, and they would sting you very hard, so you better come home at once and tell papa. But if you find the berries, you can eat all you want. And if you find a _big_ patch of berries, you better come home and tell Mamma Bear, and then we will all go and get all the berries we want to eat."

OUT ALL ALONE

So the little Cub Bear started out for the very first time in his life all alone, and he did enjoy everything so much. He finally found a patch of berries, and there he ate all he wanted, and then he went over behind a log and lay down and went to sleep. When he awoke, it was nearly dark, and he knew that he must hurry home. He started, but had gone only a few steps when a little animal scampered across the path and ran up a tree.

The Cub Bear thought he would like to see this animal, and so he climbed up the tree after it, and there he found a strange looking animal. It had a tail something like a rat, but it was a great deal bigger than a rat, and bigger than a cat. It had long soft fur; but as soon as the little Cub Bear touched it, it rolled itself into a ball, and fell to the ground. Cub Bear clambered down the tree as fast as he could, and there at the foot of the tree he found this strange animal all rolled up like a ball. The Cub Bear smelt of it, and rolled it over very carefully, and looked it all over, but it seemed to be dead, and he felt so sorry to think that this little animal was dead.

And when he went home, the first thing he told his papa was, "Papa Bear, I saw the strangest little animal to-day, and I am very sorry that I killed it."

Then he told the Papa Bear how the little animal scampered up the tree, and how it rolled up into a furry ball, and how it dropped from the tree and seemed to be dead. The Papa Bear said:

"My dear little Cub Bear, the animal was not dead at all. That was just his way of fooling you, and making you think that he was dead, so that you would not bother him any more. The animal was an opossum. That is the way they always do when they are frightened, or when they think some one is going to take them and hurt them."

Then the little Cub Bear told his papa what a fine time he had had, and how he had found the berries and had eaten all he could, and that he was nearly ready to go to sleep.

Next morning, bright and early, the Papa Bear called the little Cub Bear again, for he wanted to teach him that he must work for himself, and find his own living, and he said:

"Little Cub Bear, do you want to go again into the woods to-day, and see if you can find some more berries?"

And the little Cub Bear said, "Yes, papa, I want to go, because I want to learn to work for myself, and take care of myself."