WHEN THE STORM CAME
Big Father Bear and middle-sized Mother Bear were often obliged to leave Little Bear at home when they went away on business. Early one morning, when they were going after honey, they said, "Be a good child, Sonny Bear, while we are gone. Don't step outside the front gate or the back gate."
Little Bear promised, and all the forenoon he played happily in the garden, and sang:
"Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!
Ta-de-dum, dum, dum!"
as only a happy little bear can sing.
Early in the afternoon Mother Deer passed the house. "Little Bear," she called "there is a big storm coming, and your parents are away. Come home with me and stay until the storm is over."
"I thank you," answered Little Bear, most politely, "but I promised father and mother that I wouldn't go outside the yard."
Soon Father Rabbit came hopping along home.
"Storm coming, Baby Bear," he called. "Come home with me until it is over. There is nothing like a warm, dry burrow when there is a storm."
A big, wet, shaggy dog tumbled into the room
But Little Bear would not go. Soon Mrs. Reynard came hastening homeward.
"Come, child, come!" she called to Little Bear. "Come and cuddle up with my children until the storm is over." But Baby Bear would not go, although the clouds were piling up and up above the forest, and the trees were beginning to toss their branches to and fro. One by one the squirrels, the butterflies, the birds, and the bees went by. Baby Bear felt queer and lonely; but he would not go outside the yard, although other neighbors invited him to their homes.
At last pit-pat, pat, pat, patter—patter—patter down came big drops of rain. Suddenly two clouds rushed together over the little house in the forest, and they roared—crashety—crashety—bang—bang—bang! Little Bear knew that the sound was only thunder, and that the blinding flashes that soon came thick and fast were nothing but lightning, but he ran into the house and shut the door.
Big Bear had often told Little Bear that if ever he felt queer and lonely, the thing to do was to whistle. Little Bear felt queer and lonely now, so he puckered up his lips and whistled cheerily, although the storm made such an uproar that his best whistling sounded weak. Weaker still was a little pitiful whine outside the door, but Little Bear heard it, ran to the door, and opened it wide. A big, wet, shaggy dog tumbled into the room.
Little Bear was so glad to see the dog that he ran to the cupboard to get him some bread. When he came back he thought the poor dog was dead, but he came to life instantly, and winked at Little Bear. Then he laughed, and rolled over and over on a rug, and dried his wet fur.
"I believe I'll get him some fruit," Little Bear said to himself, as he took a clean dish and went to the cupboard. When he came back the dog was sitting in Big Bear's chair, playing Big Bear's flute!
Little Bear ran upstairs to get the dog a coat. When he came back, the dog was pretending to ride a goat! Sonny Bear then went to get him some shoes, and when he came back that dog was reading the news. Just for fun, Little Bear then looked for a key to fit in the lock, and sure enough, that dog began to wind the clock!
"Now I know who you are!" declared Little Bear. "You are Mother Hubbard's dog!"
And then the dog, because he was so glad that Little Bear knew him at last, began to dance a jig, and he did tricks, one after another, that kept Little Bear laughing until the storm was over.
Soon came Mother Hubbard, searching for her dog, "Oh, Little Bear," she said, "I thank you for being so kind to my dog! He hasn't had a bone for so long on account of my cupboard's being bare! He would have perished in the storm but for you, and without my dog I couldn't expect to get into another Christmas stocking! I wouldn't be worth mentioning if I were separated from my dog."
"Bow-wow!" answered the saucy dog. And then he did all his tricks again, and made Mother Hubbard, big Father Bear, middle-sized Mother Bear, and Little Bear all laugh.
That night Sonny Bear stirred and murmured in his sleep, "I am so glad I didn't go! I a-m s-o g-l-a-d!"
SONNY BEAR'S ADVENTURE IN
GOLDILOCK'S CAMP
One summer Father Goldilocks and Mother Goldilocks took Little Goldilocks and went to the forest to camp out. Their tent was new and white, and they found that the forest was a delightful place for a home.
Early every morning Mother Goldilocks rose to get breakfast. One morning, when she had blackberries ready in three bowls on the table, Father Goldilocks said: "Let us go to the river and catch some fish for breakfast."
In a few moments Father Goldilocks, Mother Goldilocks, and Little Goldilocks were on their way to the river.
Then along came Little Bear, out for a morning walk. It happened he had never seen a tent before.
"It must be somebody's house," said Little Bear, as he knocked loudly on the front pole of the tent. Nobody answered his knock, so Little Bear opened the flap and walked in.
Near the table were three chairs in a row, a big, big camp chair for big, big Father Goldilocks, a middle-sized camp chair for middle-sized Mother Goldilocks, and a wee, wee chair for wee, wee Goldilocks.
After his long walk, Baby Bear was tired; so he sat down to rest in the big, big camp chair, but it was too high to be comfortable. He then tried the middle-sized camp chair, and that was too low to be comfortable. But when Little Bear tried the wee, wee camp chair for the wee, wee Goldilocks, it was neither too high nor too low; it was just right. So Little Bear sat hard in that wee, wee camp chair until he broke the bottom right out.
Then Little Bear decided to try the beds. In the tent were three beds, made of hemlock boughs and leaves, covered with blankets; a big, big bed for big, big Father Goldilocks, a middle-sized bed for Mother Goldilocks, and a wee, wee bed for the wee, wee Goldilocks.
First Little Bear tried the big, big bed, but it was too hard for him. Then he tried the middle-sized bed for Mother Goldilocks, and it was too soft for him. But when Little Bear cuddled down in the wee, wee bed for the wee, wee Goldilocks, it was neither too hard nor too soft; it was just right. So he went sound asleep.
Soon Father, Mother, and Little Goldilocks came home. The minute they opened the flap of the tent, Father Goldilocks exclaimed in a big, big voice: "Somebody has been sitting in my chair!"
"Somebody has been sitting in my chair!" exclaimed middle-sized Mother Goldilocks.
"And somebody has been sitting in my chair," added wee, wee Goldilocks, beginning to cry, "and he has sat the bottom right out!"
"Somebody has been lying in my bed!" thundered big Father Goldilocks, in a big, angry voice.
"Somebody has been lying in my bed!" declared dear, middle-sized Mother Goldilocks.
"Somebody has been lying in my bed," exclaimed wee, wee Goldilocks, in a shrill, shrill voice, "and there he is!"
So Little Bear went sound asleep
When the Goldilocks family came home, Little Bear began to dream that a thunderstorm was raging in the forest, until wee Goldilocks stood beside him, and said in her shrill voice, "There he is!"
Little Bear awoke then, and when he saw good Father Goldilocks, Mother Goldilocks, and wee Goldilocks standing beside him, looking so angry, he sprang to his feet, and ran out of the tent, nor did he stop running until he reached his own home in the deep forest. When the three Goldilocks saw Little Bear run out of the tent they began to laugh. But Little Bear was so frightened he didn't go near the tent home again that summer.
WHAT FATHER BEAR SAID WHEN HE
WAS TIRED
One day the big, big Father Bear said something when he was tired that made the middle-sized Mother Bear jump so she dropped a pan of apples off her lap, while Baby Bear danced around and laughed and laughed as if he never would stop.
It happened this way. These Three Bears who lived in the forest were so fond of blackberries they had planted a patch of blackberry bushes in their own garden. Father Bear then bought three hoes—a big, big hoe for himself; a middle-sized hoe for the middle-sized Mother Bear, and a wee, wee hoe for the wee, wee Baby Bear. He also bought three tin pails—a big, big tin pail for himself, a middle-sized tin pail for the middle-sized Mother Bear, and a wee, wee tin pail for the wee, wee Baby Bear.
Every cool June morning the Three Bears used to work in their garden. Big Father Bear used to hoe the earth around the roots of the big, big blackberry bushes; middle-sized Mother Bear used to hoe the earth around the middle-sized blackberry bushes, while wee, wee Baby Bear used to hoe the earth wherever he chose.
Every evening, except when it rained, the Three Bears went through the garden gate and down the path to the river, where they filled their pails with water. The big, big Father Bear carried water to pour around the roots of the blackberry bushes in his big, big pail, while the middle-sized Mother Bear carried water in her middle-sized pail, and the wee, wee Baby Bear carried water in his wee, wee pail.
One morning Mother Bear said it was too warm to work in the garden.
"But I wish to hoe in the garden!" exclaimed big, big Father Bear in his big, big voice.
"And I wish to hoe in the garden!" said the wee, wee Baby Bear in a shrill little voice.
Mother Bear stopped washing three porridge bowls long enough to say, "All right, Father Bear, but Baby Bear must stay in the house and play with his blocks until it is cooler out of doors!"
For a few minutes Baby Bear cried hard because he had to stay in the house, and then he settled down happily to play with his blocks.
Mother Bear jumped so the apples rolled to the floor
Father Bear immediately put on his wide straw hat and went into the garden, where he hoed and hoed and hoed without saying a word. After a while Father Bear felt so warm and tired he stopped to rest a few minutes. He took off his big, big straw hat. He pulled out his red bandana handkerchief and wiped his face. Then he fanned himself with his big, wide hat, but he didn't say one word.
Soon Father Bear picked up his hoe again and hoed and hoed. At last, when he was too tired to hoe any longer, he left the garden and walked into the house.
Mother Bear was sitting in her middle-sized chair with her back to the door. She was paring apples to make apple sauce, and didn't see Father Bear when he kicked off his big, floppy slippers; but Baby Bear saw him, and smiled.
Then something happened! Father Bear, with a wink at Baby Bear, sat down in his big, big chair, hard and suddenly—bump! He sat down so hard the porridge bowls rattled in the cupboard! Next he put both feet on the table, pulled out his red bandana to wipe his face, and burst forth in a loud tone—"Oh, hum!"
It was then Mother Bear jumped so the apples rolled to the floor, and Baby Bear danced round and round and laughed and laughed as if he never would stop dancing and laughing.
"Well, father," said Mother Bear in a half-pleasant, half-cross, middle-sized voice, "don't do that again!"
Baby Bear loved fun, and that may be why he begged, "Oh, do it again! Please do it again!"
Father Bear nodded his head at Baby Bear, grinned, and said louder than ever, in the biggest, big bear voice, "Oh, hum! Oh, hum! Oh, hum-ey—hum—hum!"
Then the Three Bears laughed and laughed until they cried, and Big Bear had to pass around his big, red bandana to wipe away their tears! But he didn't hoe any more that day, because it certainly was too warm.