I.
| wolf | distance | impatient | breathe |
| poked | scrambled | intending | pressed |
| terror | perhaps | troublesome | punish |
One pleasant summer morning a wolf met a bear in a lonely wood. In a tree near by, a bird was singing.
"Brother," said the bear, "that is very good singing, indeed. What kind of bird do you think it is?"
"That is a tomtit," said the wolf.
"I should like to see his nest. Where do you think it is?" asked the bear.
"Perhaps we shall see if we wait until his mate comes home," said the wolf.
Soon the mother bird came flying with some food in her mouth for her children. She went to the tree where her mate was singing.
"Now, I shall climb the tree," said the bear.
"Not yet," said the wolf. "Wait until the birds leave the nest."
They walked away for some distance, but soon returned, for the bear was impatient to see the nest. He scrambled up the tree, intending to frighten the young birds.
"Take care," said the wolf. "The tomtits are very little, but little enemies are sometimes very troublesome."
"Who is afraid of a tomtit?" said the bear, as he poked his black nose into the nest.
"Go away! go away!" screamed the poor little birds in terror.
"What do you mean by making such a noise and talking so to me?" said the bear. "I will teach you better manners."
So he put his great paw on the nest and pressed it down until the poor little birds could hardly breathe. Then he left them and went away.
The young tomtits were terribly frightened, and some of them were hurt. When the old birds came home they were very angry.
They could see the bear walking about among the trees, but they did not know how to punish him.