The Tale of Cuffy Bear

by Arthur Scott Bailey

"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.