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.'