"And so that was the way that the ten men didn't kill old Club-Foot. And it is said that he is still living in the San Bernardino Mountains, and still goes over the same old trail every year. For some reason, no one has ever succeeded in getting him."
After Papa Bear had finished the story, little Cub Bear said, "I wish I were a great big grizzly bear, so that I would not be afraid of a gun." But the Papa Bear said, "It is always a good thing to be afraid of a gun, no matter how big you may be."
The little Cub Bear ran off to bed in the dark, and was soon fast asleep. In his sleep he reached out with his paw and gave a great slap, then a moment after he reached out again and gave another slap. Can you guess what he was dreaming about?
The next morning the little Cub Bear woke up very early, and rubbed his eyes, and wondered if any animal would come that day. He listened and listened, but he heard nothing.
Suddenly there was a loud "Bang! Bang!" and he knew that some animal was coming. The little Cub Bear ran to the mouth of the den, where he could hear a rustling sound. He looked down the path, but could see nothing. He looked again and this time he looked up among the branches of the trees, because he thought it might be a bird coming. And what do you think he saw? Away up among the branches of the trees he could see an animal's head. He said:
"I see an animal's head moving among the trees. His head has large ears and very large eyes, and two horns different from any horns I ever saw. They are blunt on the end, and stick straight up, and seem to have hair on the end of the horns. I can't see the animal, but I see a long, long neck, covered with big yellow spots. As the animal comes nearer, I can see more of his neck. And now I can see his legs and his body. His body looks something like a horse, only the hind legs are much shorter than the front legs. If you tried to ride on his back you would slip off behind, because it is slanting, like a hill, and all covered with those yellow spots."
Just then the owl saw this animal, and he said, "Who-o-o-o? who-o-o-o?"
The animal did not answer a word, but came right along. Just as he got to the mouth of the den, the Circus Bear said, "I know who that is. That is Mr. Giraffe. Ask him to come in."
So the little Cub Bear said very politely, "Come in, Mr. Giraffe."
