"How did he happen to have such a hole in his mouth? Do all alligators have such holes in the roof of their mouths?" said the little Cub Bear.
"No," replied the bird, "but a man once tried to catch this alligator. He took a stick that was sharp at both ends, and nearly as big around and as long as his forearm, and when the great alligator swam after him to catch and eat him up, the man turned around and thrust his arm with the pointed stick into the alligator's mouth. As the alligator's jaws came together with a snap, the stick went clear through his upper jaw, and although the alligator got away, and got the stick out, the hole was always there, and that hole saved my life."
"Well," said the Cub Bear, "I think I'd rather live in a safer place than an alligator's mouth."
That night the little Cub Bear slept very soundly, and was out early next morning, wondering whether any more animals would come. Soon he heard a noise, as if some kind of an animal was coming up the path, but he could not see what it was.
Suddenly he said, "I see the strangest thing; it looks like a bird's head on a long pole. The eyes are as big as large marbles; the long pole-like neck seems to have hair on it. The bill is much bigger than a goose's bill."
Just then its body came into sight.
"It has a beautiful tail of black and white feathers, and small wings with beautiful feathers. Its neck is as long as a yard stick, and its legs are covered with great scales, and are as long as its neck."
Just then this strange bird or animal saw an ear of corn lying in the path, and lowered its queer head to the ground, and began to swallow it. The ear of corn was larger around than the animal's neck, but it swallowed the ear whole without chewing it. The little Cub Bear was too much surprised to say anything, so he watched and could see the ear of corn going down the throat of this queer animal. The skin of the neck stretched so that the ear of corn could go down. It started down in the front of the neck, and then twisted around to the back of the neck and disappeared into the top of its body.
The owl called out, "Who-o-o-o? who-o-o-o?" but this strange animal did not reply. The little Cub Bear told the Circus Bear about the corn, and he said: