The Bear Family at Home, and How the Circus Came to Visit Them

by Curtis Dwight Wilbur

"But this wasn't the worst of it. We hadn't gone very far, until everything began to move. The cages went up and down, and up and down, and up and down, until I got dizzy, and all the other animals seemed to be dizzy. Then I felt so dreadfully, dreadfully sick, that I didn't want to move or say anything to anybody, or look at anybody, or think of anything.

"Once I opened one eye and looked out, and I saw that the men were lying around just in the same way that the animals were, and they looked awfully white and sick, and they didn't say anything to anybody, and they didn't want anything to eat, and we didn't want anything to eat, and I spent all my time wishing that the old boat would stop rocking, and pitching, and turning, and twisting all the time. And the old ship would go down, down, down, and just as soon as we would get used to its going down, down, down, it would turn and go up, up, up, and just as soon as we got used to its going up, up, up, it would turn and go down, down, down again. And when the ship started up, my stomach wanted to stay down, and when the ship would start down, it seemed as though my stomach wanted to stay up. And so I got terribly sore on the inside, and all the other animals seemed to be terribly sore. I hugged myself as hard as I could to keep from coming to pieces. And I saw all of the other bears hugging themselves. All the animals were lying down looking sleepy. Everybody seemed to be sleepy, except some of the men who were dressed in blue.

"They ran about, and whistled, and sang, and blew tobacco smoke in our faces, and this made us feel terribly sick. But they seemed to be having a splendid time. After a while I learned that these were the sailors, and that they didn't mind the ship going up and down, and up and down, all the time.

"After a while we all got so that we didn't mind it much. And then we began to eat. It seemed as though we never would get enough. We ate, and ate, and ate. We ate more than enough to make up for all the time when we didn't eat anything. And some people who looked so pale, and so sick, and so weak, seemed to eat and eat and eat, and some of them got so fat, before we got to the other side of the water, that you would hardly have known them.

"One day the ship pitched and tossed and rolled worse than it ever had, and for some reason the engine stopped. I heard a man say that something was broken, and as soon as the engine stopped, it just seemed as though that old ship would go to pieces. She rose higher and went lower. And one time there was a great splash, and the biggest lot of water you ever saw came right down where the animals were.

"The hippopotamus thought it was fine, until he tasted the water, and then he made up the most awful face that you ever saw; and you can imagine what kind of a face it was, for he is homely enough anyway. His nose is bigger than his face, and his mouth is right on the end of his nose. I asked him what the trouble was, and he said it wasn't the kind of water he liked; it tasted of salt and was bitter. It made him feel as though he never wanted to eat anything again as long as he lived.

"I noticed, though, that the seal and the walrus seemed to enjoy it ever so much. I asked them why, and they said that was the kind of water they liked; that was the kind of water they had always lived in—salt water.

"It seemed a long time, but after a while the engine started up again. Then the ship was more quiet, but it kept going up and down, and up and down, until we got clear across the water, and then we noticed that the deck we were on became as quiet and steady as a floor. I heard one of the sailor men say that we were coming into a harbor. And sure enough, we soon stopped, and the men began to take the animals out again.