"We thank you, Uncle John Kingfisher," said Father Bear. "We will start at once. Come, Little Bear, wash your hands and face and get ready."
That is how it came about that the Three Bears dined with the Otters that day, on trout, salmon, and eels, and were served with only one bite from each fish, and that bite taken from the meat just behind the head. Mother Bear thought that the Otters chose only one dainty morsel from each fish just because they had invited company for dinner. But Father Bear told her afterward that she was mistaken; Otters always serve fish in that way when fish are plentiful.
After dinner the Otters and their guests rested for a while, and then Father Otter urged the children to come out and play with him and with Mother Otter. Much surprised, the Three Bears followed the Otters to their playground. And the next Father Bear and Mother Bear knew, Little Bear was sliding down the Otters' toboggan slide and shouting with glee. All the Otters went down that slide, one behind the other, and landed splashety-splash! in the river below.
It was a wonderful sight to see the Otters swimming about in the stream, because they are beautiful swimmers. But what Father and Mother Bear liked best was the picture of Little Bear running up the roundabout path to the top of the bank and going down the slide three times as fast as the Otter children and their parents. The Otters were more at home in the water than Little Bear was, but they could not run on land as he could.
Their next game they played with sticks. One Otter took the end of a stick in his mouth and another Otter took the other end, and then they pulled and pulled to
[Illustration: Little Bear was sliding down the Otter' toboggan slide.]
see which was the stronger. Little Bear did not like that game so well as he did the toboggan slide.
"We have had a delightful time at your party," said Mother Bear to Mother Otter, at last, "and we thank you for inviting us over. If you ever wander into our home woods, come to our little house and have porridge with us."
"We shall be glad to do so," said Mother Otter, "and we shall always think kindly of Little Bear because he brought our baby home when he was lost. If we do go to visit you, you must let us make Little Bear a toboggan slide."
"Ask them to come as soon as we get home!" urged
Little Bear in a whisper to his mother so loud that the
Otter children heard it, and laughed.