“Who stretched it?” inquired Paul breathlessly.
“You will note,” began Uncle Henry, “that the tip of the little bear’s tail is a star that is right at the top of the North Pole. You can’t see the pole, but it’s there—and long ago somebody tied the tip of the little bear’s tail fast to it. As the earth turned around year after year, and the pole turned with it, the little bear was swung round and round by his tail. That would make anybody’s tail stretch, wouldn’t it?”
There was a moment’s quiet. Then Peter said roguishly,
“You can’t kid us into believing that, Uncle Hen—but we’ll sure remember it.”
All Uncle Henry said was,
“Your mother doesn’t like you to talk slang, Peter.”
Uncle Henry had scored again, and knew it.
“To-morrow night we’ll find the dragon, and the man who drives the great bear around the pole, and his dogs, and maybe the lions and the swan,” promised Uncle Henry, as he looked at his watch and stood up.
“Oooh, great!” cried the trio together.
“We’ll have a reg’lar Noah’s Ark on that sand, won’t we?” said Betty.