“Ho! I will take that home to Grandpa Croaker for a cane that he can use when he gets tired of carrying the one with the pink paint on it,” spoke Mr. No-Tail, and he pulled up the cane-stick, and went on with that and the flowers and the round white stones, as white as molasses—Oh, there I go again! I mean milk, of course.
Well, it was still quite early, and as he hopped along through the woods Papa No-Tail heard the school bell ring to call the boy and girl animals to their classes.
“I hope Bully and Bawly are not late,” thought their father. “When one goes to school one must be on time, and always try to have one’s lessons.” Still he felt pretty sure that his two little boys were on time, for they were usually very good.
On hopped Mr. No-Tail, wishing he could see the bad Pelican bird, and make him give up the wallpaper-printing ink, when all of a sudden, as quickly as you can tie your shoe lace, or your hair ribbon, Papa No-Tail heard a great crashing in the bushes, and then he heard a growling and then presto-changeo! out popped Nannie Goat, and after her came running a black, savage bear! Oh, he was a most unpleasant fellow, that bear was, with a long, red tongue, and long, sharp, white teeth, and long claws, bigger than a cat’s claws, and he had shaggy fur like an automobile coat.
“Oh! Oh! Oh! Stop! Stop! Stop! Don’t catch me! Don’t catch me! Don’t catch me!” cried Nannie, the goat girl, running on and crashing through the bushes. But the bear never minded. On he came, right after Nannie, for he wanted to catch and eat her. You see he used to be in a cage in a big animal park, but he got loose and he was now very hungry, for no one had fed him in some time.
Well, Papa No-Tail was so surprised that, for a moment, he didn’t know what to do. He just sat still under a big cabbage leaf, and looked at the bear chasing after Nannie.
“Oh, will no one save me?” cried the poor little goat girl. “Will no one save me from this savage bear?”
“No; no one will save you,” answered the shaggy creature, as he cleaned his white teeth with his red tongue for a brush. “I am going to eat you up.”
“No, you are not!” cried Papa No-Tail, boldly.
“Ha! Who says I am not going to eat her?” asked the bear, surly-like.