So the bear stuck his long claws into the log and he pushed, and Toodle pulled, and in a jiffy, which is a very short time, indeed, that log was in the water. Then Toodle could very easily swim along and push it with his paws.
"Thank you very much—thank you twice, Mr. Bear," he called out.
"Why twice?" asked the bear, wiggling his short tail.
"Once for not eating me," said Toodle, "and once for helping me."
"Pray do not mention it," said the bear, blinking both eyes. And then he went back in the woods to go to sleep.
So that's how Toodle gnawed down a big log, and how he got it home with the help of the kind bear. And Noodle and Grandpa Whackum were very much surprised when Toodle told them about it.
And in the next story—that is if the clothespin doesn't pinch the table leg and make it dance so the sugar bowl rolls off and tickles the parlor rug—I'll tell you about Noodle finding a trap.