“‘Bears,’ said Andromeda. ‘Because it’s for Little Bear.’
“‘All right,’ agreed Hercules. ‘I’d just as soon have it that as anything.’
“They settled themselves around him to hear the story. ‘Now go on—about the bears,’ said Andromeda, giving Little Bear a squeeze.
“‘Before there were any Star People in the Sky, it was full of bears,’ began Hercules.
“‘Little Bears?’ asked Orion.
“‘No. Great, big, horrible bears.’
“‘Ath big ath Major?’ asked Draco.
“‘Bigger—twice over; and bad. They’d go roarin’ and fightin’ around, and they’d eat up a girl—like Taygeta, here—as quick as they’d look at her; but there weren’t any girls here to eat.’
“‘Were they polar bears?’ asked Perseus.
“‘No. They were—were—China bears. The worst kind there is. There weren’t any girls then, nor any Star People. There were just bears, and not so many stars as there are now. There were just exactly one thousand; but there were meteors—and the bears liked ’em better than anything.’ (Little Bear gave a shiver of joy, and Hercules went on.) ‘The meteors were big, too, bigger than any you ever saw. When they were ripe, they were bigger than a bear’s head; but sometimes they wouldn’t go off—and that’s what made the bears do what they did.’