“Try again,” said Gruffo, as he helped his little brother out on the log. “Maybe next time you will catch one. Now you watch how I do it,” for Gruffo knew that Dido was little, and had many things to learn that bears must know if they are to get along in the woods.
Pretty soon Gruffo saw a big fish, and with one scoop of his paw he landed it on the bank.
“Oh, that’s a fine one!” cried Dido. “I wish I could catch one like that.”
“I’ll give you some of this,” said Gruffo kindly. “There is enough for all of us.”
Then he divided the fish with his two brothers, and they ate it, not stopping to cook it as we would have to do. Bears like their meat and fish without being cooked.
After they had eaten the fish, and had swam in the lake to wash their paws and faces, the three bears went back to the den in the rocks.
“Oh, Mother, we had such fun!” cried Dido. Then he saw his father asleep in the sun, and, taking up a leafy branch Dido went softly over and began to tickle Mr. Bear on the nose.
“Wuff! Ker-choo!” sneezed Mr. Bear. “What’s that; a fly?”
“Oh, it’s just Dido,” said Mrs. Bear. “He’s cutting up again. You must not be too funny,” she went on, shaking her paw at her little bear cub, “or some day something may happen to you.”
And one day something did happen to Dido.