“And without so much as knocking
To see who was at home,
She cried out in a happy voice,
‘Old Grizzly, here I come!’
“And thereupon old Grizzly
Began to gaze about;
And the mother bear sniffed at the bars,
And the baby bear peeped out.
“And they thought she must be a fairy,
Though, instead of a golden wand,
She carried a five-cent paper bag
Of peanuts in her hand.
“Old Grizzly his red mouth opened
As though they tasted good;
And the brown bear opened her red mouth
To catch one when she could;
“And Betty, the greedy baby,
Followed the big bears’ style,
And held her little fire-red mouth,
Wide open all the while.
“And Silver-Locks laughed delighted,
And thought it wondrous fun,
And fed them peanuts from the bag
Till she hadn’t another one.
“And is that all?” sighed Gold-Locks.
“Pshaw, is that all?” cried Ted.
“No—one thing more! ’Tis quite, quite time
That little folks were in bed!”
CLARA DOTY BATES.