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Sleepy-Time Tales
THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR
by
ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
Illustrated by Harry L. Smith
New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
1915
[Illustration: Cuffy Gave It One Good, Hard Cuff]
+-------------------------------+
| |
| _SLEEPY-TIME TALES_ |
| by |
| ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY |
| ---- |
| THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR |
| THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL |
| THE TALE OF TOMMY FOX |
| THE TALE OF FATTY COON |
| THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK |
| THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT |
| THE TALE OF PETER MINK |
| THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK |
| THE TALE OF BROWNIE BEAVER |
| THE TALE OF PADDY MUSKRAT |
| |
+-------------------------------+
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I CUFFY WAKES UP
II CUFFY BEAR FINDS A PORCUPINE
III CUFFY AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING
IV CUFFY LEARNS SOMETHING
V CUFFY AND THE MAPLE-SUGAR
VI CUFFY MEETS A MAN
VII THE ICE GOES OUT OF THE RIVER
VIII CUFFY LEARNS TO SWIM
IX A SURPRISE
X CUFFY CLIMBS BLUE MOUNTAIN
XI MRS. EAGLE IS ANGRY
XII CUFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET
XIII HAYING-TIME
XIV CUFFY LIKES BAKED BEANS
XV HUNTING FOR A BEE-TREE
XVI THE BEES STING CUFFY
XVII CUFFY BEAR GOES SWIMMING
XVIII CUFFY FRIGHTENS HIS MOTHER
XIX THE LITTLE BEAR PETER
XX LEARNING TO BOX
XXI THE FOREST FIRE
XXII THE RAIN COMES
XXIII CUFFY BEAR GROWS SLEEPY
I
CUFFY WAKES UP
Far up on the side of Blue Mountain lived Cuffy Bear with his father and
mother and his little sister Silkie. Mr. Bear's house was quite the
finest for many miles around. It was what people call a cave, being made
entirely of stone, and so there was no danger of its ever catching fire;
and since it was built straight into the side of the mountain the roof
was so very, very thick that Cuffy's father never had to worry for fear
a tree would fall upon his house and hurt his family. No matter how hard
the wind blew, Mr. Bear was never afraid of that.
Little Cuffy was not a bad bear at heart. But often when he was playing
with Silkie, his sister, he would lose his temper and cuff her on the
head and make her cry. Then his father or his mother would cuff _him_.
Somehow, he never could learn not to strike out when he became angry.
That was why he was called Cuffy. It happened sometimes that a day or
two would pass without Cuffy's cuffing his sister. And Mr. Bear and Mrs.
Bear would begin to think that at last Cuffy had been cured of his bad
habit.
"I do believe the child is growing better mannered," Mrs. Bear would say
to her husband, as they watched their son and daughter playing upon the
floor. And then just as likely as not, the first thing they knew Cuffy
would give Silkie a good, hard box on the ear, or a slap right on the
end of her nose.
But for a long time every winter Cuffy was never naughty. You might
think that that was just before Christmas. But no--it was not then. All
winter long Cuffy was just as good as any little bear could be. He was
good because he was asleep! You see--when cold weather came, Mr. and
Mrs. Bear and their children stayed in their cozy house, which was snug
and warm, and slept and slept and slept for weeks and weeks until spring
came.
Now, this tale begins on the very first day of spring. And on that day
Mr. Bear waked up. He rose slowly to his feet, for his bones felt stiff
because he had been asleep for such a long time. And he was hungry--oh!
very hungry, because he had not eaten anything for months and months,
since he went to sleep at the beginning of winter.
He went to the door of his house and looked out. And he saw that the
weather was warm and fine. So he stepped back into the bedroom and
said--
_"Ou-e-e-ee!"_ Just like that. And then Mrs. Bear awaked. "Spring has
come," Mr. Bear told her, "and I am going out to fetch something to eat.
Wake up Cuffy and Silkie and tell them that it is time to get up."
Gently Mrs. Bear roused Cuffy and Silkie.
"Come, children! Run out and play and get your lungs full of nice, fresh
air. Now, be good and don't go far away!" she said.
II
CUFFY BEAR FINDS A PORCUPINE
For a few minutes Cuffy stood in the doorway and blinked and blinked. He
rubbed his eyes, for the bright sunlight hurt them. But soon he and
Silkie were frisking and tumbling about in the front-yard.
After a little while Cuffy remembered that there was an old tree over in
the pine woods--just the finest tree to climb that anybody could want.
"Let's go over to the old tree and play," Cuffy said.
"But Mother told us not to go far away," Silkie reminded him.
"Oh! I don't care," Cuffy said. "Besides, we'll be back before she
knows it."
But Silkie would not go with him. So naughty Cuffy started off alone for
the pine woods. He found the old tree. It seemed smaller than he
expected. The reason for that was because Cuffy himself had grown tall
during the months that he had spent in sleep.
He climbed the tree to the very top and as he looked down over the snow
he saw something moving a little way off. Whatever it was, it was much
smaller than Cuffy himself, so he was not afraid. And he scrambled down
to the ground and ran as fast as he could go to the place where he saw
the small thing moving. Cuffy wanted to see what it was. He was always
like that.
Cuffy found a little animal covered with stiff, sharp quills and he knew
that it was a porcupine. And all at once Cuffy felt very hungry. He
remembered that his father had sometimes brought home porcupine meat
and--yes, Cuffy actually smacked his lips! His mother was always telling
him not to smack his lips, but Cuffy forgot all about it now.
As Cuffy came running up Mr. Porcupine rolled himself into a round ball
and lay perfectly still. Now, Cuffy remembered that his father had often
told him never to touch a porcupine, because if he should he would get
his paws stuck full of quills. But now Cuffy decided that he would show
his father that he too was clever enough to kill a porcupine. So he
stepped close to the little round, prickly ball and gave it one good,
hard cuff.
The next instant Cuffy gave a howl of pain. He was so angry that he
struck the porcupine once more with his other front-paw.
Again Cuffy howled! Now both his front-paws were full of quills. They
looked just like pincushions. And as Cuffy saw what had happened he
began to cry. He wanted his mother.
So home he started. All the way he had to walk on his hind legs, because
it hurt him terribly whenever he put one of his front-paws on the
ground.
Cuffy wept very hard when Mrs. Bear pulled out the quills. And his paws
were so sore that he could not feed himself. His mother had to put into
his mouth bits of the frozen turnips that his father found in Farmer
Green's field. And though afterward Cuffy did many things that he ought
not to have done, he never, never touched a porcupine again.
III
CUFFY AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING
The pricks of the porcupine's quills made Cuffy Bear's paws so sore that
it was several days before he could run about again. And during all that
time Cuffy was a very good little bear. He did not cuff his sister
Silkie once. You see, he knew it would hurt his sore paws if he did.
The days were still fine. Cuffy loved to feel the bright sunshine upon
his black coat. It warmed him through and through and he did not care at
all if his feet _did_ get wet in the melting snow.
At last one afternoon when his paws were quite well again Cuffy strayed
some distance down the side of Blue Mountain, He was alone, because
Silkie was asleep. You know, she was younger than Cuffy and still had to
take naps. Cuffy had slid and tumbled down the mountainside until he was
further from home than he knew. It did seem good to be able to put his
paws upon the ground again without whimpering with pain. And coming to a
short, steep place, Cuffy felt so glad that he actually turned a
somersault and landed in a heap at the foot of the bank. He sat there
for a moment, brushing the soft snow out of his face, when a flash of
light dazzled his eyes. It came from a tree right in front of him. And
Cuffy at once jumped up and ran to see what it was. He found that some
one had fastened a shiny, new tin bucket to the trunk of the tree.
Cuffy felt that he _must_ have that bucket to play with. He knew that he
could have heaps of fun rolling it about on the ground. And he was just
going to knock it off the hook that held it when he noticed that a small
spout had been driven into the tree just above the bucket. And as Cuffy
stood there on his hind legs, reaching up as high as he could, he saw a
tiny drop fall from the spout and go splash! into the bucket. Then, as
he watched, another drop fell; and another and another and another.
Cuffy wondered where they came from. It must be--he thought--that there
was a spring inside that tree. Yes! he was sure of it, for the bucket
was half full of water. He felt thirsty, for he had not had a drink
since lunch-time. And so Cuffy stuck his head into the pail and took a
good, big swallow.
The next instant he squealed with joy. It was the nicest water he had
ever tasted in all his life, for it was quite sweet--just as if
somebody had left a heap of honey in the bottom of the bucket. But when
Cuffy licked the end of the spout with his little red tongue he found
that that tasted sweet too. Yes! it certainly was a wonderful spring.
Cuffy was very glad that he had found it. And he decided that he would
drink all he could of the delicious, sweet water and leave the pail
hanging there. Then he could come back the next day and there would be
more of that wonderful water all ready and waiting for him to drink up.
IV
CUFFY LEARNS SOMETHING
After leaving the wonderful spring Cuffy Bear was so long getting home
that he decided he would not say anything to his father and mother about
what he had found. You see--he was afraid they would tell him not to go
so far away from home again. But Cuffy had not been long in the snug
little house before he had a terrible stomach-ache. He stood the pain as
long as he could without saying anything. But he simply _had_ to hang
onto his little fat stomach with both his front paws. And at last he
began to cry softly. Then Mrs. Bear asked him what he had been doing;
and before Cuffy knew it he had told all about finding the delicious,
sweet water.
"How much did you drink?" asked his mother.
"Oh--only a little," Cuffy answered faintly.
Then Mrs. Bear nodded her head three times. She was very wise--was Mrs.
Bear. And she knew quite well that Cuffy had drunk a great deal too much
of that nice-tasting water. So she made Cuffy lie down and gave him some
peppermint leaves to chew. In a little while he began to feel so much
better that before he knew it he had fallen asleep.
When Cuffy waked up he found that his father had come home. And soon Mr.
Bear had Cuffy on one knee, and Silkie on the other, and he was telling
them all about maple-sugar. For of course you knew all the time that
what Cuffy had found was not a spring at all--but a sugar-maple tree,
which Farmer Green had tapped so that he might gather the sap and boil
it until it turned to maple-sugar. If Cuffy had gone further down the
mountainside he would have found a great many other trees, each--like
the one he discovered--with a tin bucket hanging on it to catch the
sweet sap.
"So you see there are many things for little bears to learn," Mr. Bear
said, when he had finished. "And the one _big_ lesson you must learn is
to keep away from men. Farmer Green visits those trees every day to
gather the sap. So you must not go down there again."
A cold shiver went up and down Cuffy's back at these words. Farmer
Green! Cuffy had heard a great deal about Farmer Green and he certainly
did not want to meet him all alone and far from home. But as soon as the
tickle of that shiver stopped, Cuffy forgot all about his fright.
"This maple-sugar--does it taste as good as the sweet sap?" he asked his
father.
"Yes, my son--a hundred times better!" Mr. Bear replied. "I ate some
once And I shall never forget it."
_A hundred times better!_ After he had gone to bed that night the words
kept ringing in Cuffy's ears. _A hundred times better! A hundred times
better!... A hundred_--And now Cuffy was fast asleep and--I am sorry to
say it--sucking one of his paws for all the world as if it was a piece
of Farmer Green's maple-sugar.
V
CUFFY AND THE MAPLE-SUGAR
Another day had come and all the morning long Cuffy Bear and his sister
Silkie played and played as hard as they could. They played that they
were making maple-sugar. And they pretended to hang buckets on all the
trees near Mr. Bear's house. There were no maple trees about Cuffy's
home--only pine and hemlock and spruce--but if you are just _pretending_
to make maple-sugar any sort of tree will do.
While they were playing Cuffy kept wishing for some _real_ maple-sugar.
After all, the little cakes of snow that he and Silkie made and _called_
maple-sugar seemed very tasteless, no matter how much Cuffy pretended.
And later, when Silkie was taking her nap, and Cuffy had no one to play
with, he became so angry with the make-believe sugar that he struck the
little pats of snow as hard as he could and spoiled them. And then,
after one look toward the door of his father's house--to make sure that
his mother did not see him--Cuffy started on a trot down the
mountainside.
What do you suppose he was going to do?
To tell the truth, Cuffy himself did not quite know. When he came to the
tree that he had found the day before he stopped and drank some of the
sap once more; and he tried to imagine how sugar would taste _a hundred
times sweeter_. Then Cuffy went on down the mountainside.
At last he spied a little house in a clearing. From its chimney a
stream of smoke rose, and as Cuffy peeped from behind a tree he saw a
man come out and pick up an armful of wood from the woodpile nearby.
While Cuffy watched, the man carried in several loads. Soon the smoke
began fairly to pour out of the chimney; and then the man came out once
more, picked up an axe near the woodpile, and started off toward the
other side of the clearing.
Cuffy was trembling with excitement. The wind blew right in his face and
brought to him two odors that were quite different. One was the
man-scent, which Cuffy did not like at all, and which made his legs want
to run away. The other smell was most delightfully sweet. And it made
his nose want to go forward.
Which do you think won--Cuffy's nose or his legs?... Yes! His nose won!
Pretty soon Cuffy slipped from behind the tree and scampered as fast as
he could run to the door of the sugar-house--for that was what he had
found. He stuck his head inside and oh, joy! there was no one there.
Just inside the door stood a tub full of something brown. One sniff told
Cuffy that it was maple-sugar and he began to gulp great mouthfuls of
it. Yes! his father was right. It certainly was a hundred times sweeter
than the sap.
In the middle of the room was a big pan which gave off clouds of steam.
Cuffy wanted to see it. And with his mouth full of sugar he walked up to
the pan and looked into it. He saw a golden liquid, and Cuffy felt that
he simply _must_ taste that too. So he dipped both his front paws right
into the bubbling syrup.
VI
CUFFY MEETS A MAN
And then how Cuffy Bear did roar--just one second after he had stuck his
paws into the steaming pan. You see--he was so greedy that he had never
once stopped to think that the syrup was boiling hot.
Now, usually if you pick up anything hot you can drop it at once. But it
is not so with hot maple syrup. Cuffy's paws were covered with the
sticky brown stuff. He rubbed them upon his trousers, and he roared
again when he saw what he had done.
Then Cuffy had a happy thought. He would go out and shove his paws into
a snowbank. That would surely cool them. So out of the sugar-house he
dashed and across the clearing he ran, screaming _"Ough! ough! ough!"_
at the top of his voice, for the hot syrup made his paws smart terribly.
In his haste Cuffy did not notice that he was headed in the direction in
which the man had disappeared.
Now it happened that the man who tended the sugar-house fire had gone
only to the edge of the clearing; and when he heard Cuffy's shrieks he
looked around in great surprise. He and Cuffy saw each other at the same
time. And like a flash Cuffy turned and fairly flew the other way.
The man ran after him for a few steps. But he soon saw that he could
never catch Cuffy. So he stood still and watched the little bear bob
into the woods and vanish.
Poor Cuffy's heart was beating as if it would burst. He was so
frightened that he forgot all about his burned paws and he ran and ran
and ran up the steep mountainside. He did not mind the climb; he was
used to that. But to his great alarm the snow clung to his sticky paws
until each was just a great, round lump. They looked like the hands of a
snow-man.
Cuffy found it very hard to run with his paws like that. But he kept on
and on, until at last he came in sight of his father's house. Then he
stopped and sat down, right behind a knoll, where his mother could not
see him. He was very tired. And though he was no longer afraid that the
man would catch him, he began to be afraid of something else.... A
punishing? No--no! He had not thought of that. Cuffy was afraid that he
could never get rid of those big heavy lumps. He was afraid his paws
would always be covered with those hard balls of snow. You must
remember that he was a very _young_ little bear.
Well! After he had got his breath again Cuffy began to nibble at his
snow mittens. And little by little--to his delight--he removed them. And
still he kept on nibbling at his paws, and--yes! he actually put them
right inside his mouth and sucked them. He forgot all about his
_manners_, for underneath the snow he found the most beautiful, waxy
maple-sugar you can imagine. Each paw was just one big lollypop! And
though his burns still hurt him, Cuffy did not care very much. For those
lollypops were _two hundred times_ sweeter than anything he had ever
tasted in all his life!
VII
THE ICE GOES OUT OF THE RIVER
Farmer Green had taken his sap-buckets off the maple trees and _that_
meant the spring was fast going. At least, that was what Mr. Bear said.
And Cuffy noticed that every day there was a little less snow than there
had been the day before.
"The ice will soon go out," Mr. Bear said to Cuffy's mother at breakfast
one morning, "and then when I cross Pleasant Valley I shall have to swim
the river."
Cuffy knew that his father meant Swift River. In summer Cuffy could look
down from Blue Mountain and see the stream as it flashed through the
valley.
"Will the ice go out of the river to-day?" Cuffy asked.
"Well, now--" Mr. Bear said, "it might. And then again, it might not."
Mr. Bear never said a thing was _so_ unless he was sure of it.
Now, Cuffy thought it would be great fun to go down into the valley and
find out for himself if the ice really did go out. He had an idea that
it caused a terrific splitting and crashing and thundering noise and he
thought that perhaps some fish would be tossed up on the bank and then
he would have a good lunch.
When Mr. Bear had gone off down the mountain, "to see a bear," as he
explained to his wife, little Cuffy sneaked away from the house. His
mother was making the beds, and Silkie was pretending to help her. Now,
nobody _sneaks_ unless he knows he is doing something wrong. Cuffy knew
that his parents would not let him go down into the valley alone, so he
went without asking. And when he did at last come to the river there
was ice along both banks; but between them ran a broad stream of swift
water.
"The ice must have gone out in the night," Cuffy said to himself. And he
looked about in the hope of finding some fish on the banks. But not one
fish could he find.
He was disappointed. And he crept out onto the ice as far as he could go
and peeped over the edge into the water. He thought maybe he could at
least catch a fish with his paw.
Cuffy lay quite still for a long time. And then at last to his delight
he saw a fish right before him. He made a quick reach for it. And then
there was a sharp _crack!_ The ice tipped and Cuffy clung to it with all
his claws to keep from falling into the river. He backed away from the
edge and looked around. The bank was moving past him. He had never seen
such a thing and he was surprised.
Then he gave a cry which sounded in his throat like _"Oug!"_ and ended
with _"I-s-s-s!"_ through his nose. It meant that Cuffy was frightened.
For he saw that the ice he was on had broken away and was floating
rapidly down the stream.
He had not caught the fish, either. But he forgot all about that now.
VIII
CUFFY LEARNS TO SWIM
Yes! Cuffy Bear was floating down the river on a cake of ice! How he
wished he had been a good little bear and stayed at home, instead of
running away to the river all alone! He was huddled up in a little black
heap in the center of the cake, and crying as if his heart would break.
For Cuffy thought he would never see his mother and father and Silkie
again. If only he knew how to swim, like his father! But he didn't; and
there he was, being swept away down the valley, right toward Farmer
Green's house. It certainly was enough to make anybody weep.
When Cuffy thought about Farmer Green he was more frightened than ever
and he began to scream. He remembered all the dreadful things he had
heard about men and the things they do to little bears.
Pretty soon Cuffy saw something move up on the bank ahead of him. And he
stopped screaming. He was afraid that it was Farmer Green himself and he
thought he had better keep still. Then perhaps Farmer Green wouldn't see
him. But to his dismay the big black thing began to slide down the steep
bank right toward the river.
Cuffy's heart seemed to stand still. He shut his eyes tight and tried to
make himself as small as he could. And he hardly breathed.
Then somebody called his name. Cuffy was so surprised that he looked up,
and there was his father standing on the edge of the stream. Cuffy was
_so_ glad to see him!
Mr. Bear seemed very cross, but Cuffy did not mind that, he was _so_
glad to see his father.
"Oh, Father! What shall I do?" Cuffy cried.
Mr. Bear said just one word. It was _"Jump!"_
Cuffy could hardly believe his ears.
_"Jump!"_ said Mr. Bear again.
"I don't know how to swim," Cuffy whined.
_"Jump, jump, jump!"_ Mr. Bear repeated very sternly.
Still Cuffy did not jump. He was so afraid of that rushing water!
Then Mr. Bear became very, very angry. He gave a great roar and plunged
into the icy water. With a few strong strokes--for Mr. Bear was a fine
swimmer--he reached the middle of the river. And as he swam close up to
Cuffy he reached out and gave that naughty, frightened little bear a
shove that sent him flying into the stream.
Cuffy started to scream. But his shriek was cut off short as he sank,
head and all, into the cold, cold river. In another moment his nose came
up out of the water. It was only an instant, but to Cuffy it seemed a
long, long time before he could breathe again. And now, to his great
surprise, he found that he was swimming as well as his father.
Now, little bears are different from little boys and girls. They don't
have to _learn_ to swim. Cuffy didn't know it. But his father did. That
was why Mr. Bear told him to jump. He knew that as soon as Cuffy found
himself in the water he could swim as well as anybody.
In another minute Cuffy and his father were safe on the bank, and in
another second after that they were running toward home as fast as Cuffy
could go, so they wouldn't take cold, you know.
Cuffy had to go to bed for the rest of the day, as a punishment. And as
he lay on his little bed he could hear his father and mother laughing in
the next room. He didn't see how they could laugh. But you know, Cuffy
didn't realize how funny he had looked, floating down the river on the
cake of ice.
IX
A SURPRISE
One day Cuffy Bear and his little sister Silkie had been making sand
pies. And now, having grown tired of that, they were squatting down on
the ground and had covered their legs with the clean white sand. Perhaps
they would have heaped the sand all over themselves, if Silkie had not
spied her father as he came climbing up the mountain. When they noticed
that he was carrying something they both sprang up and ran to see what
Mr. Bear was bringing home.
Mr. Bear's mouth was stretched quite wide in what Silkie and Cuffy knew
to be his most agreeable smile. You and I might not have felt so
comfortable if we had looked past Mr. Bear's great white teeth into his
big red mouth. But it was different with Cuffy and Silkie. They saw at
once that their father was feeling very pleasant.
"What's that?" Silkie asked. As for Cuffy, he had not stopped to ask any
questions. He was already smelling of the small white animal his father
had, and he poked it gently with his paw. He had not forgotten about the
porcupine. But this strange animal seemed quite harmless. It was covered
with things that looked a little bit like quills, only they were ever so
much shorter and smaller. And Cuffy found that they were much softer,
too, for they did not prick him at all.
"What is it?" This time it was Cuffy who asked.
"You'll see," Mr. Bear said again.
"Is it a new kind of rabbit?" Silkie inquired.
"Huh! A rabbit!" Cuffy laughed. "Of course it isn't a rabbit," he said.
"Well--it's white, and its tail is short--" Silkie began, "and--"
"Its ears are too small," Cuffy told her, "and its tail is all curled
up."
"You'll see, children," Mr. Bear said again. "It's a surprise."
"A surprise!" Cuffy and Silkie both shouted. They thought that was the
name of the--oh! I almost told what the little animal really was.
Well! As Mr. Bear walked on toward his house, Cuffy and Silkie ran ahead
and burst in upon their mother, both of them shouting at the top of
their voices, "A surprise! A surprise! Father's bringing home a
surprise!"
"Why, Ephraim Bear!" Mrs. Bear exclaimed, as soon as she saw her
husband. "Wherever did you get that lovely little pig?"
There--now you know what it was that Mr. Bear had.
"It came from Farmer Green's, my dear," Mr. Bear said. "I remembered
that this was your birthday, and so I thought I would bring home
something 'specially nice, so that we could have a real feast."
Cuffy and Silkie had never eaten any pig before. And when there was
nothing left of the surprise except a few bones, Cuffy couldn't help
wishing that every day could be a birthday.
X
CUFFY CLIMBS BLUE MOUNTAIN
Cuffy Bear had never been very far up Blue Mountain beyond the place
where his father's house nestled among the evergreens. You know, the
summer before he had been a very small little bear indeed, and the
higher one goes up Blue Mountain the harder the climbing becomes. But
now Cuffy was growing very fast; and he was able to scramble up places
he could never have even crept a year ago. Each day now Cuffy climbed a
little nearer the top of Blue Mountain. And at last the day came when he
reached the very top. It was so high that the trees did not grow there.
He found nothing but rocks everywhere, with just a little earth to fill
the cracks.
Cuffy thought it great fun to clamber about all by himself and look down
at the hills and valleys that stretched away in all directions. Indeed,
he hated to leave that delightful spot. But he noticed that the sun was
getting low in the west and he knew that he must hurry home. So Cuffy
started down the mountainside.
He did not pick out the easiest way to go. Oh, no! He chose the very
steepest places to slide down. And as he went slipping down the steepest
cliff of all he came upon something that gave him a great surprise. For
he saw, built right in the crack of a ledge, a big bird's nest made of
sticks. It was the biggest bird's nest Cuffy had ever seen; and in it
were two great white eggs. They were the greatest white eggs Cuffy had
ever seen, too.
How lucky! At least, that was what Cuffy thought then. For he was very
fond of birds' eggs, and his climb had made him even hungrier than
usual. He stopped then and there and with one rap of the paw he broke
one of the eggs and began to eat it.
Cuffy was enjoying his lunch very much. He had almost finished the first
egg and was just about to turn to the other when he heard a deafening
scream.
Cuffy looked all around. He thought that perhaps there was a pig up
there on the mountain. But no! He couldn't see a thing. Then came that
cry again. This time it was louder. And it seemed to come from right
over Cuffy's head. He looked up then. And there was an enormous bird
dropping right down on top of him! It seemed to Cuffy that its wings
stretched as wide as the branches of the great pine tree in his
father's front-yard. He never even dreamed that there could be as big a
bird in the whole world. And during that one instant that Cuffy's little
beady bright eyes were turned upwards he saw that the great bird had a
wicked, hooked beak and claws that were as sharp as his own, and ever so
much longer.
One look was enough for Cuffy. He turned and tumbled down the steep
cliff, head over heels, with the eagle following him.
XI
MRS. EAGLE IS ANGRY
Yes! It was an eagle's nest that Cuffy Bear had found, And Mrs. Eagle
had caught him eating her eggs. It was no wonder that she was wild with
rage. And it was no wonder that Cuffy ran for his life.
He landed in a heap at the foot of the first cliff, jumped up like a
flash and in a twinkling he was rolling heels over head down another
cliff.
Again Cuffy fell in a heap at the bottom. Again he jumped up. And again
he started to run. But this time, alas! Mrs. Eagle seized him. She
pounced down upon his back; and she sunk her claws right into Cuffy's
neck. Then Mrs. Eagle flapped her wings as hard as she could flap them.
And Cuffy felt himself rising.
Soon the earth was far, far beneath Cuffy. And he was the most
frightened little bear you could imagine. He was afraid Mrs. Eagle would
drop him, and that he would fall down, down, down onto the rocks below.
And he was afraid that Mrs. Eagle wouldn't drop him, too. Because if she
didn't Cuffy felt only too sure that she would take him home and that
she and Mr. Eagle would eat him for their dinner.
You see, Cuffy Bear was in a sad fix. And for my part, when I first
heard of his plight I did not see how he was ever going to get out of it
alive.
Well--this was what happened. Mrs. Eagle _did_ intend to take Cuffy home
with her and serve him up for dinner that very night At first, after
she had seized Cuffy, she mounted higher and higher into the air, so
that she could at last swoop down on the top of the mountain, right
beside her nest. But Cuffy was a very fat little bear. And soon Mrs.
Eagle found that she had a heavy load. And it was only a few minutes
before she discovered that she couldn't fly up any higher with Cuffy. In
fact, she began to sink, little by little. Yes, Cuffy was so heavy that
as Mrs. Eagle grew tired his weight dragged her down toward the earth
again.
Mrs. Eagle saw what was happening. But she didn't want to let Cuffy go.
So she flew far out from the side of the mountain, hoping that she would
soon feel stronger. But all the time she kept growing weaker and weaker.
And all the time she kept falling faster and faster, until all at once
Mrs. Eagle was afraid that she would lose her balance and go tumbling
down onto the ground herself.
She was still very angry. And she hated to lose the fine dinner she had
been counting on. But she saw nothing else to do but let go of Cuffy
Bear. So she gave one last scream of rage; and the next instant Cuffy
felt himself dropping through the air like a stone.
Now, Cuffy had shut his eyes tight, just as he did when he was drifting
down the river on the cake of ice; so he did not see what was happening.
But as luck had it, when Mrs. Eagle let him go she was flying right over
the top of a big fir-tree. And as Cuffy fell, he dropped _plump!_ into
the branches, and down he went, crashing through the soft, springing
boughs.
Cuffy clutched wildly at the branches. And though he tumbled through
them one after another, at last he managed to hold tight to a big limb.
And then, after he had caught his breath again, he crept carefully down
to the ground.
He wondered where he was. The place had a strangely familiar look. It
seemed to Cuffy that he must have been there before. And then, as he
peered cautiously around, what should he see but the door of his
father's house, right in front of him! Yes! Mrs. Eagle had dropped Cuffy
right in his father's door-yard! And Cuffy wasn't even late for dinner.
As he grew older Cuffy often went to the top of Blue Mountain. But
never, so long as he lived, did he get home again so quickly.
XII
CUFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET
"Mother! When is my birthday?" Cuffy asked, a few days after his father
had brought home the little pig.
"Why, your birthday comes on the day the wild geese begin to fly south,"
Mrs. Bear said.
"Is that soon?" Cuffy asked.
"Bless you, no! Not for months and months!" his mother said.
"And when is Silkie's?" he continued.
"The day of the first snow," she told him.
Cuffy knew that that was a long way off--not until summer had come and
gone.
"And Father's?" he inquired once more.
Mrs. Bear shook her head.
"Your father hasn't many birthdays," she said. "He was born on the day
of the great forest fire. It may be a long time before he has another
birthday. I hope so, anyhow," she added, "for a great forest fire is a
dreadful thing."
Now you see, having a birthday like that is a good deal like being born
on the twenty-ninth of February, when you have a birthday only once in
four years. Yes--it's a good deal like that, only worse. For you may
have to wait years and years before another great fire comes. You
understand, of course, that having no clocks or calendars or anything
like that, the wild animals can keep track of birthdays only by
remembering things that happen.
All this made Cuffy Bear feel very sad. He had been hoping that some
member of the family would have a birthday soon, and then perhaps his
father would bring home another little pig for another nice feast. But
now he saw that there was no chance of that happening for a long, long
time.
[Illustration: Mrs. Eagle Rose Higher and Higher]
Cuffy went out of doors then and thought and thought and thought. I'm
almost ashamed to have to say it--he was planning to go down to Farmer
Green's and get another fat, tender, little pig like the one his father
had brought home.
Now, when a very young bear starts out to steal a pig there are many
things to think of. In the first place, there was Farmer Green, and
Farmer Green's boy Johnnie, and Farmer Green's hired man. Cuffy knew
that he must be very, very careful not to meet them.
To his great relief, when he had gone down into Pleasant Valley Cuffy
saw all three ploughing in a field. They did not see him at all. And so
he felt very brave as he went on toward the farm buildings.
Farmer Green's pig-pen was in a little, low building next the cow-barn.
Cuffy had no trouble in finding it. And he walked inside quite boldly
and before you could have winked, almost, he had seized a little, white
pig in his mouth and was loping off across the barnyard.
The pig had looked very small to Cuffy when he first saw and seized it.
But now it seemed to be as many as twenty times bigger than Cuffy was
himself. That was because the pig made the most frightful noise Cuffy
had ever heard in all his life. Cuffy felt as if he had a hundred pigs
in his mouth, with their hundred snouts squealing right in his ears.
Though Farmer Green was at least a mile away, Cuffy was sure he could
hear. Indeed, Cuffy thought that all the world must hear that dreadful
racket. And he was so frightened that he let go of the little pig and
ran away towards home as fast as he could jump.
That squealing rang in his ears for a long time. And if Cuffy's father
had brought home a pig that night Cuffy couldn't have eaten a mouthful
of it. He never wanted to see or taste of a pig again. And you may be
sure he never wanted to _hear_ one, either.
XIII
HAYING-TIME
After Cuffy Bear's adventure with Mrs. Eagle he did not stray far from
home for several weeks. You can see, from that, that he had been badly
frightened. Yes--just to look at a crow flapping through the air made
Cuffy dizzy now; and nothing would have tempted him to go up the
mountain again.
But Cuffy became very tired of playing near his father's house all the
time. And at last he wandered down into the valley one day. There was
something down there that Cuffy wanted to see. You'd never guess what
it was; so I'll tell you. Cuffy Bear wanted to see a mowing-machine.
You may think that was queer. But you see, it was summer now. And
down in the valley Farmer Green was making hay as fast as ever he
could. Early and late there sounded far up the mountainside the
_click-clack-click-clack_ of Farmer Green's mowing-machine.
When he first heard it Cuffy Bear had been very much alarmed; and he had
come running into the house in a great fright. But his mother explained
what the sound was. And after that Cuffy had been very curious to see
that wonderful machine, which was pulled back and forth through the
meadows by horses, leaving behind it a broad path of grass which lay
flat on the ground.
So that was the reason why Cuffy stole away from home. He felt that he
simply _must_ see a mowing-machine. Nothing but the sight of a
mowing-machine would make him happy. He was sure of that.
Now, where Farmer Green's meadow met the forest, Cuffy paused. He hid
behind a tree and looked out over the field. The _click-clack_ sounded
quite loud now. And from the other side of the meadow Cuffy could see
two horses coming towards him. There was a man driving them. And Cuffy
thought that they must be drawing the mowing-machine. So he waited
quietly. And all the time the _click-clack-click-clack_ grew louder than
ever. And pretty soon, as he peeped slyly around the tree, Cuffy Bear
saw the mowing-machine. It came delightfully close to him, stopped,
turned about, and moved away again toward the opposite side of the
field.
Cuffy gave a great sigh of satisfaction. He had seen a mowing-machine.
He was glad that he had come down into the valley. He was not the least
bit sorry that he had disobeyed his parents and stolen away from home.
Yes, Cuffy was feeling very happy as he went prowling along the border
of the forest. He crept in and out of the bushes that fringed the
hay-field, and was having altogether a most pleasant time; until all at
once he stopped short. Cuffy's nose sniffed the air for a moment, and
the hairs on his back bristled just like those on a dog when he is
startled. Cuffy had caught a strange odor in the air.
At first he was frightened. But after he had sniffed the air a few times
he decided that whatever it was that he smelled, it had a good, pleasant
odor, and made him think of something to eat.
So Cuffy Bear began to nose about among the bushes. And presently he
discovered, hidden away beneath a clump of ferns, a basket of delicious
food. It was the haymakers' lunch that Cuffy had found. And he lost no
time. He began to eat as fast as he could. Yes--I am very sorry to say
that Cuffy actually _gobbled_ Farmer Green's lunch. And he was so greedy
that a strange thing happened to him.
XIV
CUFFY LIKES BAKED BEANS
Cuffy Bear found many good things in Farmer Green's lunch basket. He
bolted all the bread-and-butter, and the doughnuts; and he found the
custard pie to be about as enjoyable as any dainty he had ever tasted.
And then, with his little black face all smeared with streaks of yellow
custard, Cuffy began to poke a small iron pot which stood in one corner
of the big basket. Presently the pot tipped over, its cover fell off,
and soon Cuffy was devouring the daintiest dish of all! Baked beans! Of
course, he didn't know the name of those delicious, brown, mealy
kernels. But that made no difference at all to Cuffy. So long as he
liked what he was eating the name of it never troubled him. The only
thing that annoyed Cuffy now was that the pot was not bigger. There were
still a few beans which clung to the bottom; and try as he would, Cuffy
could not reach them, even with his tongue.
He was sitting on the ground, with the pot between his legs, and his
nose stuck into it as far as Cuffy could get it. But still he could not
reach those beans in the bottom. And pretty soon Cuffy began to lose his
temper. He stood up and gave a good, hard push against the ground. And
so he managed to squeeze his nose a little further into the bean-pot.
And now, to his huge delight, he could just reach the bottom of the pot
with his long under-lip. In a twinkling Cuffy had all the beans in his
mouth. And he would have grinned--he felt so happy--if his nose hadn't
been wedged so tightly into the pot that he couldn't even smile.
Since there were no more beans to be had out of _that_ pot, Cuffy lifted
his head. And to his great astonishment the bean-pot came right up off
the ground too, almost as if it were alive. It startled Cuffy, until he
saw that it was he who lifted the pot, on his own nose.
He seized the bean-pot and pulled. But his paws were so greasy with
butter that he couldn't get a good grip on it. The pot still stuck on
his nose as fast as ever.
Cuffy grunted. He couldn't really have said anything, with his mouth
deep in the iron pot. So he just grunted in a pouting sort of way; and
then he gave the pot a sharp rap against a rock. That hurt his nose. And
this time he growled--as well as he could. But all his grunting and
growling didn't frighten the bean-pot the slightest bit. There it
stayed, perched on his nose just as if it would never come off.
All this time the mowing-machine kept up a _click-clack-click-clack_!
And Cuffy thought that he had better get out of sight. So he plunged
into the forest and started toward home. He felt very uncomfortable, for
he began to wonder whether he would ever get rid of that troublesome
pot. What puzzled him most was this thought: How would he ever be able
to eat again, with that horrid thing over his nose? Cuffy was very fond
of riddles; but here was one that he did not like at all.
When he reached home his father and mother and Silkie all laughed so
hard at the sight of him that Cuffy began to whimper. And a big tear
rolled from each eye, ran down the bean-pot, and dropped off the bottom
of it.
And then, with just one tug Mr. Bear pulled the bean-pot off his son's
nose; and Cuffy was himself again.
He escaped a punishing, too, that time. And Mrs. Bear was very glad to
get such a nice iron pot. She had wanted one for a long time.
XV
HUNTING FOR A BEE-TREE
It was a very hot summer's day. Even up on Blue Mountain Cuffy Bear felt
the heat. And he wished that he might get rid of his thick coat. But
though Cuffy was beginning to believe himself a very wise little bear,
he could think of no way to slip off his heavy black fur. So he sat down
in the shade of a big tree, where the breeze blew upon him, and tried to
be as cool as he could.
Except when he was asleep it was not often that Cuffy was still for so
long. But now he sat motionless for some time, with his bright red
tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog's. Yes, he was quite
still--all but his little, beady, bright eyes. _They_ kept moving about
all the time. And they saw many things, for something or other is always
happening in the forest.
Cuffy saw a gray squirrel stick its head up from the crotch of a tree
nearby and peep at him. And he watched a wary old crow as he rested high
in a tree-top and cawed a greeting to some of his friends who were
flying past on their way to Farmer Green's cornfield. And Cuffy noticed
a bee as it lighted on a wild-flower right in front of him and sucked
the sweetness out of it. But Cuffy didn't pay much attention to that.
And since he soon began to feel cooler he was just wondering what he
would do next when it occurred to him that several bees had lighted upon
the flowers near him, and that they had all flown off _in the same
direction_.
All at once Cuffy forgot how hot and uncomfortable he had been; for now
he was wondering if those bees weren't all of them flying home to make
honey out of the sweet juices they had drawn from the flowers. And if
they were--and if he could only follow them--then he would find the tree
where they lived and he could have all the honey he wanted to eat.
So Cuffy followed on a little way in the direction in which the bees had
disappeared. And then he sat down again and waited and watched very
carefully.
For a long time nothing happened. And Cuffy was just about to give up
his plan when a bee came buzzing past him and lighted on a mulberry
blossom right above his head. And when the bee flew away, Cuffy followed
him until he lost sight of him. And then Cuffy sat down once more. Again
he waited and watched. And again, just as he was getting discouraged,
another bee flew past him and Cuffy jumped up and followed _him_ just
as fast as he could.
[Illustration: The Bees Were Right There Waiting for Cuffy]
Cuffy Bear must have spent as much as two hours doing that same thing
over and over again. But he didn't mind that. In fact, it didn't seem
long to him, at all, because he kept thinking of _honey_ all the time,
and it made a sort of _game_ of what he was doing. If he won the game,
you know, it meant that he was going to have something very nice for a
prize.
And sure enough, finally one of the bees Cuffy was following lighted on
an old tree, and Cuffy saw him crawl into a hole in a queer nest which
hung from a limb, and vanish. And as Cuffy stood there, looking up at
the nest, he saw as many as seven bees come out of that hole and fly
away.
Then Cuffy smiled all over his face, he felt so happy. At last he had
found a bee-tree. There was no doubt about it. The time he had always
wished for had come. He was going to have all the honey he could eat.
XVI
THE BEES STING CUFFY
As Cuffy Bear stood there on his hind legs looking up at the nest in the
old tree he saw so many bees come out and fly away that he thought that
there could not be any bees left at home--at least, not more than a
half-dozen. And Cuffy didn't believe that six bees would trouble him.
There was one good thing in having a coat like his, he told himself:
even if it was warm in summer, it was so thick that he didn't see how a
bee could sting him through it.
And with that, Cuffy started to climb the old tree. It took him no time
at all to hitch himself up the trunk. He shinned up just as any little
boy would climb a tree. And in less time than it takes to tell it, Cuffy
had reached the limb from which the nest hung, and he had stuck his paw
right through the side of it.
You remember that something is always happening in the forest?
Well--something happened now. Suddenly a terrible roar came from inside
the nest. It was a queer, far-off sort of sound, and it made Cuffy think
of the noise Swift River made, where it tumbled over the falls. But
Cuffy knew that there could be no water-fall inside the nest. He
wondered if there was some strange animal in there.... And he drew back
his paw very quickly. And then there came pouring out of the nest a
perfect cloud of bees, every one of them buzzing as loud as ever he
could.
Cuffy was startled at the sight. And he was more startled when they
flew right into his face and lighted on his nose and began to sting.
Cuffy roared with the pain. Yes--he gave such a great roar that he
couldn't hear the bees at all. But the bees didn't seem to mind that.
_They_ weren't afraid. They just kept on stinging. And they went for
Cuffy's eyes, too. And some of them even crawled down his ears. _That_
was the worst of all.
Just for a few moments Cuffy slapped at the bees. And he tried to brush
them off his face. But as fast as he swept them away from one spot they
settled on another. And Cuffy felt exactly as if somebody was sticking
him with pins and needles. He forgot all about taking any of the honey
to eat. He only wanted to get away from those bees. So he began to slide
down the tree.
But Cuffy soon saw that the bees intended to go right along with him.
They seemed to have no idea at all of staying at home, and as he
scrambled down the tree Cuffy thought very quickly. He hadn't put a paw
on the ground before he knew what he was going to do. Cuffy Bear ran
straight for the brook that goes tumbling down Blue Mountain to meet
Swift River.
XVII
CUFFY BEAR GOES SWIMMING
As Cuffy Bear tore through the forest, with the bees clustering all
about his head, he thought he never would reach the brook. He was going
straight for the deep pool, which he had often visited in order to watch
the speckled trout darting about in the clear water.
Now and then Cuffy paused in his mad rush, to bury his face in the thick
blanket of dead leaves that covered the ground. But just as soon as he
raised his head the bees would settle on his face again. And Cuffy would
rush off once more as fast as he could go.