OLD FRIENDS
THE children had climbed high that day with their berry pails.
Wiggledy had gone bounding on ahead, threatening every squirrel and
chipmunk with the most ferocious barks. Suddenly he began sniffing at
the ground in a way that attracted the children’s curiosity, then went
bounding off with joyful yelps.
“What can it be?” wondered the little girl. “He never ran away and left
us like that before.”
“Let’s go along and find out,” proposed the boy.
They had to run to keep the dog in sight. Sometimes he would stop and
peer into the branches of a tree, then sniff about underneath. Then
off he would race again, nose to the ground, uttering happy yelps and
whimpers.
The way he led them zig-zagged this way and that, but always it took
them higher. At last they found themselves away up on the mountain side
almost to timber line. Then Wiggledy disappeared in a berry patch too
thorny for them to follow.
As they stood waiting and calling for him to come back, and filling
their pails from the berries within reach, the little girl began
staring at the rocks further up. When the boy glimpsed her frightened
eyes he, too, stared in the direction she was gazing.
From behind a mammoth bowlder peered a huge brown head, with a long
yellowish snout.
Slowly a huge, furry form came lumbering forth, walking awkwardly
flat-footed, wagging its head from side to side. It was headed straight
toward them.
Now it arose to its full height, sniffing the breeze and peering
apparently right at them with its near-sighted little eyes. Then down
on all fours again went the shaggy beast. It was a brown bear,--the
largest they had ever seen.
The children didn’t know which way to turn. Of course they knew, as
their father had often told them, that a brown bear will not harm human
kind, unless wounded or cornered or trying to defend its young. But
how could they be sure this bear had not been wounded, or had no cubs
somewhere hidden among the rocks and thought they were after them!
The little girl was in for running, but the boy sternly bade her stay
still and show no fear. Wiggledy was still racing around in the berry
patch with his nose to the ground. Just then the wind veered. With a
frantic yelp the dog went flying straight toward the bear.
“Wiggledy! Come back!” called the boy, frightened lest the bear would
kill him. But the dog raced on.
Then something happened that left them speechless with amazement. The
little dog and the big bear began romping together just as had the pup
and the yearling cub the year before.
“It IS Fuzzy-Wuzz!” cried the boy. “Come here, you old rascal you,”
and he fished a hunk of gingerbread from his pocket and strode up to
the bear.
The bear shambled toward him eagerly, and took the tid-bit from his
hand. It was Fuzzy-Wuzz, his old friends not forgotten, though he had
taken to the wild where he belonged.
THE END
Transcriber’s Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations
in hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other
spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.
Italics are represented thus _italic_, bold is represented thus =bold=.