[Illustration: Dido did jump through the blazing hoop to get the
apple.]
_Kneetime Animal Stories_
DIDO
THE DANCING BEAR
HIS MANY ADVENTURES
BY
RICHARD BARNUM
Author of “Squinty, the Comical Pig,” “Mappo, the
Merry Monkey,” “Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant,”
“Blackie, a Lost Cat,” “Flop Ear, the
Funny Rabbit,” etc.
_ILLUSTRATED BY
C. P. BLUEMLEIN_
PUBLISHERS
BARSE & HOPKINS
NEW YORK, N. Y. NEWARK, N. J.
KNEETIME ANIMAL STORIES
By Richard Barnum
_Illustrated._
SQUINTY, THE COMICAL PIG
SLICKO, THE JUMPING SQUIRREL
MAPPO, THE MERRY MONKEY
TUM TUM, THE JOLLY ELEPHANT
DON, A RUNAWAY DOG
DIDO, THE DANCING BEAR
BLACKIE, A LOST CAT
FLOP EAR, THE FUNNY RABBIT
TINKLE, THE TRICK PONY
LIGHTFOOT, THE LEAPING GOAT
(_Other volumes in preparation_)
BARSE & HOPKINS
Publishers New York
Copyright, 1916
by
Barse & Hopkins
_Dido, the Dancing Bear_
MADE IN U. S. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I DIDO CUTS UP 7
II DIDO IS CAUGHT 16
III DIDO IS TRAINED 28
IV DIDO LEARNS TO DANCE 38
V DIDO CROSSES THE OCEAN 48
VI DIDO IN THE COUNTRY 58
VII DIDO MEETS DON 66
VIII DIDO HELPS A GIRL 74
IX DIDO IN THE BAKERY 83
X DIDO SCARES A MAN 92
XI DIDO IN THE CIRCUS 100
XII DIDO IN A FIRE 109
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Dido did jump through the blazing hoop to get the
apple _Frontispiece_
But Dido climbed up a tree to get away 23
Into the tub of water he jumped with a splash 43
Dido, the dancing bear and Tum Tum, the jolly elephant 65
Just as the dog was going to jump Dido stepped in
between them 81
Jacko and Dido were eating cakes from the window 95
He soon had opened the cage of the dancing bear and
Dido jumped out 117
DIDO, THE DANCING BEAR
CHAPTER I
DIDO CUTS UP
In the woods, on top of a mountain, in a far-off country there once
lived a family of nice bears. I call them nice bears for they were. Of
course they had long claws, and sharp teeth, but they never bit any
one, or scratched any one, because there were no boys or girls, or men
or women, living in that part of the woods.
I suppose, though, if a boy went on top of the mountain, and began
throwing stones or sticks at the nice bears, they might have run out
and scratched him to make him go away. Mind, I’m not saying for sure,
but maybe. But, as I have said, there were no boys in the woods to
bother the bears who lived all by themselves in a den among the rocks.
A bear’s house is called a den, because it is such a nice, cozy, warm
place, just as your father or brother may have a room of his own, all
fixed up with the things he likes best, and he calls that his den.
Well, in this den in the woods on top of the mountain lived the five
bears. There was Mr. Bear, the papa, and Mrs. Bear, the mother, and
there were three little bears, called cubs, just as little dogs are
called puppies.
One little bear was named Gruffo, because he had such a deep, gruff
voice, though it was not at all cross. And another bear was named
Muffo, because he had such big, soft furry paws that when he folded
them together it looked just as if he were carrying a muff.
And besides Gruffo and Muffo there was another bear, the smallest of
the three, called Dido. Now I am going to tell you some of the many
adventures Dido had. Adventures, you know, are what happen to you.
“Gruffo and Muffo, you must take good care of your little brother Dido
when you go off playing in the woods,” said Mrs. Bear, for though the
bears could not speak in our language they had talk of their own which
was just as plain to them as our A B and C talk is to us.
“Take good care of Dido,” Mrs. Bear would say. “Don’t run away from
him, or he might be lost. And don’t climb big trees and leave him on
the ground, or something might happen to him. And never take him too
far out in the water of the lake when you go swimming, or he might be
drowned.”
“We won’t, Mother,” said Gruffo and Muffo. “We’ll take good care of
Dido.”
“Oh, I guess I can take care of myself,” said Dido, making a funny face
with his queer, black, rubbery nose.
“Now that wasn’t a nice thing to say,” said Mrs. Bear, holding up her
paw and gently shaking it at Dido. “You ought to be glad your bigger
brothers will look after you.”
“Oh, so I am, Mother,” answered Dido. “I’m sorry I spoke that way. May
they take me swimming now, down to the lake?”
“I guess so,” answered Mrs. Bear. “Run along, little cubs. I have to go
out and see if I can find some berries or sweet roots for your dinner.”
Bears, you know, like to eat berries and the sweet roots of some trees
and bushes. Bears also like fish, and honey. Say! if ever you have a
pet bear, which might some day happen, you know, and you want to give
him a special extra treat, just bring him some honey. He will love it
so much that he will eat every bit of it up, box and all!
So while Dido, with his brothers Gruffo and Muffo, walked on along the
mountain path to the lake, Mrs. Bear went off in the woods to find
some roots and berries for dinner. Of course the little bears might
have been able to find some for themselves, but you know how it is with
children. Even though they know where the things are to eat they like
their mother to get a meal for them.
“I can run faster than you can!” cried Dido to his two brothers, as
they went along through the woods. “Look!” And off he started, swinging
from side to side, brushing the bushes out of his way as he went.
“Pooh! I can go faster than that!” called Gruffo in his deep voice.
“Watch me!”
Then he began to run, and, as he was bigger than Dido, of course he ran
faster, and soon passed him.
“I can beat you, Gruffo!” cried Muffo. “See!” Then Muffo ran, and of
course he easily ran ahead of the other two bear cubs.
“Let’s have another race,” said Dido, a little later. “I think I can
beat you both then,” and slipping up behind Gruffo he began tickling
him in his ear with a piece of tree branch.
“Ouch! What’s that, a bee?” cried Gruffo, brushing his ear with his
paw, for his ear tickled. He did not see what Dido was doing.
“Let me alone, bee!” growled Gruffo. “That is, unless you will show me
the hollow tree where you have some honey,” went on the bear cub. “If
you do that you may tickle me all you please!”
“Ha! Ha!” laughed Muffo at the funny way Dido was tickling Gruffo. “Ha!
Ha! Ho! Ho!” and he nearly fell down, he laughed so hard.
Of course I don’t mean to say that bears laugh as we do, but they have
their own way of making fun and laughing at it. So when I say, in this
story, that a bear laughs, or talks or does anything, I mean he does it
in a bear’s way, and not in our way.
“Where is that bee?” asked Gruffo. And then, as he heard Muffo
laughing, and Dido giggling, Gruffo turned quickly and saw that it was
his little brother tickling him in the ear with the stick.
“Here, you stop that!” cried Gruffo, and he reached out his paw to
catch Dido. But Dido jumped back, and so quickly that he tripped over a
tree root, and down he went, turning a back somersault.
“Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho!” laughed Gruffo this time. “That was very funny, Dido.
Do it again!”
“No,” answered Dido, “I will not, if you please. I did not do it on
purpose, and besides, I bumped my nose when I fell.”
“Oh, that’s too bad!” said Gruffo, for he remembered what his mother
had said about looking after little Dido. “I’m sorry you hurt your
nose,” went on Gruffo. “Still, if you had not tickled me you would not
have fallen. Never mind, here is some soft mud you can hold on your
nose, that will make it well.”
From a wet place, near a spring of water, Gruffo took up some soft mud,
and put it on his little brother’s nose.
“Does that make the pain better?” asked Gruffo.
“Lots better, thank you,” answered Dido. For it is true that bears and
other animals use mud as we do plaster and poultices. If ever your dog
gets stung by a bee on the nose, you watch him hunt for some soft mud
to put on the stinging place.
“Well, come on if we’re going swimming,” said Muffo, after a bit.
So the three bears went on through the woods on the mountain, until
they came to the lake, where the water was blue and clear and cold.
Without stopping to take off any clothes (for of course they did not
wear any), the three bears plunged into the water and began swimming
about. Bears love to play in the water, and that is why, in parks and
other places where they keep tame bears, there is always a pool of
water for them to splash in. And sometimes there is a wooden ball in
the water for the bears to play with, too, for bears love to play.
“Watch me dive!” cried Dido, and down he went under the water. Up he
came, a little later, right near Muffo, and with his paw Dido splashed
some water in Muffo’s face.
“Say, you’re cutting up a lot to-day, Dido!” cried Muffo. “What makes
you do so many tricks?”
“Oh, I just feel happy!” cried Dido, gayly.
Then he swam about some more, splashing in the water of the lake, and
lapping some water with his red tongue.
“I wish we could catch some fish,” said Gruffo, after a bit. “I’m
hungry.”
“So am I,” said Muffo. “Let’s go fishing.”
“I’m coming, too,” said Dido.
The bears came up out of the water, with their fur dripping wet, and
started to go fishing. They did not need poles or lines or hooks. All
they had to do was to sit on a log, near the lake, and when, by looking
down, they saw a fish swimming along they just put their claws quickly
in and pulled the fish out. It was very easy for them, but it would
have been hard for you or me.
“Ha! I see a fish!” suddenly cried Dido. “Watch me catch him!”
Down into the water he thrust his paw. But something was wrong. Either
Dido did not see the fish, and only thought he did, or he went after
it too quickly. For he reached over too far, and the next thing he knew
he was splashing in the lake again. He had fallen in.
“Ho! Ho!” laughed Muffo. “That’s a queer way to fish, Dido.”
“I――I didn’t meant to do that!” spluttered Dido, as he crawled out on
the bank.
“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.