That evening, after dark, the little Cub Bear heard the beaver go
"Bang, bang!" and he rushed to the mouth of the cave to see who was
coming. He saw a very strange looking animal coming up the path.
He said, "I see an animal that is about the size of a rhinoceros, only
he has no horns on the end of his nose, and he has the biggest nose I
ever saw. It is not a long nose, but it is a short, stubby nose, about
the size of the seat of a chair; the two big nostrils in the nose
are almost as big around as a base ball. I can't see why the nose is
so big. Oh, yes, I can, too, for he has just yawned, and he has the
longest and largest teeth of any animal in the whole world, I guess.
They are as big around as the leg of a chair. His mouth is so large
that a little bear could sit inside of it. His legs are almost as big
around as an elephant's legs, only they are very short."
Just then the owl said, "Who-o-o-o? who-o-o-o?" The animal did not say
a thing, but he gave a great snort.
The Circus Bear said, "I know who that is. That is Mr. Hippopotamus. In
the circus they called him Sam."
Just then the hippopotamus came up to the door of the cave, and the
little Cub Bear said very politely, "Come in, Mr. Hittopotamus."
You see, it was such a long word he could not pronounce it right.
So Mr. Hippopotamus came into the cave, and as he did so, he gave a
great yawn, which frightened the little Cub Bear so that he ran way
back to the back part of the cave.
The hippopotamus said, "Don't be afraid, little Cub Bear, because your
brother was very good to me when we were in the circus, and I wouldn't
hurt you for anything."
So the little Cub Bear came back, and he looked the hippopotamus over,
and saw that he did not have any hair on his body at all, and that he
was about the color of an old slate, and that he had a very fierce
looking mouth. After a little while the little Cub Bear plucked up
courage, and he said:
"Mr. Hittopotamus, we are going to fix up the cave for all the animals,
and we want to know if you can help us?"
The hippopotamus said, "I would be very glad to help you if I can,
because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus."