Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
[Illustration: MY, MY, HOW EXCITED THEY WERE AS MOTHER BEAR LED THE
WAY. _Page 27._]
BUSTER BEAR’S TWINS
BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS
_With Illustrations by_
_HARRISON CADY_
GROSSET & DUNLAP
Publishers New York
_Printed by arrangement with Little, Brown, and Company_
_Copyright, 1921, 1923_,
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS.
_All rights reserved_
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Dedication
TO CHILDHOOD
LITTLE HUMAN FOLK, LITTLE PEOPLE IN
FUR AND FEATHERS AND ALL OTHER
CHILDREN OF OLD MOTHER
NATURE THIS BOOK
IS DEDICATED
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I MOTHER BEAR’S SECRET 1
II PETER SCARES THE TWINS 8
III PETER’S GLEE IS SHORT-LIVED 14
IV BOXER AND WOOF-WOOF 20
V OUT IN THE GREAT WORLD 26
VI THE TWINS CLIMB A TREE 32
VII A SCARE THAT DIDN’T WORK 39
VIII TOO LATE CHATTERER IS SORRY 46
IX THE TWINS HAVE TO GO HOME 52
X THE TWINS GET EVEN WITH PETER RABBIT 58
XI PETER IS IN A TIGHT PLACE 64
XII PETER TAKES A CHANCE 69
XIII A GREAT MIX-UP OF LITTLE BEARS 74
XIV TWO FOOLISH-FEELING LITTLE BEARS 80
XV THE TWINS MEET THEIR FATHER 86
XVI THE TWINS TAKE TO A TREE 92
XVII MOTHER COMES TO THE RESCUE 98
XVIII THE TWINS ARE COMFORTED 104
XIX THE CUBS TALK IT OVER 110
XX THE TWINS GET THEIR FIRST BATH 116
XXI THE TWINS ARE STILL PUZZLED 123
XXII BOXER GETS A SPANKING 129
XXIII BOXER IS SULKY 135
XXIV BOXER STARTS OUT TO GET EVEN 141
XXV CHATTERER HAS FUN WITH BOXER 147
XXVI ALONE AND LOST IN THE GREAT WORLD 153
XXVII A DREADFUL NIGHT FOR A LITTLE BEAR 159
XXVIII BOXER GETS HIS OWN BREAKFAST 165
XXIX BOXER HAS A PAINFUL LESSON 171
XXX BOXER IS SADDER BUT MUCH WISER 177
XXXI BOXER MEETS A POLITE LITTLE FELLOW 183
XXXII BOXER WISHES HE HADN’T 189
XXXIII WOOF-WOOF TURNS UP HER NOSE 195
XXXIV ALL IS WELL AT LAST 201
ILLUSTRATIONS
My, my, how excited they were as
Mother Bear led the way. _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
Boxer climbed up on the pile of brush
and jumped up and down. 72
It was the first time they ever had
been in the water all over. 120
He pitched heels over head down the
bank of the Laughing Brook. 164
BUSTER BEAR’S TWINS
CHAPTER I
MOTHER BEAR’S SECRET
The best kept secret soon or late
Will be found out as sure as fate.
_Mother Bear._
Have you ever wanted to be in a number of places at the same time? Then
you know exactly how Peter Rabbit felt in the beautiful springtime. You
see, there was so much going on everywhere all the time that Peter felt
sure he was missing something, no matter how much he saw and heard. In
that he was quite right.
But you may be sure Peter did his best not to miss any more than he had
to. He scampered lipperty-lipperty-lip this way, lipperty-lipperty-lip
that way, and lipperty-lipperty-lip the other way, watching, listening,
asking questions and making a nuisance of himself generally. For a
while there were so many new arrivals in the Old Orchard and on the
Green Meadows, feathered friends returning from the Sunny South and in
a great hurry to begin housekeeping, and strangers passing through on
their way to the Far North, that Peter hardly gave the Green Forest a
thought.
But one moonlight night he happened to think of Paddy the Beaver and
that he hadn’t seen Paddy since before Paddy’s pond froze over early in
the winter.
“I must run over and pay him my respects,” thought Peter.
“I certainly must. I wonder if he is as glad as the rest of us that
Sweet Mistress Spring is here.”
No sooner did he think of this than Peter started,
lipperty-lipperty-lip, through the Green Forest for the pond of Paddy
the Beaver. Now the nearest way was past the great windfall where Mrs.
Bear made her home. Peter hadn’t thought of this when he started. He
didn’t think of it until he came in sight of it. The instant he saw
that old windfall he stopped short. He remembered Mrs. Bear and that he
had heard that she had a secret. Instantly curiosity took possession of
him. He forgot all about Paddy the Beaver.
For some time Peter sat perfectly still, looking and listening. There
was no sign of Mrs. Bear. Was she under that windfall in her bedroom
taking a nap, or was she off somewhere? Peter wished he knew. It was
such a lovely night that he had a feeling Mrs. Bear was out somewhere.
A hop at a time, pausing to look and listen between hops, Peter drew
nearer to the great windfall. Still there was no sign of Mrs. Bear.
With his heart going pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, Peter drew nearer
and nearer to the great windfall, and at last was close to it on the
side opposite to Mrs. Bear’s entrance. Taking care not to so much as
rustle a dry leaf on the ground, Peter stole around the end of the
great windfall until he could see the entrance Mrs. Bear always used.
No one was in sight. Peter drew a long breath and hopped a little
nearer. He felt very brave and bold, but you may be sure that at the
same time he was ready to jump and run, as only he can at the least
hint of danger.
For a long time Peter sat and stared at that entrance and wished he
dared just poke his head inside. If Mrs. Bear really had a secret, it
was somewhere inside there. Anyway, that is what old Granny Fox had
said. He had almost worked his courage up to the point of taking just
one hurried little peek in that entrance when his long ears caught a
faint rustling sound under the great windfall.
Peter scurried off to a safe distance, then turned and stared at that
entrance. He half expected to see Mrs. Bear’s great head come poking
out and he was ready to take to his heels. Instead a very small head
and then another close beside it appeared.
Peter was so surprised he nearly fell over backward. Then in a flash it
came to him that he knew Mrs. Bear’s secret. It was out at last. Yes,
sir, it was out at last. Mrs. Bear had a family! Mrs. Bear and Buster
Bear had twins!