THE TWINS ARE COMFORTED
There is no comfort quite like that
Contained in mother’s loving pat.
_Mother Bear._
The instant they saw Mother Bear, the twins stopped bawling. Nothing
could harm them now. They knew it. Mother would take care of them.
Of that there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in the minds of Boxer and
Woof-Woof. Hanging on with every claw of hands and feet, they leaned
out as far as they could to see what would happen to that great black
Bear who had frightened them so.
But nothing happened to Buster Bear for the very good reason that he
didn’t wait for anything to happen. Buster was doing no waiting at all.
In fact, he was moving so fast and at the same time trying to watch
behind him that he didn’t even pick his path. He bumped into trees
and stumbled over logs in a way that to say the least was not at all
dignified. But Buster was in too much of a hurry to think of dignity.
There was something about the looks of Mother Bear as she tore after
him that made him feel sure that he would find it much pleasanter in
another part of the Green Forest, and he was in a hurry to get there.
Mother Bear didn’t follow him far, only just far enough to make sure
that he intended to keep right on going. Then, growling dreadful
threats, she hurried back to the tree in which the cubs were. Boxer
and Woof-Woof were already scrambling down as fast as they could,
whimpering a little, for though they felt wholly safe now, they were
not yet over their fright. She reached the foot of the tree just as
they reached the ground.
She sat up and the twins rushed to her and snuggled as close to her as
they could get. Mother Bear put a big arm around each and patted them
gently. It was surprising how gentle great big Mother Bear could be.
“Wha-wha-what would that awful fellow have done to us?” asked
Woof-Woof, crowding still closer to Mother Bear.
“Eaten you,” growled Mother Bear, and little cold shivers ran all over
Woof-Woof and Boxer.
“I hate him!” declared Boxer.
“So do I!” cried Woof-Woof. “I think he is dreadful, and I hope we’ll
never, never, never, see him again!”
“But you will,” replied Mother Bear. “I don’t think you’ll see him
again right away, for he knows it isn’t wise for him to hang around
here when I am about. But by and by, when you are bigger, you will see
him often. The fact is, he is your father.”
“What!” screamed the twins, quite horrified. “That dreadful fellow our
father!”
“Just so,” growled Mrs. Bear. “Just so. And he isn’t dreadful at all.
You mustn’t speak of your father that way.”
“But if it isn’t dreadful for a father to want to eat his own children,
I guess I don’t know what dreadful means,” declared Boxer in a most
decided tone. “I call it dreadful, and I hate him. I do so.”
“Softly, Boxer. Softly,” chided Mother Bear. “You see, he didn’t know
you were his children. He knows it now, but until he saw me coming to
your rescue he didn’t know it. He never had seen you before. You were
simply two tempting-looking little strangers who, if I do say it, look
good enough to eat.” She squeezed them and patted them fondly. “His
name,” she added, “is Buster Bear.”