WOOF-WOOF TURNS UP HER NOSE
I pray you be not one of those
Who boast the scornful turned-up nose.
_Mother Bear._
Now all the time that Boxer had been losing himself more and more and
getting into more and more trouble, Mother Bear had been worrying about
him, and she and his twin sister, Woof-Woof, had been everywhere but
the right place looking for him.
You remember that Mother Bear and Woof-Woof had been away from home
when Boxer decided to run away. When they returned, Boxer had been
gone so long that Mother Bear’s nose failed to find enough of his scent
to follow. So when she started to look for him, she started in the
wrong direction. Of course, she had to take Woof-Woof with her, and
because Woof-Woof got tired after a while, Mother Bear couldn’t hunt as
thoroughly as she would have done had she been alone.
At first Woof-Woof felt very badly indeed at the loss of her little
twin brother. Down in her heart she admired him for his boldness in
running away, but when she thought of all the dreadful things that
might happen to him out in the Great World, she became very sorrowful.
This was at first. After she had tramped and tramped and tramped behind
Mother Bear, tramped until her feet ached, she became cross. She blamed
Boxer, and quite rightly, for those aching feet. The more they ached
the crosser she became, until she tried to make herself believe that
she didn’t care what happened to that heedless brother.
“I don’t care if I never see him again,” she grumbled. “I don’t care
what happens to him. Whatever happens will serve him right. I wish
Mother Bear would remember that my legs are not as long as hers. I’m
tired. I want to rest. I want to rest, I do. I want to rest. Ouch! My
feet are getting sore.”
Now such news as Jimmy Skunk’s punishment of Boxer travels fast through
the Green Forest, and it wasn’t long before the story of it reached
Mrs. Bear’s ears. She growled dreadful threats of what she would do if
she met Jimmy Skunk, though she knew very well that she would politely
step aside if she did meet him, and then she started for the place
where Boxer had been given his lessons in politeness by Jimmy Skunk.
There was no doubt about the place when they reached it. “Phew!” cried
Woof-Woof, holding her nose.
Mother Bear merely grunted and started off faster than before.
Woof-Woof had to run to keep up with her. Mother Bear had that smell to
guide her now. She knew that all she had to do now to find her runaway
son was to follow up that smell.
So it was that just as the Black Shadows were beginning to creep
through the Green Forest, and poor little Boxer, a very lonely,
miserable and frightened little Bear, was beginning to dread another
night, he heard a crashing in the brush, and out came Mother Bear and
Woof-Woof. With a glad squeal of joy, Boxer started to run toward them.
But a growl, such an ugly growl, from Mother Bear stopped him.
“Don’t you come near us,” said she. “You can follow us, but don’t you
dare come a step nearer than you are now. It would serve you right if
we had nothing more to do with you, but after all, you are rather small
to be wandering about alone. Besides, there is no knowing what more
disgrace you would get us into. Now come along.”
Boxer looked at Woof-Woof for some sign of sympathy. But Woof-Woof held
her head very high and turned up her nose at him. “Phew!” said she.