Little Bear at Work and at Play | Page 6

get ready."
That is how it came about that the Three Bears dined with the Otters that day, on trout, salmon, and eels, and were served with only one bite from each fish, and that bite taken from the meat just behind the head. Mother Bear thought that the Otters chose only one dainty morsel from each fish just because they had invited company for dinner. But Father Bear told her afterward that she was mistaken; Otters always serve fish in that way when fish are plentiful.
After dinner the Otters and their guests rested for a while, and then Father Otter urged the children to come out and play with him and with Mother Otter. Much surprised, the Three Bears followed the Otters to their playground. And the next Father Bear and Mother Bear knew, Little Bear was sliding down the Otters' toboggan slide and shouting with glee. All the Otters went down that slide, one behind the other, and landed splashety-splash! in the river below.
It was a wonderful sight to see the Otters swimming about in the stream, because they are beautiful swimmers. But what Father and Mother Bear liked best was the picture of Little Bear running up the roundabout path to the top of the bank and going down the slide three times as fast as the Otter children and their parents. The Otters were more at home in the water than Little Bear was, but they could not run on land as he could.
Their next game they played with sticks. One Otter took the end of a stick in his mouth and another Otter took the other end, and then they pulled and pulled to
[Illustration: Little Bear was sliding down the Otter' toboggan slide.]
see which was the stronger. Little Bear did not like that game so well as he did the toboggan slide.
"We have had a delightful time at your party," said Mother Bear to Mother Otter, at last, "and we thank you for inviting us over. If you ever wander into our home woods, come to our little house and have porridge with us."
"We shall be glad to do so," said Mother Otter, "and we shall always think kindly of Little Bear because he brought our baby home when he was lost. If we do go to visit you, you must let us make Little Bear a toboggan slide."
"Ask them to come as soon as we get home!" urged Little Bear in a whisper to his mother so loud that the Otter children heard it, and laughed.
And that night Little Bear dreamed of taking home a baby otter and of being invited to slide down that baby otter's toboggan slide all the afternoon.
Once in midsummer when wild roses were blooming along the river bank behind the Three Bears' house in the forest and wild birds were singing from every thicket, Father Bear built a raft and took his family floating downstream. The raft was made of logs firmly fastened together. It was big and strong, and had three rustic chairs on it--a big, big chair for the big Father Bear, a middle-sized chair for middle-sized Mother Bear, and a wee, wee chair for wee Little Bear. There were also poles to keep the raft from bumping against the river bank: a rather heavy pole made just for huge Father Bear, a middle-sized pole for middle-sized Mother Bear, and a long, light pole for Little Bear.
Soon they were far from home, but it was afternoon before anything special happened. There was a bend in the river, and when the raft came swishing and tumbling round that bend the Three Bears saw a little log house on a hillside and many children playing outside the door.
At that very moment, bump! went the raft into the bank, and there it stuck among the willows!
"Oh, please do not push the raft into the stream
[Illustration: Father Bear took his family floating downstream.]
for a few minutes!" whispered Little Bear. "Let us watch the children!"
"Yes, let us watch the children," added Mother Bear.
So Father Bear, being willing to please his family, seated himself in his huge chair, and Mother Bear seated herself in her middle-sized chair. But Little Bear stood on his tippytoes in his little chair, so that he could see better.
"Oh, I wish those children would let me play with them!" cried Little Bear, as the youngsters joined hands and danced round and round in a circle.
Plainly, the log building was a schoolhouse, for a moment later out stepped the schoolmaster and began to ring a bell.
The children straightway formed in line, boys first, girls behind. Then they all marched into the schoolroom, saying, "Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot," and their feet made a merry stamping.
After the children were all in the schoolhouse and the door was closed,