Little Bear at Work and at Play | Page 9

at sunset so that he might be up early in the morning to explore a country where rocks were painted in all colors of the rainbow, where springs of hot water bubbled through the earth, and where crystal-clear waterfalls filled his little heart with wonder.
Sure enough, Little Bear awoke in the early dawn, gave his father a friendly poke in the side, gave his mother's nose a friendly tweak, and thus merrily the day began.
"Let us take a walk before breakfast," suggested Little Bear.
[Illustration: He lifted the cover and peeped in]
"Very well," agreed Father Bear, "and let us catch fish for breakfast in a mountain stream!"
"And we shall cook the fish in the first hot spring along the way," added Mother Bear.
On through the glorious dawn went the Three Bears, crooning an old song and joyfully sniffing the air, when suddenly they came upon a sleeping camp, where the tents of the campers formed a big circle. In the center of the circle were the ashes of a campfire, and not far away was a cookstove standing near a covered wagon.
On that stove was a kettle. Over to that kettle pranced Little Bear. He lifted the cover and peeped in.
The kettle was full of something Little Bear had never seen before. Over walked Father Bear, over walked Mother Bear. They peeped in the kettle and shook their heads.
"It is something the cook forgot to put away!" remarked Father Bear in pompous tones.
"You may taste of it if you wish, Son Bear," said his mother.
Into the kettle went Little Bear's paw, and out it came filled with soft, brown, juicy fruit. He ate it, and it was good-so good he ate more and more. Father Bear ate the fruit, Mother Bear ate the fruit.
"What is it?" they said one to another. But although they could not answer the question, they liked that fruit so well they ate and ate until they ate it all up. They even forgot their manners and smacked their lips.
Suddenly there was a noise in one of the tents, and out popped the cook's wife, calling, "Oh, the bears are eating our prunes! Oh, the bears are eating our prunes! Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! They were eating our prunes!"
"So we were eating prunes!" exclaimed Mother Bear, as away went the Three Bears, laughing.
"And prunes are good!" piped up Little Bear, in his shrill, shrill voice.
But Daddy Bear pranced through the forest singing:
"Oh, let us sing some new, new tunes! All about her prunes, prunes, prunes!"
And "Prunes, prunes, prunes," the Three Bears sang all that merry day. "Prunes, prunes, prunes, prunes we had for breakfast!"
Little Bear had never heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin who rid the town of rats, and then, when he went back for his promised pay, was only laughed at, so that he piped away all the children of Hamelin town and never piped them back again. Mother Bear had never told Little Bear that story. However, she had taught her child to keep his promises, which was very fortunate, because one day the Pied Piper appeared when Little Bear was alone in the sunbright clearing which was his favorite playground.
It happened that day that Little Bear found his playground full of caterpillars, and he did not like caterpillars. They were everywhere--on the ground, on the grass, on flowers, on the trees, humping along and humping along, eating green leaves.
"Oh, you old humpty-humps," exclaimed Little Bear, "I wish you would go away!"
But the caterpillars would not go away. They even began crawling over Little Bear. He shook them off and was about to run away when along came that man, tall and thin, with a sharp chin and a mouth where the smiles went out and in, and two blue eyes each like a pin.
And he was dressed half in red and half in yellow, and as we have often been told, he really was the strangest fellow. Around his neck he wore a red and yellow ribbon, and on it was hung something like a flute, and his fingers went straying up and down it as if he wished to be playing.
"I understand that you do not like caterpillars," said this queer fellow to Little Bear. "Men call me the Pied Piper," he went on when he saw that Little Bear was too surprised to speak. "And I know a way to draw after me everything that walks or flies or swims! What will you give me if I rid your playground of caterpillars?"
"I shall give you my porridge bowl," answered Little Bear, "if you can take away these caterpillars."
Little Bear afterward told his father and mother that he did not believe that the Pied Piper could do it.
Straightway the Pied Piper put the long pipe to his lips and began to play