The Adventures of Buster Bear | Page 2

to the Laughing Brook, and straight to a little
pool of which he knew, and as he drew near he took the greatest care
not to make the teeniest, weeniest bit of noise. Now it just happened
that early as he was, some one was before Buster Bear. When he came
in sight of the little pool, who should he see but another fisherman there,
who had already caught a fine fat trout. Who was it? Why, Little Joe
Otter to be sure. He was just climbing up the bank with the fat trout in
his mouth. Buster Bear's own mouth watered as he saw it. Little Joe sat
down on the bank and prepared to enjoy his breakfast. He hadn't seen
Buster Bear, and he didn't know that he or any one else was anywhere
near.
Buster Bear tiptoed up very softly until he was right behind Little Joe
Otter. "Woof, woof!" said he in his deepest, most grumbly-rumbly
voice. "That's a very fine looking trout. I wouldn't mind if I had it
myself."
Little Joe Otter gave a frightened squeal and without even turning to
see who was speaking dropped his fish and dived headfirst into the

Laughing Brook. Buster Bear sprang forward and with one of his big
paws caught the fat trout just as it was slipping back into the water.
"Here's your trout, Mr. Otter," said he, as Little Joe put his head out of
water to see who had frightened him so. "Come and get it."
[Illustration: "Here's your trout, Mr. Otter," said he. Page 5.]
But Little Joe wouldn't. The fact is, he was afraid to. He snarled at
Buster Bear and called him a thief and everything bad he could think of.
Buster didn't seem to mind. He chuckled as if he thought it all a great
joke and repeated his invitation to Little Joe to come and get his fish.
But Little Joe just turned his back and went off down the Laughing
Brook in a great rage.
"It's too bad to waste such a fine fish," said Buster thoughtfully. "I
wonder what I'd better do with it." And while he was wondering, he ate
it all up. Then he started down the Laughing Brook to try to catch some
for himself.

II
LITTLE JOE OTTER GETS EVEN WITH BUSTER BEAR
Little Joe Otter was in a terrible rage. It was a bad beginning for a
beautiful day and Little Joe knew it. But who wouldn't be in a rage if
his breakfast was taken from him just as he was about to eat it?
Anyway, that is what Little Joe told Billy Mink. Perhaps he didn't tell it
quite exactly as it was, but you know he was very badly frightened at
the time.
"I was sitting on the bank of the Laughing Brook beside one of the little
pools," he told Billy Mink, "and was just going to eat a fat trout I had
caught, when who should come along but that great big bully, Buster
Bear. He took that fat trout away from me and ate it just as if it
belonged to him! I hate him! If I live long enough I'm going to get even
with him!"

Of course that wasn't nice talk and anything but a nice spirit, but Little
Joe Otter's temper is sometimes pretty short, especially when he is
hungry, and this time he had had no breakfast, you know.
Buster Bear hadn't actually taken the fish away from Little Joe. But
looking at the matter as Little Joe did, it amounted to the same thing.
You see, Buster knew perfectly well when he invited Little Joe to come
back and get it that Little Joe wouldn't dare do anything of the kind.
"Where is he now?" asked Billy Mink.
"He's somewhere up the Laughing Brook. I wish he'd fall in and get
drowned!" snapped Little Joe.
Billy Mink just had to laugh. The idea of great big Buster Bear getting
drowned in the Laughing Brook was too funny. There wasn't water
enough in it anywhere except down in the Smiling Pool, and that was
on the Green Meadows, where Buster had never been known to go.
"Let's go see what he is doing," said Billy Mink.
At first Little Joe didn't want to, but at last his curiosity got the better of
his fear, and he agreed. So the two little brown-coated scamps turned
down the Laughing Brook, taking the greatest care to keep out of sight
themselves. They had gone only a little way when Billy Mink
whispered: "Sh-h! There he is."
Sure enough, there was Buster Bear sitting close beside a little pool and
looking into it very intently.
"What's he doing?" asked Little Joe Otter, as Buster Bear sat for