Johnny Bear 



continued to survey me calmly. She seemed in 

 doubt for a minute, but evidently made up her 

 mind that, " although that human thing might 

 be all right, she would take no chances for her 

 little ones." 



She looked up to her two hopefuls, and gave 

 a peculiar whining Er-r-r Er-r, whereupon 

 they, like obedient children, jumped, as at the 

 word of command. There was nothing about 

 them heavy or bear-like as commonly under- 

 stood ; lightly they swung from bough to bough 

 till they dropped to the ground, and all went off 

 together into the woods. I was much tickled 

 by the prompt obedience of the little Bears. 

 As soon as their mother told them to do some- 

 thing they did it. They did not even offer a 

 suggestion. But I also found out that there 

 was a good reason for it, for had they not 

 done as she had told them they would have 

 got such a spanking as would have made them 

 howl. 



This was a delightful peep into Bear home 

 life, and would have been well worth coming 

 for, if the insight had ended there. But my 

 friends in the Hotel said that that was not the 



•47 



