Woolly bears 

 Photo by M. V. Slingerland. 



What the WooUy Bear Said 



Lilian Lybolt Hammond 



"Ouch I" I woke up suddenly to find myself being pushed 

 about and rolled over several times and finally picked up. I 

 remained as I was — a ball of woolly hair thinking then maybe 

 I'd be let alone. 



Why had I been distvirbed? It was only a few days ago that I 

 had found this nice sheltered spot under some boards of a Iximber 

 pile and curled up to sleep while it was so cold. After a time as 

 it was warm where I was now, I xmcurled and started out to find 

 where I was and whether it was spring instead of the cold fall. 

 My eyes are so tiny I cannot see very far but I stretched out feel- 

 ing in every direction with my head. And then as I started to 

 move about, the place I was in opened up and I heard a voice 

 saying, "Come, see what I have Mary," and then I knew I was in 

 the hand of a Httle boy. He did not hurt me and it was so warm 

 there I forgot to go to sleep again. 



"Ugh!" said Mary, "How can you touch one of those horrid 

 worms " 



" I'm taking it to school," said the boy. "Teacher said to bring 

 in an Nothing that we find." 



"Yes," said Mary, "but maybe she wants only pretty things — 

 flowers and pretty flies." 



But the boy said, "He is just as pretty as the marigold," and he 

 put me in a box where there was another like myself. 



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