THE BLACK BEAR COMEDI'AW : - : : icJi ; -' : > : ' 



out his forepaws he guided the course of the 

 barrel and controlled its speed. 



Once while two black bear cubs were fleeing 

 before a forest fire they paused and true to their 

 nature had a merry romp. Even the threaten- 

 ing flames could not make them solemn. Each 

 tried to prevent the other from climbing a tree 

 that stood alone in the open; round it they 

 clinched, cuffed, and rolled so merrily that the 

 near-by wild folk were attracted and moment- 

 arily forgot their fears. 



The black bear has more human-like traits 

 than any other animal I know. He is a boy in 

 disguise, will not work long at anything unless 

 at something to produce mischief. Occasionally 

 he finds things dull, like a shut-in boy or a boy 

 with a task to perform, and simply does not 

 know what to do with himself he wants com- 

 pany. 



He is shy and bashful as a child. He plans no 

 harm. He does not eat bad children; nor does 

 he desire to do so. Nothing would give him 

 greater delight than to romp with rollicking, 

 irrepressible children whose parents have black- 

 ened his character. 



In other words, the black bear is just the 

 opposite in character of what he has long been 

 and still is almost universally thought to be. A 

 million written and spoken stories have it that he 



