THE BEAR. 
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species. It is the smallest of the American 
bears, and very gentle except when pressed 
by hunger or acting in defence of its cubs. 
The fur is black and glossy, except the fore 
part of the head, which is reddish brown. 
The eyes are rather small, but thoughtful 
and intelligent-looking, and the general ex¬ 
pression—at least, in captivity—is mild and 
appealing. It is active, good at climbing, 
and stands erect upon its hind-legs with 
ease. It is not so carnivorous even as the 
brown bear of Europe, preferring berries, 
roots, beechnuts, acorns, corn, and in fact 
almost any vegetable diet, to meat. It is 
extremely fond of green corn, and destroys 
great quantities of it.” 
“They like apples, too,” said Daisy. “I 
remember Grandmother Whipple used to 
tell us about the hear that ate the apples.” 
“And about the hear that ate the milk,” 
added Sidney. “No : that was Aunt Julia’s 
story.” 
“Very few things come amiss to them. 
The black bear, like the brown, hibernates, 
generally selecting a place under a fallen 
log or in a hollow tree, to which he retires 
upon the first fall of snow and dozes away 
