---

Maria, from an upper window, spied the children coming, tugging the basket along,

she called down to old uncle and aunt Susan on the Piazza.

“If the children aren’t bringing home a cub,”

old uncle stirred in his hammock Aunt Susan went down the steps,

“what we do next?” said old uncle as the twins came up with a joyful outcry to exhibit

their treasured heroes and peered into the basket,” it is a  cub, surely” he looked

at the children from under his shaggy eyebrows, 

“where you fit your shaggy amount more?”,

“we, we thought you’d be pleased,” she faltered “Why uncle?” cried Ali,

“why old uncle? Don’t you love a baby bear? I just want you to see him suck my fingers.

You can’t help loving him “,

“I love you,” Tease told uncle, catching her up to a place in the hammock beside himself,

“but you can’t keep his love on your fingers even if you only soaked up one day,”

“you’re just funning; pincher knows how to feed him, and so does Michael, reckon se and I could too,”

“Oh, we won’t let him be a bit of trouble,” said Se

“oh, of course, it won’t be any trouble,” said ant Susan,

she and Aunt Rose had brought a bottle of warm milk with a rag over the top of it

they put it into the little Bears mouth, and the whole family gathered round to see him

take his dinner, his grunts of satisfaction were very funny; at last, the little fellow let go

of the bottle stretched himself out and rolled over on the grass and looked so

good-natured, you would almost have said he was laughing, and Aunt Susan said

“a little bear is a little deer.”

the cub must have been pretty tired from all the attention and endearment he had 

received that day not to say anything about Master Will’s efforts to make him stand on 

his hind legs when he tumbled over every time like a mold of jelly, but it lasts, and after

his supper, he was put to sleep in the shed on a little truss of hay under an old blanket.

Where as soon as he was alone, he began to whimper for his mother, but the children

did not hear him. They had drooped upstairs to their own beds, all of them as tired

as the cub himself and were presently sound asleep.

The great moon rose white and solemn above the hills and poured her silver over

the forests and the whole world seemed to sleep – it was just in their first sweet

slumber that everyone in the house was awakened by the most frightful sound they

had ever heard, now it was loud high, and shrill; now it was a long low growl,

now again, it was a series of sharp cries like barks; now, it was a roller and something

was knocking about the chairs on the Piazza, scratching at Linden’s lumbering

down the steps and plowing and plunging over the grass, something with heavy jaws

and coming, clap clap along the front of the house finally, it made off clumsily

in the direction of the shed and raised such an uproar that the sky rang with it

everyone was out of bed at the windows, the twins half hiding behind the curtains

and fright shivered as they saw plainly in the moonlight a big creature standing erect

cuffing away at the side of the shed and whining and growling all the more, a little

wine answered him from within the pincher, saw the children, and laughed; he was

standing at the window at the other end of the long hall,

“It’s the mother bear he called here,” you hear

“where’s my little bear” she’s asking “Where’s my baby, you folks? Give him back

or I’ll eat your baby’s, little Bruin. I hear a ye; you want your mammy, don’t you?

She smelled you all the way here. How am I gonna fetch her? you bet I’m gonna give

him my little bear, he’s a dreadful frighten there if you folks only see him eating

the blackberries, you’d know how smart he was, see I can’t just lend him; I got to get

him real fat for we go into winter quarters how’d you get here? How’d you get here

anyway, you little scamp, I can’t leave you for five minutes; you were safely asleep

in a soft holler, and then when I was waiting in the river with a beehive in my arms,

supposed to drown the bees and get the honey, off you go, don’t you know, the little 

bear should mind their mother. I won’t leave so much as their aprons on if I can put my 

paws on them, but I’ll have to box their ears for my guests. I say now, folks, I’ll tear the 

place down if you don’t give me back my cub”,

“Oh pincher, does she really say all that,” asked Tally, “pincher, would she tear down the house?” cried Se,

“the poor mother!” Aunt Susan was exclaiming, hurrying into her dress, Singh gallon

and slippers, and then she and old uncle ran down the back way followed by Pincher,

and they took up the cub and opened the shed door crack, and pushed him through

and banged and bolted the door behind them.

Everybody looked out that could the mother bear stood off for a moment on her hind

legs, then she fell on the cub like an avalanche and held him in her arms as any mother

holds her baby and licked him from top to toe and laid down and gave him his dinner.

After that gazing back at the house every step or two with a growl, she lurched off little

Bruin laboriously followed, but Pincher declared that the last he saw as he watched

her out of sight, she was up on her hind legs carrying her baby in her arms like 

anybody.

The twins watched as long as they could see her, then Essie began to cry

“I wanted  to keep him, ah I loved him so,”

“so did I,” said Ali with our arms around Essie, “but I guess Se, we will have to get along with Bobo.

I wonder how Pincher knew his name was brewing. Someday we’ll go into the woods

and call Bruin Bruin, and perhaps he will remember us; his mother loved him, you know Essie.

I suppose she was so sorry when she found him gone; mothers must have their babies;

you know”

“why?” said Essie

“They belong to them,” said Ali

“if you foolish children don’t go to sleep, I’ll call mother bear back,” said old uncle

“Oh, do you believe you could?” said Ali

“Oh, uncle, I wish you would,” said Essie

The End