Part 10 (1/2)

”Pooh!” said the Little Gray Mouse, ”who is afraid of a bear? I will stay in his cave all night, and tangle his fur into little hard knots!”

And that night while the Great White Bear was hunting in the woods, the Little Gray Mouse slipped into his cave and hid himself in a corner of the rocks

But when the Great White Bear came home he s in my cave! I smell a mouse!” Then the Great White Bear listened to hear what the htened, and was tre all over and did not say a word

The Great White Bear was very tired, so he thought that he would not catch the Little Gray Mouse until , so he crawled into his nest and went to sleep

When the Great White Bear was sound asleep and snoring, the Little Gray Mouse caled the Great White Bear's tail fur into little hard knots

The nextwhen the Great White Bear awoke he found that the Little Gray Mouse had tangled his tail fur into little hard knots, and the Great White Bear was very angry, and said to the mouse:

”I let you sleep in led my tail fur into little hard knots!”

The Little Gray Mouse was so frightened that he ran out of the cave and hid in the woods

The Great White Bear sat down and tried to untangle the little hard knots, but his tail was so short, and the place where his tail fur was tangled was so hard to reach that the Great White Bear could not untangle his tail fur, and he kept getting angrier every minute, and at last he beca the woods to pieces to find the Little Gray Mouse But the Little Gray Mouse hid under some leaves, and the Great White Bear could not find hi in his tree ”TellRobin, where I can find the Little Gray Mouse?”

”I do not knohere the Little Gray Mousein the woods!”

Then the Great White Bear sat down and thought, and thought, and thought, and at last he said: ”I a to find the Little Gray Mouse if I have to freeze the woods! You have always been a good friend ofRobin, and I dislike to put you to any trouble, but if I were you I would take o across the lakes and over theRobin thought that the Great White Bear was joking, but the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew the cold air into the woods, and soon the frost fros of the trees, and turned the leaves e and beautiful colors

”What a pretty woods you areRobin to the Great White Bear, but the Great White Bear only answered:

”If I were you I would take o across the lakes, and over the reat bay!”

And the next night the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew his cold breath through the woods, and when thein the wind, and the leaves were drifting in the hollows, and King Robin and his fary

”If I were you, I would take o across the lakes and over the reat bay!” said the Great White Bear to King Robin

And that night the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew his cold breath through the woods, and when the round hite with snow, and the strea Robin sitting in his tree,--”If I were you, I would take o across the lakes and over the reat bay”

Then King Robin called his faether, and repeated to them what the Great White Bear had told hi the river to the great bay!” and King Robin ain,--”Across the lakes, and over the reat bay”

And that very day while the snoas still falling and the cold breath of the Great White Bear was blowing through the woods, King Robin led his family southward across the lakes and over the reat bay, and they could feel the cold breath of the Great White Bear on their backs until they reached the great bay

And the Great White Bear blew his cold breath through the woods until the forest was deep with snow, and the frosty air sparkled at night, and the frozen trees snapped with the cold ”Now I have frozen the Little Gray Mouse!” said the Great White Bear to himself, and he went back to his cave and slept until the woods ith the breath of the south wind, and King Robin was back in his tree

And that is the story of the first Winter, and we should never have had another were it not for the foolish Little Gray Mouse, as hidden all winter under the snow For if the Little Gray Mouse would but be content to stay well hidden from the Great White Bear, then we should have no more Winter, but in the Fall the foolish Little Gray Mouse runs through the corn stubble and the Great White Bear sees hiled ain he blows his cold breath through the woods, and over the country, and all the cold weather we have is on account of that foolish Little Gray Mouse who tangled the tail fur of the Great White Bear!

When Robert Robin had finished speaking, Mrs Robin said, ”Now, children, youRobin,--'Across the lakes and over the reat bay'” Then all the youngster robins repeated, ”Across the lakes and over the reat bay,” and while they were talking, the cool wind began to blow from out the north, and Mrs Robin said, ”Feel how cold that wind is getting! The Great White Bear must have seen the Little Gray Mouse!”

CHAPTER IX