Sammy's cousin, Blacky the Crow, just happened to be flying along theedge of the Old Pasture, and the minute he heard Sammy's voice, heturned and flew over to see what it was all about. Just as soon as hecaught sight of Buster Bear running for the Green Forest as hard as everhe could, he understood what had excited Sammy so. He was so surprisedthat he almost forgot to keep his wings moving. Buster Bear had whatlooked to Blacky very much like a tin pail hanging from his neck! Nowonder Sammy was excited. Blacky beat his wings fiercely and startedafter Sammy.
And so they reached the edge of the Green Forest, Buster Bear running ashard as ever he could, Sammy Jay flying just behind him and screaming,"Thief, thief, thief!" at the top of his lungs, and behind him Blackythe Crow, trying to catch up and yelling as loud as he could, "Caw,caw, caw! Come on, everybody! Come on! Come on!"
Poor Buster! It was bad enough to be frightened almost to death as hehad been up in the Old Pasture when the pail had caught over his headjust as Farmer Brown's boy had yelled at him. Then to have the handle ofthe pail slip down around his neck so that he couldn't get rid of thepail but had to take it with him as he ran, was making a bad matterworse. Now to have all his neighbors of the Green Forest see him in sucha fix and make fun of him, was more than he could stand. He felthumiliated. That is just another way of saying shamed. Yes, Sir, Busterfelt that he was shamed in the eyes of his neighbors, and he wantednothing so much as to get away by himself, where no one could see him,and try to get rid of that dreadful pail. But Buster is so big that itis not easy for him to find a hiding place. So, when he reached theGreen Forest, he kept right on to the deepest, darkest, most lonesomepart and crept under the thickest hemlock-tree he could find.
But it was of no use. The sharp eyes of Sammy Jay and Blacky the Crowsaw him. They actually flew into the very tree under which he washiding, and how they did scream! Pretty soon Ol' Mistah Buzzard camedropping down out of the blue, blue sky and took a seat on a convenientdead tree, where he could see all that went on. Ol' Mistah Buzzard beganto grin as soon as he saw that tin pail on Buster's neck. Then cameothers,--Redtail the Hawk, Scrapper the Kingbird, Redwing the Blackbird,Drummer the Woodpecker, Welcome Robin, Tommy Tit the Chickadee, JennyWren, Redeye the Vireo, and ever so many more. They came from the OldOrchard, the Green Meadows, and even down by the Smiling Pool, for thevoices of Sammy Jay and Blacky the Crow carried far, and at the sound ofthem everybody hurried over, sure that something exciting was going on.
Presently Buster heard light footsteps, and peeping out, he saw BillyMink and Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare and Prickly Porky and ReddyFox and Jimmy Skunk. Even timid little Whitefoot the Wood Mouse waswhere he could peer out and see without being seen. Of course, Chattererthe Red Squirrel and Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel were there. There theyall sat in a great circle around him, each where he felt safe, but wherehe could see, and every one of them laughing and making fun of Buster.
"Thief, thief, thief!" screamed Sammy until his throat was sore. Theworst of it was Buster knew that everybody knew that it was true. Thatawful pail was proof of it.
"I wish I never had thought of berries," growled Buster to himself.
XXII
BUSTER BEAR HAS A FIT OF TEMPER
A temper is a bad, bad thing When once it gets away. There's nothing quite at all like it To spoil a pleasant day.
Buster Bear was in a terrible temper. Yes, Sir, Buster Bear was havingthe worst fit of temper ever seen in the Green Forest. And the worstpart of it all was that all his neighbors of the Green Forest and awhole lot from the Green Meadows and the Smiling Pool were also there tosee it. It is bad enough to give way to temper when you are all alone,and there is no one to watch you, but when you let temper get the bestof you right where others see you, oh, dear, dear, it certainly is asorry sight.
Now ordinarily Buster is one of the most good-natured persons in theworld. It takes a great deal to rouse his temper. He isn't one tenth soquick tempered as Chatterer the Red Squirrel, or Sammy Jay, or ReddyFox. But when his temper is aroused and gets away from him, then watchout! It seemed to Buster that he had had all that he could stand thatday and a little more. First had come the fright back there in the OldPasture. Then the pail had slipped down behind his ears and held fast,so he had run all the way to the Green Forest with it hanging about hisneck. This was bad enough, for he knew just how funny he must look, andbesides, it was very uncomfortable. But to have Sammy Jay call everybodywithin hearing to come and see him was more than he could stand. Itseemed to Buster as if everybody who lives in the Green Forest, on theGreen Meadows, or around the Smiling Brook, was sitting around hishiding place, laughing and making fun of him. It was more than anyself-respecting Bear could stand.
With a roar of anger Buster Bear charged out of his hiding place. Herushed this way and that way! He roared with all his might! He was veryterrible to see. Those who could fly, flew. Those who could climb,climbed. And those who were swift of foot, ran. A few who could neitherfly nor climb nor run fast, hid and lay shaking and trembling for fearthat Buster would find them. In less time than it takes to tell aboutit, Buster was alone. At least, he couldn't see any one.
Those who could fly, flew. Those who could climb,climbed. _Page 112._]
Then he vented his temper on the tin pail. He cuffed at it and pulled atit, all the time growling angrily. He lay down and clawed at it with hishind feet. At last the handle broke, and he was free! He shook himself.Then he jumped on the helpless pail. With a blow of a big paw he sent itclattering against a tree. He tried to bite it. Then he once more fellto knocking it this way and that way, until it was pounded flat, and noone would ever have guessed that it had once been a pail.
Then, and not till then, did Buster recover his usual good nature.Little by little, as he thought it all over, a look of shame crept intohis face. "I--I guess it wasn't the fault of that thing. I ought to haveknown enough to keep my head out of it," he said slowly andthoughtfully.
"You got no more than you deserve for stealing Farmer Brown's boy'sberries," said Sammy Jay, who had come back and was looking on from thetop of a tree. "You ought to know by this time that no good comes ofstealing."
Buster Bear looked up and grinned, and there was a twinkle in his eyes."You ought to know, Sammy Jay," said he. "I hope you'll always rememberit."
"Thief, thief, thief!" screamed Sammy, and flew away.
XXIII
FARMER BROWN'S BOY LUNCHES ON BERRIES
When things go wrong in spite of you To smile's the best thing you can do-- To smile and say, "I'm mighty glad They are no worse; they're not so bad!"
That is what Farmer Brown's boy said when he found that Buster Bear hadstolen the berries he had worked so hard to pick and then had run offwith the pail. You see, Farmer Brown's boy is learning to be somethingof a philosopher, one of those people who accept bad things cheerfullyand right away see how they are better than they might have been. Whenhe had first heard some one in the bushes where he had hidden his pailof berries, he had been very sure that it was one of the cows or youngcattle who live in the Old Pasture during the summer. He had been afraidthat they might stupidly kick over the pail and spill the berries, andhe had hurried to drive whoever it was away. It hadn't entered his headthat it could be anybody who would eat those berries.
When he had yelled and Buster Bear had suddenly appeared, struggling toget off the pail which had caught over his head, Farmer Brown's boy hadbeen too frightened to even move. Then he had seen Buster tear awaythrough the brush even more frightened than he was, and right away hiscourage had begun to come back.
"If he is so afraid of me, I guess I needn't be afraid of him," saidhe. "I've lost my berries, but it is worth it to find out that he isafraid of me. There are plenty more on the bushes, and all I've got todo is to pick them. It might be worse."
He walked over to the place where the pail had been, and then heremembered that when Buster ran away he had carried the pail with him,hanging about his neck. He whistled. It was a comical l
ittle whistle ofchagrin as he realized that he had nothing in which to put more berries,even if he picked them. "It's worse than I thought," cried he. "Thatbear has cheated me out of that berry pie my mother promised me." Thenhe began to laugh, as he thought of how funny Buster Bear had lookedwith the pail about his neck, and then because, you know he is learningto be a philosopher, he once more repeated, "It might have been worse.Yes, indeed, it might have been worse. That bear might have tried to eatme instead of the berries. I guess I'll go eat that lunch I left back bythe spring, and then I'll go home. I can pick berries some other day."
Chuckling happily over Buster Bear's great fright, Farmer Brown's boytramped back to the spring where he had left two thick sandwiches on aflat stone when he started to save his pail of berries. "My, but thosesandwiches will taste good," thought he. "I'm glad they are big andthick. I never was hungrier in my life. Hello!" This he exclaimed rightout loud, for he had just come in sight of the flat stone where thesandwiches should have been, and they were not there. No, Sir, therewasn't so much as a crumb left of those two thick sandwiches. You see,Old Man Coyote had found them and gobbled them up while Farmer Brown'sboy was away.
But Farmer Brown's boy didn't know anything about Old Man Coyote. Herubbed his eyes and stared everywhere, even up in the trees, as if hethought those sandwiches might be hanging up there. They had disappearedas completely as if they never had been, and Old Man Coyote had takencare to leave no trace of his visit. Farmer Brown's boy gaped foolishlythis way and that way. Then, instead of growing angry, a slow smilestole over his freckled face. "I guess some one else was hungry too," hemuttered. "Wonder who it was? Guess this Old Pasture is no place for meto-day. I'll fill up on berries and then I'll go home."
So Farmer Brown's boy made his lunch on blueberries and then rathersheepishly he started for home to tell of all the strange things thathad happened to him in the Old Pasture. Two or three times, as hetrudged along, he stopped to scratch his head thoughtfully. "I guess,"said he at last, "that I'm not so smart as I thought I was, and I've gota lot to learn yet."
This is the end of the adventures of Buster Bear in this bookbecause--guess why. Because Old Mr. Toad insists that I must write abook about his adventures, and Old Mr. Toad is such a good friend of allof us that I am going to do it.
THE END
* * * * *
THE ADVENTURES OF BUSTER BEAR
BOOKS BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS
* * * * *
THE BEDTIME STORY-BOOKS
1. THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX
2. THE ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY CHUCK
3. THE ADVENTURES OF PETER COTTONTAIL
4. THE ADVENTURES OF UNC' BILLY POSSUM
5. THE ADVENTURES OF MR. MOCKER
6. THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY MUSKRAT
7. THE ADVENTURES OF DANNY MEADOW MOUSE
8. THE ADVENTURES OF GRANDFATHER FROG
9. THE ADVENTURES OF CHATTERER, THE RED SQUIRREL
10. THE ADVENTURES OF SAMMY JAY
11. THE ADVENTURES OF BUSTER BEAR
12. THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MR. TOAD
13. THE ADVENTURES OF PRICKLY PORKY
14. THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MAN COYOTE
15. THE ADVENTURES OF PADDY THE BEAVER
16. THE ADVENTURES OF POOR MRS. QUACK
17. THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY COON
18. THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY SKUNK
19. THE ADVENTURES OF BOB WHITE
20. THE ADVENTURES OF OL' MISTAH BUZZARD
* * * * *
MOTHER WEST WIND SERIES
1. OLD MOTHER WEST WIND
2. MOTHER WEST WIND'S CHILDREN
3. MOTHER WEST WIND'S ANIMAL FRIENDS
4. MOTHER WEST WIND'S NEIGHBORS
5. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
6. MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES
7. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHEN" STORIES
8. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHERE" STORIES
* * * * *
GREEN MEADOW SERIES
1. HAPPY JACK
2. MRS. PETER RABBIT
3. BOWSER THE HOUND
* * * * *
THE BURGESS BIRD BOOK FOR CHILDREN
* * * * *
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