The Life Story of a Black Bear

as only nine years ago I ought to remember it fairly clearly. None the less, hundreds and hundreds

anted to, gave me an exaggerated idea of my own importance. Not that I did it very often, except when she used to bite my hind-toes. Every bear, of course, likes to[2] chew his own feet, for it is one of the most soothing and comforting things in the world; but it is h

e been fluffy, because I remember how my mother, after she had been licking me for any length of time, used to be obliged to stop and wipe the fur out of her mouth with the back of her paw, just as my wife did later on when she licked our cubs. Ever

t I must have been just an ordinary cub.[3] For instance

rds the end of summer, however, the streams nearly dry up, just trickling along in places over their rocky beds, and you can splash about in them almost anywhere. The mountains are covered with trees-gorgeous trees, such as I have never seen anywhere else-with great straight trunks, splendid for practising climbing, shooting away up into the sky before the branches begin. Towards the summits of the bigger mountains the

ws till the smaller ones are filled up nearly to the tops of the trees. But bears do not see much of that, for when the first snow comes we get into our dens and go hal

lt it until most of the mountain slopes are clear; but in sheltered places and in the bottoms of the little hollows the snow stays in patches till far into the summer. We bears come out from our winter sleep when the

s as good a house as a family of bears could want-roomy enough for all four of us, perfectly sheltered, and hidden and dry. Can you imagine how warm and comfy it was when we were

tside the door that

found he could not stop himself, he would know enough to tuck in his head and paws out of harm's way; but I only knew that somehow, in romping with Kahwa, I had lost my balance, and was going-goodness[6] knew where! I went all spread out like a squirrel, first on my head, t

I should ever have got out alive had not my mother come down and dug me out with her nose and paws. Then she half pushed and h

the day licking me into the semblance of a respectable bear

7

where the hill went off most steeply, and it was my business to come charging up the hill at her and try to pull her down. What fun it was! Sometimes I was the one to stand against the rock, and K

e would each get hold of an ear, and hang on as hard as we could, while she pretended we were hurting her dreadfully, growling and shaking her head, and making as much fuss as she could; but if in our excitement either of us did chance to bite a little too hard, we always knew it. With a couple o

t the same later on with me and my wife. I always knew that I could have eaten her up had I wanted to, but, somehow, a bear cannot settle down in earnest to fight his own wife. If she loses her temper, he can pretend to be angry to

nd I suppose they never punished us unless we deserved it. Later on my father and I had differences,