The age-herald., 1902-01-26
CINNAMON BEARS.
BY FORA CHANDLER.
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Two little boys lived in q queer log house
 which leaned against the foot of hill. The
 hill was tall and round, and it was stuck as
 full Of trees as cushion is of pins. Now,
 the black nanny who took care of the l queer log house loved the two little boys | Sometimes she mixed a great lot of sweet l dough and cut 1t into pieces, each one of
 which she rolled until it looked like an oyer grown marble that had been stretched to double Its length. Then she pulled and
 twisted four little legs out on one side, and
 queer pointed head on the top; after this,
 she set 1t down hard upon the table with
 the funny little head looking directly up into
 the roof When all the pieces of dough had
 been patted and rolled and coaxed. She
 tossed them Into kettle of boiling fat,
 where they bobbed and sweled and grew
 rich and brown. When they were dipped
 carefully out and set again in long row upon the kitchen table, any little boy with eyes In his head could see that they were
 bears. And after the nanny had tucked a tiny stick of cinnamon under the right
 arm of each, in such way that 1t leaned
 against the right shoulder, why, the whole
 long row became cinnamon bears, of course
 and nobody who hasn't eaten one can i'm
 agine how very good to eat they are.
 One night, when the two little boys were
 In bed, they overheard their father and
 some men who lived In other queer log houses at the foot of the hill planning to
 go, In tho early morning, away up on the hillside to capture cave full of cinnamon
 bcars The two little boys thought it very
 selfish of the men to leave them out of the
 plan-for nobody could care as much for
 cinnamon bears as they So, when the house thing bright out of doors, they crept out of bed, dressed themselves and stole softly out to capture the cinnamon bears. They climbed and climbed until they grew very cold and tired-but a whole cave full of cinnamon bears! Myi how their fat little legs hurried onl By and by the little legs would go no farther. The two little boys cuddlcd down together and went to sleep just outside of big hole in the hill
 Pretty soon 1t was morning and the little boys wakened Here was the cave. and they were hungry. They would go in and eat a dozen or two of the cinnamon bears; and they were going to be very generous and save a few for their father and the selfish men. But there were shining spots moving about in the cave. They heard padding footsteps and panting breaths. And two brown monsters came out after them. The little boys screamed like Indians and tried l to run away, but they were caught by the great shaggy paws with sharp claws in them, and held so tightly that they could | hardly breathe. Bang. bangi came great l noise. Something seemed to hit the great i creatures in the head, for they rolled over | upon the ground just as the father of the | little boys and one of the selfish men came | running up.
 The father and the selfish man were very | white and big-eyed and though the little | boys could walk very well, they carried them every step of the way home And If you'll | believe it, the black nanny spent all the | rest of that day mixing and rolling and twisting and frying the sweet dough. And l