Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-07-03
C Hill DIRE MS
EVENING STORY
Copyright, 1915, by A. S. Bailey)
cuFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET.

l
; cuFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET.
/ Mother! When is my birthday
Cuffy asked. few days after his
father had brought home the little
lpig.
why, your birthday comes on the
: day the wild geese begin to fly south "
Mrs. Bear said.
rs that soon?" Cufy asked.
Bless you, no! Not for months and
months his mother said.
And when Is Silkie's?" he contin'
ued
"The day OF the first snow" she told
him.
Cuny knew that that was a long way
of mot until summer had come and
gone.
And Fathers he inquired once
more.
Mrs. Bear shook her head.
Your father hasn't many birth
days. she said. HE was born on the
day OF the great forest fire. 1t may be
a long time before he has another
birthday. I hope so, anyhow she add
ed. for great forest IRE Is dread
full thing"
Now you see, having birthday Ike
that is a good deal like being born on
the twenty-ninth of February, when
you have a birthday only once in four
years Yes-it's a good deal like that,
only worze. For you may have to wait
years and years before another great
flre comes. You understand. Of course.
that having no clocks or calendars or
anything like that. the wild animals
can keep track Of birthdays only by
remembering things that happen.
All this made Cuffy Bear feel very
sad He had been hoping that some
member of the family would have q
birthday soon and then perhaps his
father would bring home another little
pig for another nice feast But now he
saw that there was no chance of that
happening for a long. long time.
Cuffey went out of doors then and
thought and thought. I'm almost
ashamed to have to say the was
planning to 90 down to Farmer Green's
and get another fat, tender, little pig
like the one his father had brought
home.
Now, when very young bear starts
out to steal pig there are many
things to think of. In the first place,
there was Farmer Green. and Farmer
Green's boy Johnnie. and Farmer
Green's hired man. Cuffy knew that he
must be very, very careful not to meet
them.
To his great relief, when he had
gone down into Pleasant Valley Cuhy
saw all three ploughing in a field.
They did not see him at all. And so
he felt very brave IS he went on
toward the farm buildings.
Farmer Green's pig-pen was little.
low building next the cow-barn. Cuny
had no trouble in finding it. And he
walked inside quite boldly and before
you could have winked. almost, he had
seized little, white pig in his mouth
and was Looping OFT across the barn
yard.
The pig had looked very small to
Cuffy when he first saw and seized It,
But now it seemed to be as many as
twenty times bigger than Cuffy was
himself. That was because the pig
made the most frightful noise Cuffy
had ever heard in all his life. Cufy
felt as if he had hundred SHOUTS
squealing right in his ears. Though
Farmer Green was at least mile
away. Cunry thought that all the world
must hear that dreadful racket And
he was so frightened that he let go Of
the little pig and ran away towards
home as fast as he could jump.
That squealing rang in his ears for
long time And II Cuffy's father had
brought home pig that night Cuhy
couldn't have eaten a mouthful OF 1t.
He never wanted to see or taste OF a
pig again And you may be sure he
never wanted to hear one. either.
(To be continued.)