New Britain herald., 1928-09-17
Cubby Runs Away

BY Thornton W. Burgess
Look where you run. or goodness
knows.
You're very apt to stub your toes.
-Cubby Bear
Cubby Bear was having a wonder
full time all by himself. He had
climbed up on the roof Of Farmer
Browns sugar-house over in the
Green Forest and had knocked
down the piece of stovepipe which
was the chimney of the little sugar.
house. Now he was cutting it and
knocking 1t around the ground.
Much as you have seen q kitten
knock a spool around. 1t didn't
fight back. No. Sir. 1t didn't fight
back. 1t rolled and it made noise,
and altogether it made a very nice
plaything. At least Cubby thought
70. For the time being he had for
gotten all about the smell of Wood
Mice and of Trader the Wood Rat.
which had come from inside that
little sugar-house. You know he had
been trying to break in when he
knocked off the chimney.
That was just like Cubby. Bears
have no persistence. If they start to
do q thing and something distracts
their attention they forget about
what they had started to do. All
Cubby thought about now was play
ing with that old piece of stovepipe.
He thrust a little black paw way
into 1t and then stood UP with 1t.
still on his arm. That frightened
him for a minute and he swung
that arm. That sent the piece of
stovepipe flying. Instantly Cubby
was after it and pounced on 1t as II
1t were something alive.
Peeping through cracks in the
sugar house. Whitefoot and Mrs.
Whitefoot and Trader the Wood
Rat watched what was going on.
You see. they had heard the noise
ana after a while curiosity got the
best Of them.
Cubby was so busy that he failed
to look around to see if anybody
else were present. In other words,
he forgot to watch out. Yes. sir. he
forgot to watch out. There was a
sudden loud sniff. Cubby dropped
that piece Of stovepipe as if it had
burned him. He turned toward the
place that loud sniff had come
from. Such a look as there was on
his face! He scrambled to his feet
and away he went. You wouldn't be-
lieve that a little Bear could run
~ fast as Cubby ran. All the time
he kept trying to look behind him.
Now this is a very bad thing for
any one to try to do-to run and
look behind at the same time. Only
people whose eyes are set way back.
like those Of Peter Rabbit. can do
that successfully. There was an CID
stump in the clearing. Cubby Bear
ran right smack into 1t! He didn't
see that stump at all, because he
was trying TO look behind him.
Cubby was knocked sprawling.
But he didn't lose any time. No, sir,
Cubby didn't lose any time. He Just
gave frightened squeal and was
off again. Across the clearing he
raced and into the Green Forest.
Then he went up a tree. You
wouldn't believe that any one as big
as Cubby Bear could go up a tree
as fast as he went. The way he went
up that tree would have been a
credit to Happy Jack Squirrel. Up
he went, up. up, up. until he could
get no higher. He was away up in
the top of a tree. hanging on for
dear life and looking down with
such a scared expression as only
badly scared little Bear can have.
What was il all about? Well. over
there by that piece of stovepipe
shifting at it and rolling it over to
see what it was. was his father
great big Buster Bear. Cubby didn't
know it was his father and Buster
didn't know that Cubby was his
son. You see Father Bears seldom
know their own children. Buster
looked over at the tree where Cubby