 Chapter 1 of the Bear Family at Home This is a Librebox recording. All Librebox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit Librebox.org Recording by Katie Francesca The Bear Family at Home by Curtis Wilbur The Bear Family at Home and how the circus came to visit them Once a little cub bear was caught in a big log trap and taken on a train to a circus. He lived in the circus a long, long while and every day a great many people came to see the bear and the lions and the tigers and the leopards and the elephants and the camels and the other animals. Every night the animals would all be put in the wagons made for them then the wagons would be rolled on the flat cars of a railroad train. The train would go all night to another town where a great many people would come to see the animals and the men and women in the circus. The cub bear saw a great many wonderful and strange things while he was in the circus and while travelling on the trains. Once he crossed the ocean in a great ship and came back again in another ship. This story tells how the little cub bear got back into the woods again. One night after the wagons and the animals had all been put on board the cars the fireman rang the bell and the engineer started the train and away it went whistling and coughing down the track. The animals were so used to the train going rattlety bang, rattlety bang all night long that they all went to sleep and remained asleep a long while. While the animals and everyone on the train except the engineer and the fireman were asleep the engineer looked ahead and suddenly saw a big rock on the track. He blew the whistle toot toot toot to call the breakman and the breakman ran as fast as they could and began to put on the brakes to stop the train. But the train came nearer and nearer to the big rock. The poor engineer couldn't stop the train and the breakmen couldn't stop the train so the engine ran into the rock and was knocked off the track and turned a somersault and was smashed all to pieces and all the cars ran off the track into a ditch and the wagons were all broken so that the animals got out of their cages and found that they were free in the dark woods. They were all so glad to be free that they ran away as fast as they could and hid in the woods all except the cubbear and a friend of his a monkey named Jim. They ran a little way and then the cubbear stopped and looked around. He saw a path then he looked at the trees and the mountain and he thought he would wait there until morning. As soon as it was light the cubbear looked way up on the mountain side and saw a cave and where do you suppose they were? In the very same forest where the cubbear was born they walked a little way and the cubbear said Why? Here is the path where little brother Jimmy Bear lost his foot in a trap. They ran up that path as fast as they could to the cave in the mountains. The cubbear's heart was beating very fast pitter-patter, pitter-patter because he knew that this was his old home and he wondered whether his Papa Bear and Mama Bear and his little Susie Bear and little brother Jimmy Bear were still there. They went in very quietly and found a great big brown bear asleep. When the big brown bear heard them come in he jumped up quickly and looked at little cubbear and little cubbear looked at him. It was the Papa Bear. He ran to the cubbear and put his arms around him and gave him a great bear hug. You know bears can hug awfully tight. Papa Bear hugged the cubbear and the cubbear hugged the Papa Bear and they were very, very glad to see each other. The Papa Bear woke up the Mama Bear and then the Mama Bear gave the cubbear a great bear hug because she was so glad to see him. Susie Bear waked up and gave the little cubbear a big bear hug but Jimmy Bear was not there. Did you ever give your Papa a bear hug? After the Papa Bear and the Mama Bear had talked a little while to the cubbear they said, we have something to show you and they took the cubbear away back into the back part of the cave and showed him the sweetest, cutest little baby bear you ever saw in your life and the Papa Bear said, we call this little baby bear cubbear now so we will have to call you Circus Bear after this for the little cubbear had told his Papa and Mama that he had been in the circus while away. All this time the monkey gym had been sitting off by himself in the cave watching the big bears they were so big and strong that he was frightened so he climbed up to the top of the cave and there he stayed until the little cubbear waked up and the circus bear didn't know where he had gone. After a while the little wee cubbear waked up and saw the monkey he said, oh see that funny little man up there on the route he has hair all over him and he has a long tail and he is making faces at me he asked the circus bear what it was and the circus bear said it is a monkey named Jim a very dear friend of mine would you like to shake hands with him and the little cub bear said yes so the circus bear told the monkey not to be afraid and the monkey came down and shook hands with the little wee cub bear and they said that they would always be good friends the very first thing this little cub bear did was to ask the monkey to tell him a story for he was the greatest bear for stories you ever saw he was always teasing his Papa and his Mama and everybody that came to the den to tell him a story the monkey said alright I will tell you a story about the time that I went to school so that morning when the Papa and the Mama bear and the circus bear and the little cub bear were sitting in the den the monkey told his story end of chapter one recording by Katie Francesca chapter two of the bear family at home this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Katie Francesca the bear family at home by Curtis Wilbur how the monkey went to school now little cub bear I am going to tell you about the time I went to school the only time in my whole life that I went to school the little cub bear said he had never been to school in his life and he would like to hear the story the monkey Jim said well one night when we were riding on the train going from one town where the circus had been to another where they were going to give a show I was riding in a wagon on one of the cars with a lot of other monkeys the man who took care of the monkeys forgot and left a door open a monkey named Joe and I climbed out through the open door and got on top of the wagon and we just had a lot of fun jumping around and playing with each other and pulling each other's hair and climbing down on the car after we had played a long while the train went into a covered bridge and I said to Joe let's jump up and see if we can catch hold of one of those iron rods he said alright and we gave a great jump and we caught hold of an iron rod overhead the train was going so fast that we almost missed the rod but we hung on and in a moment when we looked down what do you suppose had happened the train had run out from under us and there was nothing under us except the railway track and ties and away down below them a deep dark river we were frightened because it was very dark and very cold we climbed down as fast as we could and walked across the ties until we came to the ground there were a lot of trees near the track and we ran over as quickly as we could and climbed a tree but it was very very cold we hugged each other very tight and tried to keep warm but it grew colder and colder and colder until it seemed as though we would freeze for you know we had always lived in a very warm country until we came to the circus by and by though it commenced to get light and when we looked over in the woods a little father we saw a little red schoolhouse by and by a man who took care of the little red schoolhouse came and opened the door and went inside pretty soon we saw the smoke coming out of the chimney for the man had built a fire Joe said to me let's go down as quickly as we can and run over there and see if we can get warm by the fire so we climbed down the tree and ran as fast as we could to the little red schoolhouse there we found a window open a little way and we climbed up and went inside the schoolhouse the man wasn't looking so we hurried over near the stove and Joe climbed into one desk where a boy kept his books and I climbed into another desk where a girl kept her books the man looked around quickly for he thought he heard something but we kept so quiet that he didn't see us by and by he closed the window went out and shut the door and there we were locked up in that little red schoolhouse but the fire was so nice and warm that we were glad to be there pretty soon Joe said let's go out and see if we can find something to eat so we got out and looked all over the building we opened the drawer in the teacher's desk and in it we found an apple that he had taken away from a little boy in school the day before for you know that little boys are not allowed to have apples in school I gave Joe the biggest part of the apple and we ate it all up and just as we had eaten it up a great big boy came to the door and made such a noise that we scampered back and got into the desks we stayed there very quietly pretty soon another boy came and then another and then another and then a girl came and by and by all the scholars had come some of them were playing in the yard and some of them in the room and just then the teacher came he rang the bell ding dong and the pupils came into the school room and took their seats then the teacher struck a small bell and the pupils sat up very straight and sang a song just then I reached out and grabbed the ear of the boy who was sitting in my seat and pulled it very hard he screamed ouch ouch and just then Joe reached out and pulled the hair of the girl that was sitting in his seat and she screamed ouch ouch the teacher pounded the desk and cried order order the little boy thought it was the boy behind him that pulled his ear and the little girl thought it was the girl behind her that pulled her hair when everything was still again the teachers told the boys and girls to take out their books the boy reached in to get his book and I bit his finger and he yelled ouch just as loud as he could and jumped out of his seat and the little girl reached in to get her book and Joe bit her finger and she yelled ouch just as loud as she could and jumped out all the pupils looked over to see what was the trouble he kept very still and the teacher came down quickly to find out what caused the trouble he reached his hand in to the desk quickly and I grabbed hold of his hand and hung on then he jerked his hand out and I came out with it and I jumped on his shoulders and began to pull his hair and Joe jumped out of his desk and he jumped on the teacher's shoulders and the teacher yelled and tried to hit us with a stick and we jumped over onto the teacher's desk and then we jumped over the pupils' heads I jumped out the window and Joe ran out the door and as he ran out he took one of the boys' dinner pails with him they all screamed and yelled and ran after us as fast as they could we ran over to a tree and a couple of dogs saw us and they barked and barked and ran after us the boys threw stones but none of them could hit us and pretty soon we got to a tree we scampered up as fast as we could and all the pupils and the teacher and the dogs came to the foot of the tree and the dogs barked and the boys yelled and threw stones and the girls danced and shouted the teacher had something that looked like a gun but I think it was only a stick because he didn't shoot at all just then Joe reached into the dinner pail and he found a soft boiled egg he threw this down at the teacher and hit him right on top of his bald head then we scampered out on the branches and jumped into another tree and then into another tree and then into another tree and pretty soon we had gone so far that they couldn't find us then we opened the dinner pail and we found a fine dinner some apples and nuts and bread and butter and a piece of pie when we had eaten everything there was in the pail we left the pail up in the tree and climbed down to the ground then we walked and we ran until we came to a town and there was the circus tent but this was the very town where the circus was going to show we ran as fast as we could and a lot of dogs got after us they barked and barked but we got away from all the dogs but one because he could run faster than the others he was a very little dog and when he came close to us Joe ran to one side of the road and I ran to the other and just as he got between us we grabbed the dog by his tail and his ears and pulled so hard that he just yelled and ran toward the tent as fast as he could so we both jumped on his back and rode until we came to the tent then we jumped off and scampered into the tent under the canvas and found our wagon the door was still open and we got into the wagon and there we went to sleep for we had been up all night that is why I went to school said the monkey and the little bear cub said I will be glad when I am big enough to go to school End of chapter 2 Recording by Katie Francesca Chapter number 3 of the Bear Family at Home This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Lola Janie The Bear Family at Home by Curtis Wilbur The coming of the great big animal and how he helped the bear family After the monkey had finished his story Papa Bear and Mama Bear and the little cub bear were talking about the animals in the circus and the little cub bear said I wonder where all those animals are and the circus bear said why I think they're somewhere in the woods Then the little cub bear said maybe these animals will come to see us I think it would be fine if we had a nice large cave big enough for all the animals The Mama Bear said I think that would be nice and the little circus bear said that would be nice and the little circus bear said I think that would be nice too and the bear cub said maybe we can have a bigger cave and have all the animals come and live with us and just as he said it they heard a rustling sound as though something was coming up the path The little cub bear ran to the mouth of the cave and said there is a very strange looking animal It is the biggest animal I ever saw It has a nose that reaches clear to the ground and it has a thumb and finger on the end of its nose and every once in a while it stops and picks up a piece of straw with a thumb and finger and puts it into its great mouth It has teeth that are so long that they stick way out of its mouth The teeth are as large as a small tree and look like great sharp horns growing out of its mouth and its legs are as big around as a large stump Its ears are as large as the mouth of this cave It can move its nose around and scratches back with the thumb and finger on the end of its nose It has no hair at all except on the end of its tail Just then the animal made a tremendous noise a sort of blowing and trumpeting sound The circus bear said I know who that is It is Jumbo, the elephant from our show Ask him to come into the cave Jumbo came to the mouth of the cave and the little bear cub said to him very politely Come in Mr. Jumbo But of course Jumbo could not come into the cave It was too small Mr. Jumbo said I would like to come into the cave and see the circus bear because he was very good to me and we were in the circus together So the little cub bear said Try and see if you cannot make the mouth of the cave larger Mr. Jumbo said I will try So Mr. Jumbo commenced to dig with his great tusks and pull with his great trunk at the dirt and stones and the roots that were in the way until the mouth of the cave was ever so much larger than it had been but it was still too small for the elephant to get in So the circus bear came to the mouth of the cave and told Jumbo how glad he was to see him Mr. Jumbo took hold of the circus bear's foot with his trunk and shook it just like two people shaking hands He was so glad to see the bear that had been so good to get things for him when he was in the circus for there he was tied to a stake by a great chain that is the way they keep elephants with the circus you know When Mr. Jumbo found that he could not get into the cave he said to the circus bear and to all the bears you know that the other animals are trying to find this cave and as soon as they find it they will want to live here and we ought to get the cave ready for them Then the pop of bear said What do you think that we ought to do? Do you think that we could make the cave larger for all of the animals? Mr. Jumbo said Well, I think the first thing we ought to do is to go down to the wreck of the train and get some of the things that we want from the wreck before the men come back and take everything away All of the bears and the monkey thought that was the best thing they could do They went down right away and found that all of the animals had gone but there were lots of things they wanted to take up to the cave Mr. Jumbo found the beautiful howder that the circus man used to place on his back A howder, you know, is that big saddle they put on an elephant's back for the people to ride in It was painted with red and yellow paint and had beautiful red plush cushions in it It had a top to keep the sun off of anyone that was riding in the howder on the elephant's back The bears said that they could put the howder on the elephant's back but that they could not fasten it there for they had no hands to buckle the straps with Then the monkey said I can fasten the buckles with my hands for you know that I have fingers just like a man and a man buckles the straps by using his fingers The papa bear and the mama bear Susie bear, the circus bear and the little cub bear lifted as hard as they could But of course they could not lift the heavy howder way up on Mr. Jumbo's back for they were not tall enough So Mr. Jumbo said feel down and then you will not have to lift so far and I can help you with my trunk So he knelt and the bears all lifted at once and Mr. Jumbo helped them with his trunk and finally they got the howder in the right place on his back Then the monkey buckled the straps and everything was ready to take the howder up to the cave where the bears live The papa bear said let us fill the howder with the things you want to take up to the cave and they commenced to hunt for the things that they wanted and what do you think they found? A great bass drum so big that a little bear could get into it and they also found a smaller drum and a thief and some big brass horns that belong to the band Then they found some harness that was used for the beautiful black and white horses that ran the chariot races They put all of these things into the howder When the howder was nearly full the little cub bear asked his papa if he couldn't ride in the howder Mr. Jumbo heard the little cub bear ask and he said it would be alright because he was very strong and could carry a great deal more than they had put on his back When the little cub bear climbed into the howder Mr. Jumbo straightened out his front legs to get up and the little cub bear nearly tipped out of the rear end of the howder and then he straightened up his hind legs and stood up and the little cub bear nearly fell out again Just as they started up the hill the monkey said you need a driver and he grasped Mr. Jumbo's tail and climbed up the tail just as if he were going up a tree Then he scampered along Mr. Jumbo's back clear over the top of the howder until he sat right on top of Mr. Jumbo's head just as the drivers do when they drive elephants Then the monkey asked Mr. Jumbo to hand him a stick with a sharp hook in the end of it that the drivers use to guide the elephants with Mr. Jumbo reached over with his long nose that had a thumb and finger on the end of it and picked up the stick and handed it to the monkey for he knew the monkey was not strong enough to hurt him much The monkey said very proudly Get up Mr. Jumbo and away they went to the bear's cave When they got there Mr. Jumbo knelt down and the little bear nearly tumbled out again but he jumped out alright and they took the howder off Mr. Jumbo's back The bears and monkey took everything out of the howder and carried it into the cave Then the animals all went back again to the place where the train was wrecked to see if there was anything else they could get This time they found a chariot that had two wheels and it was all covered with guilt and with angels made of gold and it was very, very beautiful Mr. Jumbo said that if the bears and the monkey could hitch him to the chariot they could fill it with things and take them up to the den So they looked and looked and finally found a harness that was used for the elephant The monkey and the bears took the harness Mr. Jumbo to the chariot and then they looked for things to put into the chariot The monkey found the clothes that he used to wear in the circus a pair of red trousers with a green coat and a little red hat with a black feather in it and he put them in the chariot Mr. Jumbo found a bale of hay but they all said that would have to wait until the next time because there would not be room in the chariot for this bale of hay so they wanted to take up They found the little drum that the monkey used to play on the circus and put that in the chariot Then they found a lot of biscuits that the dog in the circus had to eat and they put these in the chariot too and soon the chariot was full The little bear cub thought there was just room enough for him to ride in the chariot and he asked Mr. Jumbo if he could ride and as soon as Mr. Jumbo said yes in on top of things in the chariot and they all started up to the cave They had not gone very far before the monkey got hold of Mr. Jumbo's tail and scampered up to his place on the top of Mr. Jumbo's head They soon reached the cave and there they unhitched Mr. Jumbo and left the chariot and all the things in it and went back to the train wreck because they knew that there was another chariot there even more beautiful than this one and when they reached the wreck again Mr. Jumbo went over to where the big bale of hay was and how do you suppose he carried the bale of hay? He knelt down and he ran his great teeth called tusks under the bale of hay then he wrapped his long nose or trunk as it is called around the bale of hay and stood up and carried the hay over and put it in the chariot Then he went for two more bales in the same way and placed them in the chariot The monkey then hitched Mr. Jumbo to the chariot and they again started up the hill In this way they hauled two or three loads of hay and then they unhitched Mr. Jumbo and left the chariot up near the bear's cave Then the bears, the monkey and the elephant went back to the wreck and each one carried everything he could The bears got their arms full and walked all the way up to the den on their hind legs The monkey got his little arms full of what do you suppose? Bags of roasted peanuts The elephant carried up three great sacks filled with barley They worked so hard that it took them nearly all day That night, as they were wondering whether any of the animals would find the cave in the dark they suddenly heard the flapping of wings The little cub bear ran at once to the mouth of the cave to see what it was Oh, circus bear, he said Here is a great bird He has great big eyes as large as marbles He has the funniest pointed ears He has a hooked nose He has great claws and he is as big as half a dozen doves The circus bear said That is Mr. Owl Ask him to come in So the little bear cub said to Owl very politely Come in Mr. Owl and the owl came into the den He blinked his great eyes and looked solemn and wise and the little cub bear said Mr. Owl, we are going to build a house so that all the animals can come and live with us if they want to and we want to know if you can help us build a house and Mr. Owl said very solemnly I would be very glad to help you because when we lived in the circus your brother was very good to me and I should like to do anything I can to help you The little cub bear said What can you do? and the owl said If you want me to, I can be doorkeeper and when anyone comes I can ask who he is because, you know, I can say who, who The little cub bear danced up and down and said that it would be very fine and he said I'm very glad that my brother was kind to you when you were in the circus So the owl went out to the mouth of the den and there was a great big tree and a way up near the top of the tree was a long limb sticking out like an arm and the owl flew up to this limb and sat there looking very solemn and very wise as all owls do blinking his great eyes and there he sat day and night winking and blinking his great eyes so solemn and wise keeping watch for the bears and the animals just like a soldier's sentry standing guard at the general's tent Now the little cub bear like all little cubs was very fond of stories and was always teasing the papa bear to tell him stories about little bears and all sorts of things The little bear liked the stories that his papa told him about the little cub bear that would not mind his papa That night, after the owl had flown up to the limb of the dead tree the little fella said Papa, please tell me another story about the little cub bear that would not mind his papa The papa bear said Little one, you are always asking me to tell you stories It is hard for me to think of so many but if you want me to do so I will tell you of End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of The Bear Family at Home This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Zarina Silverman Los Angeles, California The Bear Family at Home By Curtis Wilbur Chapter 4 The little cub bear that would not mind his papa and how he took an unexpected bath This little cub bear that would not mind his papa was a tame little bear that lived with his papa near a great sawmill You know what a sawmill is? It is a place where they take great pine trees that have been chopped down and saw the logs into boards and shingles and lumber to make houses for men to live in with their little cubs that they call boys and girls and their little wee cubs they call babies This sawmill was on a great river and near the sawmill was a place where the water fell straight down from a place higher than this house and of course the stream ran very swiftly above the falls and below the falls These falls were not so large as the Niagara Falls but they were so large that the water poured over with a great roaring sound and the water whirled about after it reached the bottom of the falls and great waves dashed up against the banks of the river Above the falls the water ran so swiftly that no one could swim in it The papa bear knew this but the little cub bear that would not mind his papa didn't know that the water ran so swiftly The papa bear had told his little son many, many times not to go too near the river and never to try to drink out of the river above the falls But one day the little fellow was very, very thirsty and he ran up to the bank of the river and saw the beautiful cool water and thought how nice it would be to have a drink He was so thirsty, he didn't want to go away down below the falls where he and his papa usually took a drink of water so he thought he would see if he couldn't get a drink right where he was there above the falls He went down to the very edge and reached way over and began to lap up the water But it was just then he heard a noise and as he looked up quickly his foot slipped and into the river he went Ker-splash! Now this little bear could swim That is one reason he wasn't afraid to drink from the river because he thought if he fell in he could swim out very easily and very quickly So he started to swim as hard as he could for the shore but he soon found that the water was so swift that instead of getting nearer the shore he was getting farther and farther away all the time And then he looked around to see where he was going He found that he was going nearer and nearer to the falls where the water went over with such a great roar So he swam harder and harder and harder and faster and faster and faster but all the time he was going closer and closer to the terrible falls Finally the little bear gave up trying to swim out and just kept his nose out of the water so that he could breathe and down the stream he went faster than you could run Sometimes great waves would cover him up completely and when his nose would come up above the water he would blow almost like a whale to get the water out of his nose Almost before you could think that little bear came to the edge of the falls and over he went Do you think that was the last of him? Well, if he had been a little boy I suppose he would have been drowned But this little cub bear was so light and so strong that after a long, long while he came up to the surface of the water right in the middle of a great whirlpool He went round and round and round in the water and it seemed as though he never would stop But finally he found a big log that had come over the falls and he got one foreleg over the log and swam as hard as he could toward the bank and finally succeeded in getting ashore There he lay on the grass all wet and tired out and all he could think was I am so glad I wasn't drowned I would never again disobey my papa and he thought this over and over in his mind Soon the little cub bear that would not mind his papa went to sleep right where he was for he was too tired to go home After a long while his papa began to look for him and finally found him lying there all wet and sound asleep His papa knew what had happened but he felt so bad he didn't wake him the little bear but picked him up in his great arms and went back to the den and laid down close beside him to keep him warm and the little fellow slept all that night and all the next day until four o'clock in the afternoon Then he wakened and put his arm around his papa and said, oh, I had the most terrible dream in the whole world I thought I was nearly drowned and I was too tired to get home and the papa bear said I guess that wasn't a dream but I'm so glad that you are alive that I am not going to scold you for disobeying me When this story about the little cub bear that would not mind his papa was finished our little cub bear who lived away up in the cave in the mountain said I should think that every little bear ought to mind his papa and do just as he says else they might get drowned, you know Then the little bear went off to bed and to sleep The next morning early the little cub bear got up and rubbed his eyes with his paws touching them as little boys do Just then he heard a noise as if some animal was coming and he ran to the mouth of the den and looked out and said I see the queerest looking animal coming up the path it has long ears and a great big mouth and a queer looking tail it looks something like a horse but still it looks different from a horse and just then the owl saw the animal and said who, who and the animal answered he ha, he ha, he ha and the circus bear said I know who that is that's a mule, her name is Jenny just then Jenny came to the mouth of the den and the little cub bear said very politely come in Mrs. Jenny and she came into the den and the little cub bear said Mrs. Jenny we're going to try to build a house big enough for all the animals so if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay can you help us? Then Mrs. Jenny said I would be very glad to because your brother was very good to me we were in the circus and the little cub bear said what can you do? and Jenny said I haven't worked for a long while but I can kick like everything the little cub bear said well, here's a soft place in the rock perhaps if you will kick it will fall down and make more room and Jenny turned around and kicked the rock and it fell down and she kicked and she kicked and more rocks fell down and she kicked and more rocks fell down and she kept on kicking and more rocks fell down and the bears picked up the rocks and carried them out and when she got through there was a nice large room and the little cub bear said we will call this Jenny's room I am very glad that my brother was good to Mrs. Jenny when she was in the circus because if he hadn't been maybe she would have kicked me instead of the rocks that day the bears worked hard all day trying to find enough to eat for themselves and for all of the animals that were coming to see them from the circus the circus bear told them just what things the animals like to eat so the Papa bear and Susie bear went one way and the Mama bear went another the elephant looked all over the mountain to see if he could find some grass to eat that night when the animals came to the cave the elephant told them that he thought he had found a fine place for the animals that like to eat grass he said there were a great many horses where he found the grass but that they said they were not going to come with him because they did not want to live in a cave they said they wanted to live out in the open air and that if anyone came to take them back to the circus they would run away as fast as they could the bears were very tired that night but the little cub bear teased his Papa for a story about the little cub bear that would not mind his Papa finally the Papa bear said that he would tell just one story if the cub bear would promise that he would not ask for another one and would go to bed as soon as the story was finished so the little cub bear and Susie bear came as close as they could to the Papa bear and he told this story End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 of the bear family at home this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jennifer Painter the bear family at home by Curtis Wilber how little cub bear that would not mind his Papa was nearly drowned among the logs just on the edge of the stream which flowed by the sawmill where the little cub bear that would not mind his Papa lived there was a pond of still water and in this pond there were a great many logs that floated down from the forest away up the river these logs were in this pond waiting to be soared up into boards and timber to be used in building houses now this was a very dangerous place for little boys the Papa bear had told his little son never to go out on the logs and the little fellow had promised that he never would go out on the logs but day after day the little cub bear saw men going out on the logs with long sticks that had big spikes in the end of them and long sticks with hooks on the end of them and they pushed the logs here and there to bring them over to the sawmill where they were hoisted into the mills by great chains and then were moved over in front of a great saw to be soared into lumber as the little cub bear watched these men every day he would think how easy it was and how nice it was to ride around on those logs and to step from one log to another and how foolish his Papa was to tell him not to go down on the logs it was so easy one day after watching the men for a long while the little cub bear thought he would go down very, very carefully and walk out on one of the logs and this he did there he waited for a long while sitting on the log it was great fun and it didn't hurt at all so finally he stepped over onto another log and then onto another my how he enjoyed it the little bear felt sure that his Papa had made a great mistake in telling him to keep off the logs just then as the little bear stepped from one log to another both logs rolled and down he went into the water but he didn't mind that much because he could swim very well the little bear swam to the surface as quickly as he could but instead of getting his head out of the water he bumped his head into the logs for the surface of the water was all covered with floating logs then the little bear saw why his Papa had told him never to play on the logs because if he once fell into the river he was very apt to be drowned the little cub bear didn't give up and drown like that he began to swim as hard as he could and held his breath as long as he could and after he had swum just as far as he possibly could he came up to the surface again and this time his nose came out between two logs and there was just room enough for his nose to get up out of the water so he had a chance to breathe again and oh how good it seemed and he took such long deep breaths and it seemed as though he could never get enough air then he thought he would see if he couldn't find a way out and he tried and tried but there wasn't room between the logs for his head to come up out of the water he couldn't even get his eyes above the surface of the water and so he couldn't see where he was pretty soon the logs began to move closer and closer together and then he knew if he stayed where he was he would surely be killed so he took a long breath just as deep a breath as he could can you take a long deep breath little cub bear and the little cub bear said his papa and he took a long deep breath to show his papa how the little bear breathed when he just had his nose above the water then the little bear dropped down to the water and he swam as hard and fast as he could hoping that the next time he came up he might possibly find another place where he could breathe he knew that if he did not he surely would be drowned and would never see his papa again when the little cub bear came up he found a place just big enough for his nose and again he took a very long breath and waited until the logs began to come together again then he dropped down and swam under the logs and as he was swimming he could feel the logs scrape his back and he knew that he was still under the great log raft finally just as he had to breathe anyway whether he breathed water and drowned or breathed air and lived he saw a little light place under the water where the light shone down between the logs and he swam to the surface and this time his whole head came out of the water and he got a deep breath of fresh air and another and another but he couldn't get out he stayed there and pretty soon he found that the logs were moving apart just a little bit at a time so that his head could come up farther and farther and finally he got his hole back out of the water then the logs moved so that the little bear was able to clear out of the water and there he lay on the logs tired out and it was a long, long time before he could move or walk or do a thing he was terribly frightened but after a while he managed to walk clear to the shore on the logs and he was very careful not to fall in the water again he walked home and lay down and went to sleep his papa came home after a while with something to eat for supper he shook the little bear but the little bear was so tired he didn't wake up and so his papa let him sleep all night when the papa bear had finished telling his little cub the story about the little cub bear that would not mind his papa he said, little cub bear what do you think of this story and ah little cub bear scratched his head and thought quite a long while and then he said I think it is best to try try again and not to give up too easily or you might get drowned the papa bear said I think so too little cub bear now run to bed and go to sleep so the little bear went to bed and went to sleep during the night he seemed to be dreaming he moved his paws just as though he was swimming and then he snorted like a whale and took long deep breaths then he moved his paws again then he breathed deep breaths again and finally he sighed a great sigh and slept quietly the little bear was dreaming about something can you guess what it was the next morning the little cub bear waked up early and wondered if any other animal would come from the circus he rubbed his eyes and listened just then he heard a sound of small hoops pattering along the path the little cub bear ran to the mouth of the cave and looked down to see what it was and he saw something white he said, I see something coming up the path it looked something like a sheep but has long straight horns and it has a beard and long straight hair just then the owl saw the animal and said and the circus bear said I know who that is, that's Billy the goat and just then the goat came to the mouth of the den and the little cub bear said very politely, come in Mr goat and the goat came in and he looked around and saw the circus bear and the big bears the little cub bear said to him Mr goat, we are going to try to build a house large enough for all the animals so if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay and the goat said I will be very glad to help you in any way I can because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus and the little cub bear said what can you do and the goat said I don't know, I can but like everything and then the little cub bear said well, there is a very soft place in the ground, perhaps you can knock some of the dirt and rocks down so we can carry it out and make more room and then the goat said alright and he butted and he butted and knocked down more dirt and they carried it out and he kept on and butted and butted and butted and when he got through butting there was a fine large room and the cub bear said thank you we will call this room Billy's room I'm very glad that my brother was good to Billy when he was in the circus because if he hadn't been maybe Billy would have butted me instead of the rocks the animals worked hard all that day trying to make the cave bigger they scratched and dug the dirt and the rocks and worked as hard as they possibly could for they were sure that soon the animals would be there and the cave would not be large enough at night they all sat down and rested and just as soon as the puppy bear was seated the little cub bear ran over him and asked for another story about the little cub bear that would not mind his papa the papa bear was very tired but he loved the dear little cub and so he began the story end of chapter five chapter six of the bear family at home this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jennifer Painter the bear family at home by Curtis Wilbur the little cub bear that would not mind his papa a sawmill you know is a very dangerous place at any little bear to play because there are so many saws and knives and wheels whirling around in every direction this little bear you remember lived near a sawmill and belonged to his papa who belonged to the man that owned the mill the papa bear told the little bear not to touch anything in the sawmill for if he did he would be sure to be hurt the little bear said that he would not touch a single thing for he didn't want to be hurt any more than his papa wanted him to be hurt so the papa bear said that he would rather that his little bear would stay away from the mill but the little bear teased so hard that finally the papa bear told him he could go into the mill if he would be sure not to touch a single thing the little bear said that he would be very careful so papa bear let him go into the sawmill where all of the wheels were going around and around my how the little bear did enjoy the mill the great wheels and saws were going around so fast with a whirr and whirr and a buzz, buzz the great saws looked like shining wheels and they went around so quickly that you could not see their teeth at all a big log would come up to the saw on a sort of a carriage and then buzz, buzz the saw would go clear through the big log from one end to the other and before the little bear could think the log would be made into boards at first the little bear was very careful for he remembered what his papa had told him but after a while the little bear went close to the biggest saw in the whole mill and watched it go through the logs now you know that bears always smell of a thing when they want to know what it is so this little bear said to himself papa did not tell me not to smell of the saw he told me not to touch it I think that I will smell of this wonderful thing that eats through the logs and makes them into boards he went closer and closer he was a little afraid even to smell of the saw after all that his papa had told him but he went closer and closer to the saw until finally he reached out as far as he could with his nose to smell ouch ouch ouch the awfulest howling and squealing that you ever heard from a little bear the papa bear ran in as fast as he could and what do you think he saw the poor little bear's face was all covered with blood and he was howling and screaming as hard as he could you see the little bear could not see the teeth of the great saw but they were going around so fast and he had put his nose too close and the saw had sawed the end of his nose right in too well the poor papa bear was very very sorry he lit the blood off the little bear's face and took him over to the house that the man had made for them after a long time the little bear went to sleep but his nose hurt so badly that he awoke in the night many times the next morning the little bear said to his papa papa I am sorry that I didn't obey you, you knew best you always do and I'll try not to be a bad little bear again the papa bear said that's right my little one I am sorry that you were so badly hurt I will not scold you for I am sure that you have learned it is really best to do what papa tells you to do and not to do the things that your papa tells you not to do the little bear said I have papa what do you suppose they call the little bear after that they called him the split-nosed bear when the papa bear had finished the story the little cub bear what do you think of that story and the little cub bear answered I think that it is best to do what papa says then the papa bear said that is right now you must run back into the cave and go to sleep that night the little cub bear dreamed a bad dream I do not know what it was but he spoke aloud in his sleep and said what the end of his nose with his paw can you guess what he was dreaming about the next morning the little cub bear wakened very early and rubbed his eyes and wondered whether any of the animals would come from the surface he listened and listened pretty soon he heard a very faint little patter as if made by very small feet and the cub bear listened and listened and then he went to the door and looked out and he said I see a very strange animal coming he has the shortest little legs he is smaller than a very small dog about as large as two cats and he has a funny little sharp nose and he has black and white stripes down his back just then the owl saw the animal and he said who, who but the animal didn't answer him he came right along to the mouth of the den just as he reached there the circus bear said I know who that is that is Mr. Badger ask him to come in so the little cub bear said very politely come in Mr. Badger and the badger came in the cub bear said we are going to try to build a house large enough for all the animals so that if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay can you help us and the badger said I would be very glad to help you if I could because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus and the little cub bear said what can you do and the badger said I can dig around hole just as big around as I am and dig very fast and the little cub bear said that is nice perhaps you can make us a chimney there is a place in the side of the den where there is nothing but earth and dirt he took the badger over and showed him and the badger said yes I can make you a fine chimney so he commenced to scratch and he scratched and he scratched very fast digging up instead of down and he scratched and scratched and the first thing you know when the little cub bear looked he didn't see any badger and the badger scratched and scratched and more dirt came down first thing you knew no more dirt came down but the little cub bear went and looked up the hole and he could see clear out to the blue sky just then they heard a patter at the door and there was Mr Badger he had made a hole clear out into the open air a nice chimney and he came in and sat down with the other animals that day the animals all worked as hard as ever and at night when the papa bear sat down to rest the little cub bear ran over to him and said papa please tell me another story about the little spit-nosed bear that would not mind his papa alright said the papa bear I will if you will promise me to go to bed as soon as I finish the little cub bear said papa bear so the papa bear told him end of chapter 6 Chapter 7 of the bear family at home this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Elizabeth Holland The Bear Family at Home by Curtis Wilbur Chapter 7 story of the little spit-nosed bear that would not mind his papa you remember that the little bear that had his nose split by the great circular saw lived with a man who owned a large sawmill for a long time after the little bear had his nose sawed into he kept away from the mill he said to himself I will never go in that mill to be hurt again and I will mind my papa for his papa had told him to keep out of the sawmill but one day the little spit-nosed bear was playing with a dog that belonged to the man who owned the sawmill they were having a fine time playing bear hunt the little spit-nosed bear was playing the bear and the little dog was playing that he was a big blood hailed dog running after the bear the dog was really a very small dog white with brown ears and a stubbed tail you see he lived in a sawmill too the little spit-nosed bear would growl growl and the little dog would run away as if he was terribly frightened then the dog would run after the little Split-nosed bear and bark and he could bark very very loud for so small a dog bow wow wow then the little split-nosed bear would run away just as if he was terribly frightened then the little split-nosed bear would hide take the dog a long time to find him. They were having a splendid time jumping around and running in and out of the dark places when the little split-nose bear ran into the sawmill, for he was playing so hard that he forgot all about the saw and what his papa had told him. The little dog was so close to the little split-nose bear that the little bear ran as fast as he could and jumped up onto an iron platform that looked just as if it were made on purpose for a little bear to jump up on. And there the little split-nose bear stood looking down at the dog and growling, growling at him. The little dog jumped up as far as he could and bit the split-nose bear on his heel. Then the little split-nose bear whirled around like a flash and what do you suppose happened? Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! And such growling and howling and squealing you never heard. Then the little dog ran away as fast as he could, for he was really frightened this time. Kie! Kie! Kie! He howled as he ran out of the door. The papa bear heard the noise. He was afraid that the split-nose bear was really killed this time, so he ran as fast as he could to the little bear and what do you suppose he saw? There was the little split-nose bear rolling about on the floor and up on the iron platform where he had been playing was a little brown bear's ear. Oh, how sorry the papa bear felt to think his poor little bear had lost his ear, just because he had forgotten to do as his papa had told him to do. You see, the little split-nose bear had been standing on the iron platform of a band saw. What he thought was a strap whirling around two wheels was really a saw. When the split-nose bear had turned around quickly, his ear had come against the saw and it was sawed off quicker than you could think with a zip and a buzz. The papa bear licked the stump of the ear and said, I am so sorry, dear little split-nose bear, that you forgot and did not mind your papa. As soon as he could talk, the little split-nose bear said, I'll always mind my papa after this. The papa bear put him to bed, but his ear hurt so that he wakened several times in the night. After the little split-nose bear got well, they always called him the little one-eared bear that would not mind his papa. This is the end of my story about the little split-nose bear, said the papa bear, as he finished. Now, little cub bear, run to bed in the back of the cave and go to sleep as quickly as you can. The little cub bear ran quickly to bed and went to sleep in the dark alone, for he wanted to be a brave little bear. But after he had been sleeping a while, he talked in his sleep and said, I am always going to mind my papa. Then he felt of his ear and moaned. Can you guess what the little cub bear was dreaming about? The next morning, the little cub bear wakened very early, and as soon as he had rubbed his eyes, he wondered if any of the animals would come that day. He listened, the circus bear listened, and Susie bear listened. Pretty soon they heard something coming up the path, and the little cub bear rushed to the mouth of the den to see what it was, and he said, I see a very strange animal coming up the path. It has the most beautiful fur I ever saw, ever so much finer than bear's fur, and the animal looks something like Mr. Badger. Only its fur is all one color, and it has the funniest tail, almost as big as a shovel, flat and broad. Just then the owl saw the animal and said, But the animal didn't answer at all, except he gave two slaps with his broad, flat tail on the ground. And the circus bear said, I know who that is, that is Mr. Beaver. Ask him to come in. Mr. Beaver came to the door, and the little cub bear said very politely, Come in, Mr. Beaver. The beaver came in, and the little cub bear said, We are going to try to build a house big enough for all the animals, so if they come to see us, we will have a place for them to stay. Can you help us? And the beaver said, I will be very glad to, because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus. The little cub bear said, What can you do? And the beaver said, I can build dams across streams so as to make beautiful lakes, such as they have in parks. And I can build a nice round house in the lake to live in, and large enough for a little bear to live in, if he can only get inside without getting wet. And the cub bear said, That would be fine, because we could have a park for the animals to play in, and some of the animals would rather live in the water anyway than live in a cave. So the beaver said, All right, I will make you a dam and a beautiful lake. So they all went down to the stream, and the beaver went up to a tree, and he commenced to bite it. He bit, and he bit, and he bit, and the chips just flew. And he bit, and he bit, and he bit, and the chips just flew. And the first thing they knew, the tree fell over. Then he went to another tree, not a very large tree, only about so thick, three inches. Then he went to another tree, and he bit, and he bit, and bit, and the first thing they knew, that tree fell over. So he kept on until he had cut down a great many trees and then he took them down and put them in the stream and he put in leaves and then the water began to rise higher and higher and the beaver kept piling in and piling in leaves and trees and soon he had a high dam clear across the stream. The next morning when they looked the water had filled up above the dam and made a beautiful lake soon the beaver went to work and made a house out of mud he used his four feet like hands walking on his hind feet and he used his flat tail to make a beautiful mudhouse big enough to live in himself and big enough for little cubbear to get in if he could only get in without getting wet could you make so nice a mudhouse and the little cubbear said thank you mr beaver very politely i am very glad my brother was good to mr beaver in the circus as soon as they had seen the dam built by the beaver all of the animals began to work again as hard as they could work to make the cave larger because it was much too small for the animals that were already there and the elephant could not get in at all at night they were all very tired but as soon as the papa bear sat down the little cub bear ran over and got as close as he could to his papa and asked him to tell another story about the little one-eared bear that would not mind his papa so although he was very tired the papa bear began the story of end of chapter seven chapter eight of the bear family at home this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by elizabeth holland the bear family at home by curtis wilber chapter eight the one-eared bear that would not mind his papa you remember that the little bear had promised that he would not go into the sawmill at all but one day the little one-eared bear was very lonesome he wanted to go into the mill but he remembered that his papa had told him again that very morning that he must be sure to keep away from the sawmill he thought a while and then he said to himself papa didn't tell me to keep out of the planing mill i think that i will go in there now the planing mill was just as bad a place for little bears as the sawmill itself and the little one-eared bear knew this but you see he wanted to go in and so he went in anyway what do you suppose happened to the one-eared bear this time he played for a while and had a very fine time he enjoyed it so much that he said he would come again he liked to see the wheels go round and round with a whiz and were just then the little one-eared bear saw a funny machine with a thing buzzing around that looked like a roller such as a cook uses to roll out cookies with the little bear said i want to feel the wind that must be made by this roller going so fast but i'll not get close enough to touch the thing for i might get hurt and i don't want to get hurt again so the little one-eared bear reached out his paw very carefully closer and closer ouch ouch ouch such howling and squealing you never heard what do you think happened the little one-eared bear had touched the sharp knives or planes that were all round and round in a planar you see they go around so fast that you cannot see them at all for they look just like a solid roller well the poor little one-eared bear's foot was bleeding and looked terrible the papa bear heard the little one-eared bears howling and ran into the mill as fast as he could and there he saw that the little one had lost all the toes of one foot the papa bear lit the little one's foot and did everything that he could to make his little bear feel better but he could not put back those four little toes the little one-eared bear was very very sorry too once he whimpered and told his papa that he was ever so sorry that he had not done as his papa had told him to do and said that he would never never again do anything that his papa told him not to do but that didn't make his toes grow again the little one-eared bear went to bed that night but he didn't sleep very well because his foot hurt him so much after a long while the foot healed so that the little bear could walk around but he always limped as long as he lived he said that he could never again forget to do as his papa told him to do because every step that he took he remembered that foot and how he had lost all his toes by not doing as his papa told him after that they didn't call the little bear the little one-eared bear anymore they always called him what do you suppose the clubfoot bear when the little cub bears papa had finished telling the story of the little one-eared bear the little cub bear said i think that it is best to do what papa says and the papa bear said that's right dear little cub now run back into the cave and go to sleep the little cub bear ran quickly to the back part of the cave where it was all dark and went to bed on some roots and brush and was soon asleep when he was fast asleep he talked in his sleep and said i am always going to do what my papa tells me to do and then he felt one of his paws and moaned moaned a sad little moan can you guess what the little cub bear was dreaming about the next morning the beaver and the owl and the monkey were talking together and the beaver said i am going down to live in that beautiful mud house that i made yesterday in the lake the house has several rooms inside and the door is under the water i can swim out there and then dive under the water and come up inside the house no one could find me in there when i am swimming around in the lake or working on the dam if i see anyone coming i will jump into the water and hit the water two great slaps with my tail and the monkey said yes i know how that sounds that sounds just like a gun the owl said as soon as he saw anyone coming he would say who and the monkey said that he thought he would go out every morning and see if he couldn't find some of the animals and bring them up to the cave and see if they would like to live there in the cave if it could be made big enough for them so the beaver went down to the dam to work and the monkey went out to see if he could find any of the animals and the old owl flew up into the tree and sat out on the end of a dead limb and waited before very long the little cub bear heard bang bang he knew the beaver had seen some animal coming and had struck the water with his tail so he ran to the mouth of the cave to see what it was soon he heard a rustling noise and looked down the path i see a large animal coming he said he looks very fierce he is as large as a large bear but he is yellow all over and has long shaggy hair all over his head and beautiful large eyes and a long tail with a tassel on the end of it just then the owl saw this animal and said who who the animal opened his mouth and gave the most awful roar you ever heard it frightened the little cub bear so that he didn't stop to hear what the circus bear said or find out what kind of an animal it was at all but he ran clear back in the very back of the cave into jenny's room and there he waited almost frightened to death as soon as the little cub bear got over his fright he noticed the air blowing through a crack it seemed to come right out of the mountain he did not understand and thought he would ask his brother about it just then the circus bear said come out come out little cub bear don't be afraid the animal is a lion and he won't hurt you because he is a tame lion and is a very good friend of mine so the little cub bear came out and went to the mouth of the cave just in time to meet the lion and the monkey and he said very politely come in mr. lion and the lion came in and the little cub bear said we are going to try to build a house big enough for all the animals so if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay can you help us and the lion said i would be very glad to help you if i could because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus and the little cub bear said what can you do and the lion said i don't know i never built a house because i always lived in the jungle where there are lots of trees and grass and we found our houses already built just like you're den but i will do anything you want me to i can jump ever so far and the little cub bear said that is nice let's see how far you can jump then the papa bear and the mama bear and the little cub bear and the monkey all went out to see how far the lion could jump the owl flapped his great wings and said to it to it to it the lion crept away then he said now i will show you how i catch things to eat and he pointed to a log of wood 10 or 15 feet away and he said i will show you what i would do if that log were a deer the lion crouched and lay as still as a little mouse and the bears were all still waiting to see what the lion would do there was not a sound in the forest suddenly little cub bear saw a yellow flash through the air and heard a thud then he looked at the log of wood and there was the lion on the log with his claw stuck into it and the little cub bear said my i am glad i am not a deer and that the lion does not want me for his dinner the animals worked all morning trying to make the cave larger but the papa bear went off with little susie bear to see what they could find to eat when dinner time came the animals all rested for a while as they were sitting there talking little cub bear said to the lion mr. lion i wish you would tell me a story about the most narrow escape you ever had in your life end of chapter eight chapter nine of the bear family at home this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by jay salem las vegas nevada the bear family at home by curtis wilber the lions story of his most narrow escape well said the lion you know i used to live in africa and used to eat deer and other animals you remember i showed you this morning how i would catch deer well one night it was very dark and i climbed up on a bank and there i waited i could not hear a sound everything was just as still as could be suddenly a long way off i heard a sound as if an animal was moving below the bank there was a path that the animals took when they went to get water and it seemed to me that this animal was coming along the path and would soon be right under the place where i was waiting i watched and watched and the animal came nearer and nearer and nearer but it was very dark and i couldn't see a thing and i was very sure anyway that it was a deer and that i could have him for my supper the animal came nearer and nearer and finally i gave a great leap and what do you suppose i landed upon the back of a rhinoceros you know a rhinoceros has a skin almost as hard as iron and right on the end of his nose two horns very sharp if i had landed on those horns it surely would have killed me the rhinoceros was terribly frightened and so was i he snorted and roared almost like a locomotive i tried to dig my claws into his back but i couldn't get through his tough hide at all it was just like trying to scratch a locomotive he jumped and rolled over and hurt my foot and i found i couldn't move because he had one of his great feet on my claws then the lion pointed to his claw and showed how it was all bent and twisted and scarred and said that is where the rhinoceros stepped on my foot finally the rhinoceros grew so angry that he put his tongue out i reached up and bit a hole clear through his tongue and then he ran away as fast as he could and i ran away as fast as i could but i had to run on three feet and that is the end of my story the little cub bear looked at the lion and then he looked at the lion's lame foot and then he scratched his head and said i think it is a good plan to look before you leap and the lion said i wish somebody had told me that a long time ago after the lion had finished his story and the animals had eaten their dinner they commenced to work again and worked all afternoon late that night the papa bear came home with a lot of strawberries that he had found and all of the bears had a fine supper the elephant hay and grass and the other animals found something they like to eat after the lion had finished the story the little cub bear commenced to tease his papa for a story about the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa but the papa bear said he was tired of telling stories about little bear that would not mind his papa but would tell a story about a clubfoot grizzly bear if the little cub bear wanted to hear it the little cub bear said that he did and snuggled up as close as he could to his papa for grizzly bears are as large as four or five grown up brown bears all put together and they have great teeth and claws they like to eat little pigs and little calves and such things instead of berries and honey when the little cub bear had snuggled up as close to his papa as he could the papa bear commenced end of chapter nine chapter 10 of the bear family at home this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jay Salem Las Vegas, Nevada the bear family at home by Curtis Wilbur the true story of how 10 men did not kill clubfoot when I was a little bear cub long before I met your mother and long before you were born I lived in a small cave near a store where men used to meet and talk about the bears they had killed and the mountain lines they had seen and all sorts of stories of that kind well I used to come down in the dark sometimes and put my ear up to the crack between the logs and listen to what the men said one evening while the men were telling stories one of them said did you ever hear of the big grizzly called clubfoot and all the men and all the men said that they had heard of clubfoot except one of the men that had not lived there very long he said that he had never heard of this grizzly the men told this newcomer that clubfoot was a very large bear one of the largest that had ever been seen the men said that a great many men had tried to kill this giant grizzly because he would kill their little pigs and their little calves and colts then too they wanted to get his great skin to make a carriage robe but they had never been able to get the bear for even if they hit him with bullets from their guns it did not seem to hurt him very much but made him very angry this grizzly instead of running away from a man with a gun would run right up to him and knock the gun out of his hand no one could kill this bear they said that the bear lived in the San Bernardino mountains and that his great tracks had often been seen and that all of his toes were missing from one foot that was the reason they called him clubfoot probably when he was a little bear he had been caught in a trap and lost his toes they said that the bear made regular trips from Mount San Bernardino to the Antelope Valley 60 miles away he had made the trips so often that he had made sort of a trail through the mountains this trail the men said was only a mile or so back of the store while the men were talking another man came in and said old clubfoot has started from his den in the side of Mount San Bernardino and is coming this way he ought to be along here sometime tonight then one of the men that they called Alex said it's a fine moonlight night tonight let's get our guns and go up to the old grizzly's trail and see if we can't kill him there is a pig pen right near the trail with little pigs in it so that grizzly will be sure to stop there long enough for us to shooting then the man that came in last and told about clubfoot's coming said there are two Irishmen that live a little further along the trail that are going to do the same thing they're going to watch near another pig pen that is farther on and they think that they will kill clubfoot well Alex said there will be 10 of us with guns of all sorts and I think those Irishmen will never see old clubfoot for he will never get as far as they are we will have his skin by that time all the men said we'll do it it will be lots of fun and clubfoot will not bother the farmers little pigs and calves and colts anymore all the men got their guns and rifles and some lunch to eat while they were waiting for old clubfoot to come along I was very curious to see what the men would do and how they would kill the grizzly and then too I wanted to see a great grizzly bear so I followed the men but I kept so far behind that they did not see me at all as the men walked along they talked about how they would kill old clubfoot as they call the great grizzly bear the men said they thought they would climb trees and wait in the tops of them where they would be safer and where the bear could not get at them before they had had a chance to kill him two men though said that they were going to stay on the ground and that the other men ought not to be afraid and climb in the tops of trees they ought to stay down on the ground and shoot the bear there and they laughed at the man who said they were going to stay up in the trees finally they came to the path that old clubfoot usually traveled and there was the pig pen with the little pigs in it all the men but two climbed up into the trees and there they waited I went around and hid behind a rock to see what would happen very soon there came a great crashing noise and as I looked up along the path I saw old clubfoot coming very fast he didn't stop for anything he went right through the bushes and jumped over the tops of the small trees and as he came out into the moonlight he seemed to be as big as jumbo I waited and thought I would hear the men shooting but suddenly I heard the men who were on the ground crying out to the man who had gone up in the trees don't shoot don't shoot if you shoot the old clubfoot and don't kill him he will surely kill us and they dropped their guns and ran as fast as they could and commenced to climb trees they climbed up a little way but they were so frightened and so hurried that they would slip back old clubfoot came right along but he didn't notice the men at all or paying the attention to them he went right up to the pig pen and he hit it one blow and knocked it all to pieces he took up two pigs one in each of his great four paws and off he went down the path and not one of the men fired a single shot pretty soon the men came down from the trees and they all began to scold one another one man said to alex why didn't you shoot well he said the old clubfoot looked as big as an elephant and I thought if I shot him and didn't kill him that he would come and shake the tree down and eat me up and the other men said that that was the reason they didn't shoot then they said to the brave fellows who stayed on the ground why didn't you shoot well they said we didn't know the bear was so big after the men got nearly home they sat down and talked it over and one of them said what will you say to the two Irishmen that were going to kill clubfoot you know we thought we would kill him and he would never get as far as the Irishman and they all agreed that they would not say a thing about it to anyone but would wait and see what the Irishman said when they came into the store the next evening well the next evening I went down and hid behind the house to hear what the men would say and sure enough very soon in came the two Irishmen one Irishman was named Mike and the other Pat the men all said hello Mike and hello Pat but no one said anything about old clubfoot after a while alex said well Mike where is the bear scan you were going to bring us for Mike had said he would have a bear scan for them that night didn't you see old clubfoot yes Mike said we saw clubfoot he came right by us and we were sitting on the roof of the pig pen he knocked the pig pen right out from under us and took a little pig and ran off with it well alex said why didn't you shoot him and Mike said well well we couldn't find our guns and so that was the way the 10 men didn't kill old clubfoot and it is said that he is still living in the San Bernardino Mountains and still goes over the same old trail every year for some reason no one has ever succeeded in getting him after Papa bear finished the story little cub bear said I wish I were a great big grizzly bear so that I would not be afraid of a gun but Papa bear said it is always a good thing to be afraid of a gun no matter how big you may be the little cub bear ran off to bed in the dark and was soon fast asleep in his sleep he reached out with his paw and gave a great slap then a moment after he reached out again and gave another slap can you guess what he was dreaming about the next morning the little cub bear woke up very early and rubbed his eyes and wondered if any animal would come that day he listened and listened but he heard nothing suddenly there was a loud bang bang and he knew that some animal was coming the little cub bear ran to the mouth of the den where he could hear a rustling sound he looked down the path but he could see nothing he looked again and this time he looked up among the branches of the trees because he thought it might be a bird coming and what do you think he saw a way up among the branches of the trees he could see an animal's head he said I see an animal's head moving among the trees his head has large ears and very large eyes and two horns different from any horns I ever saw they are blunt on the end and stick straight up and seem to have hair on the end of the horns I can't see the animal but I see a long long neck covered with big yellow spots as the animal comes nearer I can see more of his neck and now I can see his legs in his body his body looks something like a horse only the hind legs are much shorter than the front legs if you tried to ride on his back you would slip off behind because it is slanting like a hill and all covered with those yellow spots just then the owl saw the animal and he said who who the animal did not say a word but came right along just as he got to the mouth of the den circus bear said I know who that is that is mr giraffe ask him to come in so the little cub bear said very politely come in mr giraffe but of course the giraffe could not come in finally he knelt down and stuck his long neck into the cave and the cub bear said to him we're going to try to build a house big enough for all the animals so if they come to see us we will have a place for them to stay can you help us and the giraffe said I would be very glad to help you if I could because your brother was very good to me when we were in the circus and little cub bear said what can you do the giraffe answered I don't know I never built a house in my life I eat the leaves off the trees and live out of doors just like the horses and zebras and cows I never had a home but I have the longest neck of any animal in the whole world and if there is anything up in the air you want me to look for or if there's anything a long way off that you would like to have me see I think I can look for it for you and the little cub bear suddenly thought of the hole way back in the back part of the cave where the wind came from and he said I wish you would come in and see if you can put your head through a hole in the back part of the cave maybe you will find something and the giraffe said I will be very glad to try and so he wriggled and twisted and got into the den and got away back in the back part and he found a hole and it was just large enough for his head and his long neck he stuck his head farther and farther into the hole and stayed there so long that the little cub bear was afraid something was wrong so he and the monkey took hold of the giraffe's tail and pulled just as hard as they could the giraffe finally pulled his head out of the hole and the cub bear said what did you see and the giraffe said I found it very dark and I had to keep my head in a long time so that my eyes would get used to the darkness but I could see that there was a large room a large cave back of this cave and I couldn't see the end of it at all I think if we could only get into this room we would have a place large enough for all the animals in the circus if they wanted to come here to live and the little cub bear said my wouldn't that be nice I wonder if all the animals would help if we couldn't break down the rock and get into this room that night after all the animals had done all they could to get things to eat and to make the cave large enough the lion and some of the other animals came into the cave the giraffe was still out trying to get enough leaves to eat and the elephant was eating the last of the baled hay that had been brought from the train wreck papa please tell me another story about the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa the papa bear sighed a great sigh because he was very tired but he wanted to please the little fella so he told the story of end of chapter 10 chapter 11 of the bear family at home this is LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jay Salem Las Vegas Nevada the bear family at home by Curtis Wilbur the clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa a great smash up after the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa had had his nose split had lost an ear and nearly drowned three times and all of the toes had been cut off one foot the papa bear thought he had better move away to some place where there were not so many things to hurt little bears so he moved a long long way to a place where there was a great cold mine the men would go down in the ground and dig cold from way under the ground the cold was to be burned in stoves to keep little boys and girls warm in the wintertime for they do not sleep all winter as little bears do the cold was used also to cook what the little boys and girls and their papas and their mommas ate bread and meat and pies and cakes and everything nice the cold was used to make the railway musters go back and forth on the tracks hauling men and circus trains and freight trains a railway muster could not go to to or to to to move or do anything without coal or coal oil the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa thought that the coal mine was very fine he liked to watch the men as they went down into the ground in cages or elevators and to watch them come up at night with their little coffee pot like lamps hanging in front of their caps to show them where to go in the dark you see that it was always dark way down in the mine he liked to watch the engine as it went puff puff puff but this engine did not move back and forth like a locomotive it was called a stationary engine because it stood in one place and how do you suppose it moved the men one part of the engine was called a drum because it was round like a drum and on this was a great steel rope like a thread on a great spool as the drum or spool turned around and round the rope would be wound up or unwound and the rope went up over a great wheel and then hung down in the hole in the cage with the men and it was on the end of the rope and as the rope unwound the cage went down into the hole in the ground and as it wound up the cage came up to the top of the ground but the men had to be very careful to stop in time or the men and the cage would all be wound around the drum and smashed and killed now the papa bear was very careful to tell the little bear never never to touch the engine or anything about it but one day the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa went into the engine room when everyone else had gone away to dinner the engineer had just stepped out it was a cold day and the little bear enjoyed the warm room the machinery was also bright some looked like gold and some look like silver and some parts were a beautiful bright red and others were a pretty green after the little bear that would not mind his papa had been there for a while he saw a sort of handle and before he stopped to think he reached up and gave it a strong pull to see if it would move and what do you think happened the engine went puff puff puff the wheels went around and around and the drums commenced to wind the rope up very very fast my how frightened the little clubfoot bear was he ran away as fast as he could run but he was scarcely out of the door before the cage came to the top of the ground but there was no one to stop the engine and so the cage went on up to the wheel and there was a great crash and down came the wheel and cage and on and on to the great drum and then there was the greatest tearing and smashing and breaking you ever heard bang bang smash smash crack crack crash crash and then the noise stopped for the beautiful engine was broken all to pieces and the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa ran and ran and he didn't go home that night or the next night for he was ashamed to meet his papa all the time he was saying oh why didn't i mind my papa the beautiful engine is all smashed and the poor little donkeys that haul away the coal cars away down in the mine will starve to death because no one can take them anything to eat but finally the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa went home he found his papa feeling very sad because he thought his little cub was killed the papa kissed him and gave him a great bear hug but he felt very sorry and so did the little cub when the papa bear had finished telling his story to the little cub the little bear said very sweetly good night papa dear i am always going to do just what you tell me to do and papa bear said i hope so little cub that night the little cub bear got up in his sleep and ran as fast as he could but he soon ran against his papa who was sleeping there in the cave the papa bear saw that he had been running in his sleep so he took him and put him back in his bed he must have been dreaming can you guess what he was dreaming about the next morning after the animals had their breakfast the little cub bear told him that the giraffe had said there was a fine cave back of the one where the bears lived so the animals all agreed that they would do the best they could and all worked together to see if they could not succeed in making a hole large enough for all the animals to get through into the next cave for you remember that the hole was only large enough for the long-necked giraffe to get his head through they went to work to make the hole larger the mule kicked down rocks the goat butted down more rocks the monkey the bears the mama bear the papa bear susie bear the circus bear and the little cub bear all carried the rocks out of the cave the elephant helped as well as he could with his trunk but the mouth of the cave was so small that he could not get in to work they all worked until they were tired but they could not get through into the cave although the hole was made much larger that night before they went to sleep the little cub bear teased his papa for a story about the little clubfoot bear that would not mind his papa but the papa bear was so tired that he asked if some of the animals would not be willing to tell little cub bear a story the parent said that she had heard a story told by the lion about his most narrow escape and that she would be willing to tell the story of her most narrow escape if the little cub bear would promise not to ask his papa for another story that night of course the little cub bear promised and so the parent told the story of her most narrow escape from death end of chapter 11