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 traveling on the trains. Once he crossed the ocean in a great ship, and came back again in another ship. The first story tells How the Little Bear got free from the circus and back in the woods again.
By : Curtis D. Wilbur (1867 - 1954)
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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 rattle-te-bang, rattle-te-bang, all night long, that they all went to sleep, and remained asleep a long while. While the animals and every one 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," to call the brakemen, and the brakemen 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 brakemen 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 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 Cub Bear and a friend of his, a monkey named Jim. They ran a little way, and then the Cub Bear 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 Cub Bear 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 Cub Bear was born. They walked a little way, and the Cub Bear said:
"Why, here is the path where little brother Jimmie Bear lost his foot in a trap."
They ran up that path as fast as they could to the cave in the mountains. The Cub Bear's heart was beating very fast, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, because he knew that this was his old home, and he wondered whether his Papa Bear and Mamma Bear and his little Susie Bear and little brother Jimmie 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 Cub Bear, and little Cub Bear looked at him. It was the Papa Bear! He ran to the Cub Bear and put his arms around him and gave him a great bear hug. You know bears can hug awfully tight. Papa Bear hugged the Cub Bear, and the Cub Bear hugged the Papa Bear, and they were very, very glad to see each other. The Papa Bear woke up the Mamma Bear, and then the Mamma Bear gave the Cub Bear a great bear hug, because she was so glad to see him. Susie Bear waked up and gave the little Cub Bear a big bear hug. But Jimmie Bear was not there. Did you ever give your papa a bear hug?
After the Papa Bear and the Mamma Bear had talked a little while to the Cub Bear, they said, "We have something to show you," and they took the Cub Bear 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 'Cub Bear' now. So we will have to call you 'Circus Bear' after this," for the little Cub Bear had told his papa and mamma that he had been in the circus while away.
All this time the monkey Jim 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 Cub Bear waked up; and the Circus Bear didn't know where he had gone. After a while the little wee Cub Bear waked up and saw the monkey, and said:
"Oh, see that funny little man up there on the root. 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 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 mamma and everybody that came to the den, to tell him a story. The monkey said:
"All right, I will tell you a story about the time that I went to school."
So that morning when the Papa and the Mamma Bear and the Circus Bear and the little Cub Bear were sitting in the den, the monkey told his story.
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