harm you, he means
honorably." So they both came back, and by degrees the lamb too and the
dove overcame their fears and welcomed the rough visitor.

"You children!" said the Bear, before he entered, "come and knock the
snow off my coat." And they fetched their brooms and swept him clean.
Then he stretched himself before the fire and grumbled out his
satisfaction, and in a little while the children became familiar enough
to play tricks with the unwieldy animal. They pulled his long shaggy
skin, set their feet upon his back and rolled him to and fro, and even
ventured to beat him with a hazel-stick, laughing when he grumbled. The
Bear bore all their tricks good-temperedly, and if they hit too hard he
cried out,--

"Leave me my life, you children,
Snow-White and Rose-Red,
Or you'll never wed."

When bedtime came and the others were gone, the Mother said to the
Bear, "You may sleep here on the hearth if you like, and then you will
be safely protected from the cold and bad weather."

As soon as day broke the two children let the Bear out again, and he
trotted away over the snow, and ever afterward he came every evening at
a certain hour. He would lie down on the hearth and allow the children
to play with him as much as they liked, till by degrees they became so
accustomed to him that the door was left unbolted till their black
friend arrived.

But as soon as spring returned, and everything out of doors was green
again, the Bear one morning told Snow-White that he must leave her, and
could not return during the whole summer. "Where are you going, then,
dear Bear?" asked Snow-White. "I am obliged to go into the forest and
guard my treasures from the evil Dwarfs; for in winter, when the ground
is hard, they are obliged to keep in their holes and cannot work
through; but now, since the sun has thawed the earth and warmed it, the
Dwarfs pierce through and steal all they can find; and what has once
passed into their hands, and gets concealed by them in their caves, is
not easily brought to light."

Snow-White, however, was very sad at the departure of the Bear, and
opened the door so hesitatingly, that when he pressed through it he
left behind on the latch a piece of his hairy coat; and through the
hole which was made in his coat Snow-White fancied she saw the
glittering of gold, but she was not quite certain of it. The Bear,
however, ran hastily away, and was soon hidden behind the trees.

Some time afte