of both comb and honey.

The thief, who was none other than Black Bruin, was holding up a
section between his paws, while with his supple red tongue he licked
out the contents. Although the bees were swarming about him in a black
cloud and doing their best to punish the thief, he paid little
attention to them but licked away for dear life.

Upon his droll countenance was a look of such supreme delight, that the
angry farmer ended by laughing heartily; but after that experience he
surrounded the beehives with a stout barbed wire fence.

About the middle of July, or perhaps a little later, a neighbor's
children took Black Bruin to the blueberry lot.

They had often romped and played with him, and he was glad to go,
although he could not be coaxed to follow a stranger. He shuffled
along in his droll bear manner, often stopping to sniff under a stone
or in some corner, where his wild instinct told him that there might be
something interesting.

Arrived at the berry-field, the children began picking and for a time
Bruin sat upon his haunches and watched them, his red tongue lolling
out, for it was a hot mid-summer day.

Finally, one of the children picked a handful of berries and offered
them to their four-footed companion, thinking it would be a good joke
upon him. To their surprise, he not only lapped up the berries with
keen satisfaction, but asked in plain bear language for more.

He was so much pleased with the flavor of the new food that he finally
put his long red tongue into their pails, and they had to box his ears
severely. Then he went and sat down a little way off, seemingly much
abused.

Soon the children heard a noise in a bush near by, as if some one was
picking, so they went to investigate. They found Black Bruin standing
upon his hind legs, while with both paws and his long tongue he scooped
the blueberries into his wide-open mouth. He was bending and thrashing
the bush about to get it where he wanted it, and did not see that he
was observed. Upon his droll bear face was written deep delight, for
another of earth's riches had yielded to his inquisitive nose and paws.

After that he was often one of the party when the children went
berrying, but if the berries were scarce they preferred to leave him at
home. He was quite independent, however, and often went berrying by
himself.

Blackberries he managed in the same manner, but when the thorns pricked
his tongue, he would growl and look asto