obliged for helping me out,
but I will soon be dead."

"Oh, nonsensicalness! Don't talk so!" exclaimed Jumpo. "Winter isn't at
all bad. Think of the skating, and the snow, and riding down hill on
your sled, and making forts and snow men and--"

"Yes, that's all right for any one who can keep warm, but I can't," said
the black cricket. "Oh, I am so miserable," and then he began to sing
again about always being happy and not sad.

"I think we can easily fix this," said Jacko. "We will take you home
with us, Mr. Cricket, and you can stay in the warm fireplace all winter.
Then you will keep warm until summer comes again, and you can sing to us
as we study our lessons, for some of them are so hard that they make us
sad."

"That will be lovely," spoke the cricket. "I'll come with you gladly.
But first throw away the rest of the pile of stones so no one else will
fall down among them as I did."

So the monkey boys did this, and just as Jacko tossed away the last
stone the big black bear popped out of the bushes most unexpectedly, and
the stone hit him on the nose.

"Oh! I'll eat you up for that," he cried, and he made a jump for the
monkey boys.

"Run! Run!" called the cricket, "and I'll bump into his eyes and blind
him so he can't see you."

So the monkey boys ran as fast as they could, and the black cricket gave
a big hop and hopped right up against the bear's eyes and for a minute
he couldn't see. That gave Jacko and Jumpo a chance to get away, and
they ran on and on and pretty soon the cricket caught up to them,
hopping away from the bear, and they all went home to the monkeys'
house.

Mrs. Kinkytail was very glad to see the cricket, who would have been
frozen if he had had to sleep outdoors many more cold nights. She made
him a warm bed near the fireplace by putting some cotton inside her
sewing thimble.

"Oh, this is most delightful," said the cricket as he snuggled down
inside the thimble under the warm cotton. "This is the nicest place I
ever slept in." Then he sang his jolly song again, and Jacko and Jumpo
did their lessons and soon the cricket sang himself to sleep and it was
time for everybody to go to bed.

But listen! Something happened in the middle of the night. That bad bear
was so mad that along about 12 o'clock, when all was still and quiet in
the monkeys' house, he sneaked up and climbed the tree until he was at
the front door.

"Now I will go in and eat them all up," thought the bear, smack