s pocket and they made quite a noise as
they hit a flat stone.

"Ha! Who's there?" asked the bear quickly, and he looked up, straight at
the two monkeys. Then they could see that he had been reading a big
book. "Who's there?" cried the bear again, in a sort of savage voice.

"If--if you please, we are here," said Jacko. There was no use in saying
they weren't there, for the bear could see them perfectly plain.

"All right; I am coming over to you," went on the shaggy creature,
closing his book.

"Oh, oh, please don't come!" begged Jacko. "We can see you very well
from here."

"Oh! If he comes, he'll eat us, and then he'll hear the others shouting,
and he'll go over and eat them and our teacher also," whispered Jumpo.
"Oh, if we could only send them some word to warn them to run away!"

"Why shouldn't I come over to you?" asked the bear. "Of course, I'm
coming. Watch me."

And with that he stood up on his head, and walked on his front paws and
in that way he quickly came to where Jacko and Jumpo were standing.

"I never saw a bear walk that way before," said the red monkey,
surprised like.

"Perhaps he is a crazy bear?" suggested Jumpo. "That kind is very
savage. Oh, I know he'll eat us. Poor teacher, too!"

By this time the bear was close to the monkeys.

"I am very pleased to see you," he said in a growlery voice, and he
turned a somersault, and stood on his left hind leg. Then he took off
his blue cap in his claws, made a low bow, and began to dance around
Jacko and Jumpo, at the same time humming a tune.

"How's this?" asked the bear, as he stood on the end of his stubby tail,
and opened his mouth real wide. "I call that a right clever trick
myself, but what do you think of it?"

"It--it is very pretty," said Jumpo. "But when--when are you going to
eat us?"

"Eat you! Why, bless my huckleberry pie appetite!" cried the bear
kindly. "I never eat anything but popcorn balls. You haven't one about
you I suppose?" and he stood on one ear and made a funny face, by
twisting his tongue like a merry-go-round.

"No, we have no popcorn balls," spoke Jacko. "But aren't you a savage
bear?"

"Not a bit of it!" roared the bear in a laughing voice. "I'm the
jolliest trained bear you ever saw. I wouldn't hurt even a trolley car,"
and with that he did another dance, and sang such a funny song that
Jacko and Jumpo burst out laughing.

"Eat you!" cried the bear. "I never thought of such a thing. You see I
work for