d as they sat and spun. And close by them lay a lamb upon the
floor, and behind them upon a perch sat a white dove with its head
hidden beneath its wings.

One evening, as they were thus sitting comfortably together, some one
knocked at the door as if he wished to be let in. The mother said,
"Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it must be a traveler who is seeking
shelter." Rose-red went and pushed back the bolt, thinking that it was a
poor man, but it was not; it was a bear that stretched his broad, black
head within the door.

Rose-red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the dove fluttered,
and Snow-white hid herself behind her mother's bed. But the bear began
to speak and said, "Do not be afraid, I will do you no harm! I am
half-frozen, and only want to warm myself a little beside you."

"Poor bear," said the mother, "lie down by the fire, only take care that
you do not burn your coat." Then she cried, "Snow-white, Rose-red, come
out; the bear will do you no harm; he means well." So they both came
out, and by-and-by the lamb and dove came nearer, and were not afraid of
him.

The bear said, "Here, children, knock the snow out of my coat a little";
so they brought the broom and swept the bear's hide clean; and he
stretched himself by the fire and growled contentedly and comfortably.
It was not long before they grew quite at home and played tricks with
their clumsy guest. They tugged his hair with their hands, put their
feet upon his back and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch and
beat him, and when he growled they laughed. But the bear took it all in
good part, only when they were too rough he called out, "Leave me alive,
children--

"Snowy-white, Rosy-red,
Will you beat your lover dead?"

When it was bed-time, and the others went to bed, the mother said to the
bear, "You can lie there by the hearth, and then you will be safe from
the cold and the bad weather." As soon as day dawned the two children
let him out, and he trotted across the snow into the forest.

Henceforth the bear came every evening at the same time, laid himself
down by the hearth, and let the children amuse themselves with him as
much as they liked; and they got so used to him that the doors were
never fastened until their black friend had arrived.

When spring had come and all outside was green, the bear said one
morning to Snow-white, "Now I must go away, and cannot come back for the
whole summer."

"Where