ttle friend, and, if I am a very
good little bear, perhaps his mother will let us play together again."

Baby bear crept along very carefully, and when he thought the mother was
not looking he hid behind a bake oven and almost had his first accident,
for TAN-TSI-DAY'S mother had left one of her best jars standing there
with herbs to dry.

[Illustration: HE HID BEHIND A BAKE OVEN.]

When the mother had got out of sight the baby bear marched into the
adobe home of his friend, and then the two companions were glad.

But baby bear and TAN-TSI-DAY saw the jars with all the good things in
them, and then they forgot to try to be good.

They ate the dried berries and sweet roots; tipped the jars and baskets
to see if any goodies were in them; and when they had eaten all they
wanted, sat just as close to each other as possible and went fast
asleep.

After a while the mother came home, and when she saw those two fast
asleep, the jars broken, and all her good things spilled over the floor,
she became very angry and started to whip them.

Baby bear wakened up and ran as fast as his clumsy little legs would let
him; but he didn't reach the top of his pole before the Indian mother
had given him a good switching.

[Illustration: REACH THE TOP OF HIS POLE.]

[Illustration]

CANOE BOYS.

Little CHIPPEWAY Indian boys have lots of good times. In the spring they
help their fathers and big brothers to make maple sugar. They watch the
birch-bark troughs and, when one is full of sap, carry and empty it into
a big kettle over a fire to boil down.

Often the bears find the sap during the night, and, as they like sweets
very much, drink it all; and the little boys are disappointed in the
morning, when they go around with their birch-bark buckets, to find it
all gone. Sometimes the bears try to steal the boiling syrup, and then
they get their paws badly burned for trying to be thieves.

[Illustration: THE BEARS FIND THE SAP.]

In summer, the boys love to swim and play in the little lakes that are
so numerous in the region of their home. One afternoon a number of boys
got into a canoe and paddled, and as many other boys waded out into one
of the shallow lakes to have some fun. The boys in the water were to try
and take the canoe away from the boys that were inside. Oh, how hard the
two sides worked, one to keep the boat right side up, and the other
side to capture it; for if they tipped the canoe and spilled all the
boys