d frightening my little bears this way?" But as soon as he saw the
Counterpane Fairy he grew quite humble. "Oh, excuse me," he said. "I
didn't know it was a friend of yours."

"Yes, it is," said the fairy, "and I have brought him here to stay
awhile. Will you take good care of him?"

"Yes, I will," said Father Bear. "He shall sleep in the cave with us
and have part of our meat if he will, and I will be as careful of him as
though he were one of my own cubs."

"Very well," said the fairy; "mind you do." Then turning to Teddy she
bade him step on shore.

"But aren't you coming too?" asked Teddy.

"No," said the Counterpane Fairy, "I can't come, but Father Bear will
take good care of you." So Teddy stepped onto the shore, and the fairy
pushed the block of ice out into the water, and waving her hand to him
she drifted away across the open sea.

The Father Bear stood watching her until she was out of sight, and then
he turned to Teddy. "Now, you Fairy," he said, "you may climb up onto my
back, and I'll carry you to my wife; she'll take good care of you for as
long as the Counterpane Fairy chooses to leave you here."

The three little bears cubs had disappeared, but as soon as the Father
Bear carried Teddy around the hill of ice he saw what had become of
them. They were sitting with the Mother Bear at the door of a cave. One
of them was sucking its paws, and the other two were talking as fast as
they could. The Mother Bear looked worried and anxious.

"What's all this Dumpy and Sprawley are telling me?" she said. "And
what's that you have on your back?"

"It's an ice-fairy," growled old Father Bear, "and the Counterpane Fairy
wants us to take care of it for a while. You don't mind, my dear, do
you?"

"Oh dear, dear!" said the Mother Bear, "I suppose not, but what shall we
give it to eat, and how shall we keep it?"

"Oh, it will do just the other cubs do, I suppose," said the Father
Bear. Then turning to Teddy he said, "You eat meat, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," answered Teddy, timidly.

"Then that's all right," said the Father Bear. "Here, you children, take
this fairy off and let him play with you."

Two of the little bears, Fatty (who was the one who had been sucking his
paws) and Dumpy, were delighted to have a new playmate, and they told
him he might come over and slide down their hill, but the third one,
Sprawley, scowled and grumbled. "Another one to be eating up our meat,"
he said. "Just as if there weren'