ce or twice, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Once he
poked him so hard that the little bear gave a snort and stopped snoring
for a while, but soon he began again.

But after all Teddy found he was not the only one in the cave who was
not asleep. Sprawley, who was lying on the other side of Fatty, had
began to stir and sit up; he looked about at the sleeping bears, and
then very quietly began to edge himself toward the mouth of the cave.

Once the Mother Bear gave a low growl in her sleep and Sprawley stopped
still to listen, but she didn't waken.

Teddy wondered what Sprawley was going to do, and so, as soon as the cub
had disappeared through the mouth of the cave, he too crawled over to
the opening.

When he looked out he saw Sprawley shuffling over the fields of ice
in the distance, and already quite far away, so, led by his curiosity,
Teddy, too, crept out of the cave and set off running after the bear
cub.

He ran on and on until he was quite close to Sprawley, and then he saw
the cub pause at the edge of a strip of open water, and turn to look
behind him to make sure that he was not followed. He did not see Teddy,
for the fairy had hidden quickly behind a block of ice.

Sprawley turned toward the water again and gave a long, quavering cry
that sounded like a call. He listened, but everything was silent except
for the rumbling and cracking of the ice in the distance. Again he
called, and this time there was an answering cry, and another, and
another. Sprawley stood up and waved his paws, and then Teddy saw that
the open water was dotted with heads of ice-mermen; there must have been
ten or twelve of them at least.

They swam over to where Sprawley stood, and climbing out on the ice they
seemed to be welcoming him, hopping and sliding about, and pulling at
his hair and claws. Now that Teddy saw them quite close they were uglier
than ever, with goggle eyes, and rough, fishy-looking skins.

They all sat on the edge of the ice, and now and then one of them would
dive off, to reappear again, all wet and glistening, and then it would
climb up and sit on the ice again in a row with the others. They all
talked together, and their voices were so queer and husky that Teddy
could not understand what they were saying at first. At last he made out
that they were asking Sprawley about him,--where he had come from, and
how.

"Well, I'll tell you how he came," said Sprawley, and all the mermen
stopped to liste