Pig bowled him right over, to show him that she meant what she
said.

He jumped to his feet in a jiffy. And he was all ready to slink away
into a corner of the yard; but his mother bade him wait.

"This bear--" she said--"what did he look like?"

X

A QUEER BEAR

Grunty Pig's little eyes fell away from his mother's when she asked him
what the bear looked like--the bear that had chased him.

"Er--he was whitish, with brown spots, like Johnnie Green's dog," said
Grunty; "and--er--he had a long tail like the old horse Ebenezer's; and
he had six legs."

Mrs. Pig suddenly made a most peculiar sound. It couldn't be called a
squeal, nor a grunt, nor a gurgle, nor a gasp. It was a little like all
four. And springing clumsily upon her son, Mrs. Pig upset him before he
could dodge her.

Grunty Pig began to whimper. "What have I done?" he whined.

"You've deceived me!" his mother cried. "You haven't seen a bear. You've
never seen a bear in all your life."

"Ouch," Grunty howled, as his mother sent him sprawling once more. "I
didn't mean any harm. I was only having fun with you."

"Well," said his mother. "Turn about is fair play. I'll have a little
fun with _you_, now."

Mrs. Pig gave her wayward son such a punishing that he remembered it all
the rest of that day. At least, he stayed at home. And Mrs. Pig dared
hope that at last she had cured him of two bad habits--running away and
telling fibs.

The next day, however, the fields called again to Grunty Pig. They
called so plainly that he couldn't resist answering.

"I'll slip away for just a little while," he said to himself. "If I'm
not gone long no one will miss me." So when his mother was taking a nap
he stole through the hole in the fence. "I'll be back before she wakes
up," he chuckled.

In the garden, up the lane, through the pasture he made his way. And he
enjoyed his holiday to the full--until he remembered suddenly that he
had been gone a long time--a much longer time than he had planned to
spend away from the farmyard.

"Oh, dear!" he whined. "Mother must be awake now; and she'll punish me
if I go back." The more he thought about returning, the less he liked
the idea.

"I won't go home at all!" he cried at last. "I'll stay in the pasture
the rest of my life. There's plenty to eat here; and plenty of fun,
too."

It was afternoon when Grunty Pig made up his mind that he would never
go home. When the Muley Cow warned him once more to beware