uffy Bear was in a sad fix. And for my part, when I first
heard of his plight I did not see how he was ever going to get out of it
alive.

Well--this was what happened. Mrs. Eagle _did_ intend to take Cuffy home
with her and serve him up for dinner that very night At first, after
she had seized Cuffy, she mounted higher and higher into the air, so
that she could at last swoop down on the top of the mountain, right
beside her nest. But Cuffy was a very fat little bear. And soon Mrs.
Eagle found that she had a heavy load. And it was only a few minutes
before she discovered that she couldn't fly up any higher with Cuffy. In
fact, she began to sink, little by little. Yes, Cuffy was so heavy that
as Mrs. Eagle grew tired his weight dragged her down toward the earth
again.

Mrs. Eagle saw what was happening. But she didn't want to let Cuffy go.
So she flew far out from the side of the mountain, hoping that she would
soon feel stronger. But all the time she kept growing weaker and weaker.
And all the time she kept falling faster and faster, until all at once
Mrs. Eagle was afraid that she would lose her balance and go tumbling
down onto the ground herself.

She was still very angry. And she hated to lose the fine dinner she had
been counting on. But she saw nothing else to do but let go of Cuffy
Bear. So she gave one last scream of rage; and the next instant Cuffy
felt himself dropping through the air like a stone.

Now, Cuffy had shut his eyes tight, just as he did when he was drifting
down the river on the cake of ice; so he did not see what was happening.
But as luck had it, when Mrs. Eagle let him go she was flying right over
the top of a big fir-tree. And as Cuffy fell, he dropped _plump!_ into
the branches, and down he went, crashing through the soft, springing
boughs.

Cuffy clutched wildly at the branches. And though he tumbled through
them one after another, at last he managed to hold tight to a big limb.
And then, after he had caught his breath again, he crept carefully down
to the ground.

He wondered where he was. The place had a strangely familiar look. It
seemed to Cuffy that he must have been there before. And then, as he
peered cautiously around, what should he see but the door of his
father's house, right in front of him! Yes! Mrs. Eagle had dropped Cuffy
right in his father's door-yard! And Cuffy wasn't even late for dinner.

As he grew older Cuffy often went to the top of Blue Mountain. But
never, s