, where Farmer Green's meadow met the forest, Cuffy paused. He hid
behind a tree and looked out over the field. The _click-clack_ sounded
quite loud now. And from the other side of the meadow Cuffy could see
two horses coming towards him. There was a man driving them. And Cuffy
thought that they must be drawing the mowing-machine. So he waited
quietly. And all the time the _click-clack-click-clack_ grew louder than
ever. And pretty soon, as he peeped slyly around the tree, Cuffy Bear
saw the mowing-machine. It came delightfully close to him, stopped,
turned about, and moved away again toward the opposite side of the
field.

Cuffy gave a great sigh of satisfaction. He had seen a mowing-machine.
He was glad that he had come down into the valley. He was not the least
bit sorry that he had disobeyed his parents and stolen away from home.

Yes, Cuffy was feeling very happy as he went prowling along the border
of the forest. He crept in and out of the bushes that fringed the
hay-field, and was having altogether a most pleasant time; until all at
once he stopped short. Cuffy's nose sniffed the air for a moment, and
the hairs on his back bristled just like those on a dog when he is
startled. Cuffy had caught a strange odor in the air.

At first he was frightened. But after he had sniffed the air a few times
he decided that whatever it was that he smelled, it had a good, pleasant
odor, and made him think of something to eat.

So Cuffy Bear began to nose about among the bushes. And presently he
discovered, hidden away beneath a clump of ferns, a basket of delicious
food. It was the haymakers' lunch that Cuffy had found. And he lost no
time. He began to eat as fast as he could. Yes--I am very sorry to say
that Cuffy actually _gobbled_ Farmer Green's lunch. And he was so greedy
that a strange thing happened to him.

XIV

CUFFY LIKES BAKED BEANS

Cuffy Bear found many good things in Farmer Green's lunch basket. He
bolted all the bread-and-butter, and the doughnuts; and he found the
custard pie to be about as enjoyable as any dainty he had ever tasted.
And then, with his little black face all smeared with streaks of yellow
custard, Cuffy began to poke a small iron pot which stood in one corner
of the big basket. Presently the pot tipped over, its cover fell off,
and soon Cuffy was devouring the daintiest dish of all! Baked beans! Of
course, he didn't know the name of those delicious, brown, mealy
kernels. But that mad