nd dropped off the bottom
of it.

And then, with just one tug Mr. Bear pulled the bean-pot off his son's
nose; and Cuffy was himself again.

He escaped a punishing, too, that time. And Mrs. Bear was very glad to
get such a nice iron pot. She had wanted one for a long time.

XV

HUNTING FOR A BEE-TREE

It was a very hot summer's day. Even up on Blue Mountain Cuffy Bear felt
the heat. And he wished that he might get rid of his thick coat. But
though Cuffy was beginning to believe himself a very wise little bear,
he could think of no way to slip off his heavy black fur. So he sat down
in the shade of a big tree, where the breeze blew upon him, and tried to
be as cool as he could.

Except when he was asleep it was not often that Cuffy was still for so
long. But now he sat motionless for some time, with his bright red
tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog's. Yes, he was quite
still--all but his little, beady, bright eyes. _They_ kept moving about
all the time. And they saw many things, for something or other is always
happening in the forest.

Cuffy saw a gray squirrel stick its head up from the crotch of a tree
nearby and peep at him. And he watched a wary old crow as he rested high
in a tree-top and cawed a greeting to some of his friends who were
flying past on their way to Farmer Green's cornfield. And Cuffy noticed
a bee as it lighted on a wild-flower right in front of him and sucked
the sweetness out of it. But Cuffy didn't pay much attention to that.
And since he soon began to feel cooler he was just wondering what he
would do next when it occurred to him that several bees had lighted upon
the flowers near him, and that they had all flown off _in the same
direction_.

All at once Cuffy forgot how hot and uncomfortable he had been; for now
he was wondering if those bees weren't all of them flying home to make
honey out of the sweet juices they had drawn from the flowers. And if
they were--and if he could only follow them--then he would find the tree
where they lived and he could have all the honey he wanted to eat.

So Cuffy followed on a little way in the direction in which the bees had
disappeared. And then he sat down again and waited and watched very
carefully.

For a long time nothing happened. And Cuffy was just about to give up
his plan when a bee came buzzing past him and lighted on a mulberry
blossom right above his head. And when the bee flew away, Cuffy followed
him until he lost s