u'll understand what Mrs. Bear meant.

As Cuffy and Silkie sat down on the floor and began gathering up the
chestnut-shells they both yawned and yawned. And since Mrs. Bear had
left the room they didn't bother to say "Excuse me!" They were _so_
sleepy! And before little Silkie had finished picking up her shells she
just rolled herself up into a round ball and fell fast asleep. As for
Cuffy, being a little older, he managed to stay awake just long enough
to get the floor all nice and clean. And then _he_ rolled himself into a
ball and _he_ went to sleep, right there on the floor.

So Mrs. Bear found them when she came back into the room. She smiled as
she saw them. And picking up first one and then the other she carried
them into their little bed-chamber and put them down gently and covered
them over with leaves, so they would be snug and warm. Yes, Mrs. Bear
wanted her children to be warm, for she knew that they would not wake up
again until spring. She had noticed for several days that Cuffy and
Silkie were growing sleepy. And to tell the truth, Mrs. Bear was
becoming sleepy herself. That very night she and Mr. Bear went to bed a
whole hour earlier than usual. And the next day they never minded at all
how cold it grew outside or how much the wind howled. For not one of Mr.
Bear's family waked up at all! They just slept and slept and slept, the
whole winter long.

THE END

A WORD TO GROWN UPS

To you;--parents, guardians, teachers and all others upon whom devolves
the supremely important responsibility of directing the early years of
development of childhood, this series of TUCK-ME-IN TALES which sketch
such vivid and delightful scenes of the vibrant life of meadow and
woodland should have tremendous appeal. In this collection of stories
you will find precisely the sort of healthy, imaginative entertainment
that is an essential in stimulating thought-germs in the child mind.

Merely from the standpoint of their desirability for helping the growing
tot to pass an idle half hour, any one of these volumes would be worth
your while. But the author had something further than that in mind. He
has, with simplicity and grace, worthy of high commendation, sought to
convey a two-fold lesson throughout the entire series, the first based
upon natural history and the second upon the elementary principles of
living which should be made clear to every child at the earliest age of
understanding.

The first of these ai