ught to have seen Aunt
Melissy show off. Any one would have thought she had made the match, and
she couldn't talk enough about Minty Glenwood living in the city, and
our fine Winters relatives; and told Uncle Silas he ought to be ashamed
of the things he'd said about Minty Glenwood, and ordered him to take
them all back, which he did. Then, by and by, she went to visit the
Winters folks, and stayed a long time, and Uncle Silas and I and my
other cousins had the best time we ever had in our lives. When Aunt
Melissy came back she looked as fancy and put on almost as many airs as
Uncle Silas had the time he came home and brought the young man who by
and by was to marry Minty Glenwood."

Mr. 'Possum sleepily knocked the ashes out of his pipe and yawned and
looked into the fire.

"Did you or Uncle Silas ever tell Aunt Melissy about helping Minty
Glenwood and Winters to get away?" asked Mr. Crow.

"No," said Mr. 'Possum, drowsily; "we knew Aunt Melissy, and thought it
was a pretty good plan to let well enough alone."

FOOTNOTES:

[2] _Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book._

[3] _Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book._

COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES

COUSIN REDFIELD BEAR MISBEHAVES
AND IS CURED OF HIS TASTE FOR MOLASSES

The Little Lady has been to the circus during the afternoon and has come
home full of it. There were ever so many things to see there, but nicest
of all were some little bears--three of them--who rolled over one
another in their cage and seemed to be having the best time in the
world. She tells the Story Teller all about them after supper; then she
says:

"Do you know any story about little bears? Did the Bear family in the
Big Deep Woods ever come visiting to the Hollow Tree?"

The Story Teller thinks.

"Yes," he said; "or rather, Mr. Bear came once alone, but that is
another story. I know one story, though, about a little bear, a story
that Mr. Crow told one night when he had been over to spend the
afternoon with Mr. Bear, they being very good friends."

"Mr. Bear told me this afternoon," Mr. Crow said, "about something that
happened in his uncle's family some years ago. His uncle's name was
Brownwood--Brownwood Bear--and he had a little boy named Redfield, but
they called him Reddie, for short. Uncle Brownwood lost his wife one
night when she went over to get one of Mr. Man's pigs, and he and little
Redfield used to live together in a nice cave over near the Wide Blue
Water, not far from th