reason was clear enough; his temper was so disagreeable, that although
he was quite ready to play off his jokes on others, he could never bear
to receive them in return; and being, besides, very fierce and strong,
he came at length to be considered as the most unbearable bear that the
forest had known for many generations, and in his own family was looked
on as quite a bug-bear.

Now I privately think, that if a good oaken stick had been applied to
his shoulders, or any other sensitive part of his body, whenever he
displayed these fits of spleen, the exercise would have had a very
beneficial effect on his disposition; but his father, on such occasions,
only uttered his opinion in so low a growl that it was impossible to
make out what he said, and then sucked his paw more vigorously than
ever; and his mother was much too tender-hearted to think of mending his
manners in so rude a way: so Master Bruin grew apace, until his brothers
and sisters were wicked enough to wish he might some day go out for a
walk and forget to come home again, or that he might be persuaded by a
kind friend to emigrate, without going through the ceremony of taking
leave of his family.

It began to be conjectured that some such event had occurred when, for
three whole days, he never made his appearance. The respectable family
of the Bruins were puzzled, but calm, notwithstanding, at this unusual
absence; it evidently made them thoughtful, though it was impossible to
guess what they thought about: if one could form an idea from the
attitudes of the different members, each of whom sat in a corner sucking
his right paw and his left paw alternately--it was a family habit, you
must know--I should say their thoughts were too deep for expression; but
before their meditations were converted from uncertainty into mourning,
the object of them made his appearance at the entrance of the cavern,
with his coat torn, limping in his gait, and with an ugly wound in his
head, looking altogether as disconsolate a brute as you can well
conceive. He did not condescend to say where he had been, nor what he
had been doing; perhaps no one made the inquiry: but it was very evident
he had been doing no good, and had got his reward accordingly. If,
however, this great bear's ill temper was remarkable before, judge what
it must have been with such a sore head!

The experience of mankind has led to the opinion, that there are few
more disagreeable beings in creation than il