a passionate fit of
weeping, that was so contagious no eyes remained dry in that group of
loved ones there gathered to hear their pathetic story.

When calm again Wenonah went on with the story:

"After a while the little ones had enough, and then they began wrestling
and playing with each other. They acted as if they wanted Roddy to play
with them, and I told him to do so, but not to hurt them, and perhaps
the old father and mother bears would not hurt us before we could run
away."

"Yes," said Roddy, "I had great times with them, but they always wanted
to wrestle with me more than any other kind of sport."

"I kept gathering berries," said Wenonah, "while Roddy played with the
young bears. The old ones kept me busy now and were just about as
greedy as the young ones had been.

"After a while I said to Roddy, `We must try and get away from here,'
for we did want to come home and see you all.

"We did not talk very much to each other, for our voices seemed to make
the bears angry. But we found that when we tried to get away they got
right in front of us and stopped us with their big bodies. This made me
feel very bad, but I did not tell Roddy. Some time early in the day I
heard some one calling, and I tried to answer, but one of the bears
struck me such a blow with one of his paws, and showed his dreadful
teeth in such a way, that I was so frightened that I dare not call
again."

Said little Roddy, once again: "When I saw that naughty bear hit my
sister with his paw I wanted to hit him with a stick."

"This voice of whatever it was seemed to frighten the bears, and so off
they started," said Wenonah, "and they made us go along with them. We
had to go; for if we stopped, or tried to go some other way, they
growled at us, and pushed us with their noses, and so we had to go with
them. Soon they came out of the bushes and crossed over the sand, and
went up on the other side into the dark woods. We were very much
afraid, but we whispered that we would not cry, but just be brave, for
we knew you would soon come and fight those great big bears.

"The way the bears made us go was this. One big bear went on before,
then the little ones followed next, then they made Roddy and me follow
next. We had to do it, for just behind us was the other big bear, and
he would growl at us if we did not just walk right along.

"Then, after we had travelled some time, we came out of the dark forest
among some, O, such big r