red, and propped, and all
our things piled against it, for winter; and I can't get it open until
Mr. 'Coon gets strong enough to help me."

"Oh, never mind that," said A. Savage Bear, "I can make a run or two
against it, and it will come down all right. I weigh seven hundred
pounds."

[Illustration: FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A GREAT
BANG]

Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had crept out to listen, but when they heard
that they dodged back under their beds again, and got in the darkest
corners, and began to groan, and just then Mr. Bear gave a run and flung
himself against the down-stairs door with a great bang, and both of them
howled, because they couldn't help it, they were so scared, and Mr. Crow
was worried, because he knew that about the second charge, or the third,
that door would be apt to give way, and then things in the Hollow Tree
would become very mixed, and even dangerous.

Mr. Crow didn't know what to do next. He saw Mr. Savage Bear back off a
good deal further than he had the first time, and come for the
down-stairs door as hard as he could tear, and when he struck it that
time, the whole Hollow Tree shook, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum howled
so loud that Mr. Crow was sure Mr. Bear could hear them. They were all
in an awful fix, Mr. Crow thought, and was just going to look for a safe
place for himself when who should come skipping through the tree-tops
but Mr. Robin. Mr. Robin, though quite small, is not afraid of any Mr.
Bear, because he is good friends with everybody. He saw right away how
things were at the Hollow Tree--in fact, he had hurried over, thinking
there might be trouble there.

"Oh, Tucky," he called--Tucky being Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear's pet
name--"I've brought you some good news--some of the very best kind of
news."

Mr. Bear was just that minute getting fixed for his third run. "What is
it?" he said, holding himself back.

"I found a big honey-tree, yesterday evening," Mr. Robin said. "The
biggest one I ever saw. I'll show you the way, if you care for honey."

Now Mr. Bear likes honey better than anything in the world, and when he
heard about the big tree Mr. Robin had found he licked out his tongue
and smacked his lips.

"Of _course_ I like honey," he said, "especially for dessert. I'll be
ready to go with you in a few minutes."

Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, who had crept out to listen, fell over at
those words, and rolled back under the beds again.

"But you