ulled to pieces, and the contents of half a dozen sections licked out.

This was almost too much to bear, but the good-natured farmer dug a
trench under the fence, and placed another barbed wire lower down, and
the bees were safe for a time.

Sweet apples and pears were also to Black Bruin's liking. This was all
right in itself, but it led to other things.

One summer morning while the farmer was milking, he was startled by
hearing apples coming down in showers from the Golden Sweet tree back
of the barn. Thinking that some mischievous boy had climbed the tree
and was shaking off apples for sport, he rushed into the back yard,
determined to punish the offender severely.

"Here, you rascal," he shouted as he neared the tree, "what in the
world are you trying to do?"

The shaking in the tree ceased immediately, but at first the man could
not locate the truant. Finally he discovered Black Bruin away up in
the top of the tree, where he was well screened by the thick foliage.

"Come down here," cried the farmer in considerable wrath. "Come down
here and I'll give you a good drubbing."

Black Bruin clearly understood from the man's tone that he was angry,
so he stayed where he was.

The man then threw apples at him, but they had no more effect upon the
culprit than did the grass upon the bad boy in the fable; so the farmer
got a long pole and prodded the apple thief until he whined and came
scratching down the tree.

Black Bruin was very fond of the Golden Sweets, especially when they
were baked, and probably thinking that there were not enough on the
ground for family use, he had taken matters into his own hands. He
seemed very penitent, however, so the family finally forgave him, as
they had done so many times before.

When the following week he tried the same tactics upon a winter
pear-tree, the consequences were more serious. Black Bruin not only
got a good drubbing for the prank, but his master secured a dog-collar
and chained him to a maple-tree in the yard.

For a while he pulled and sulked, but finally, seeing that it was
useless, he yielded to the chain. He would beg so hard, though, to be
let loose whenever any one went through the yard, that he was always
allowed to be unchained and go free, when the family were about and
could watch him.

Once the chain and collar, together with the bear's uneasiness, nearly
cost the cub's life. He would climb up the tree to which he was tied
as far as the c