had given him
certain things to help him at just such times, and one of them is the
power to spread himself very flat. He did it now. He spread his arms and
legs out just as far as he could, and that kept him from falling as fast
and as hard as he otherwise would have done, because being spread out so
flat that way, the air held him up a little. And then there was his
tail, that funny little tail he is so fond of jerking when he scolds.
This helped him too. It helped him keep his balance and keep from
turning over and over.

Down, down, down he sailed and landed on his feet. Of course, he hit the
ground pretty hard, and for just a second he quite lost his breath. But
it was only for a second, and then he was scurrying off as fast as a
frightened Squirrel could. Buster Bear watched him and grinned.

"I didn't catch him that time," he growled, "but I guess I gave him a
good fright and taught him a lesson."

XVII

BUSTER BEAR GOES BERRYING

Buster Bear is a great hand to talk to himself when he thinks no one is
around to overhear. It's a habit. However, it isn't a bad habit unless
it is carried too far. Any habit becomes bad, if it is carried too far.
Suppose you had a secret, a real secret, something that nobody else knew
and that you didn't want anybody else to know. And suppose you had the
habit of talking to yourself. You might, without thinking, you know,
tell that secret out loud to yourself, and some one might, just might
happen to overhear! Then there wouldn't be any secret. That is the way
that a habit which isn't bad in itself can become bad when it is
carried too far.

Now Buster Bear had lived by himself in the Great Woods so long that
this habit of talking to himself had grown and grown. He did it just to
keep from being lonesome. Of course, when he came down to the Green
Forest to live, he brought all his habits with him. That is one thing
about habits,--you always take them with you wherever you go. So Buster
brought this habit of talking to himself down to the Green Forest, where
he had many more neighbors than he had in the Great Woods.

"Let me see, let me see, what is there to tempt my appetite?" said
Buster in his deep, grumbly-rumbly voice. "I find my appetite isn't what
it ought to be. I need a change. Yes, Sir, I need a change. There is
something I ought to have at this time of year, and I haven't got it.
There is something that I used to have and don't have now. Ha! I know! I
need s