. Yes, it was perfectly harmless. Buster gave a little sigh
of pure happiness. He would eat those berries to the last one, and then
he would go home to the Green Forest.

XX

BUSTER BEAR CARRIES OFF THE PAIL OF FARMER BROWN'S BOY

The question is, did Buster Bear steal Farmer Brown's boy's pail? To
steal is to take something which belongs to some one else. There is no
doubt that he stole the berries that were in the pail when he found it,
for he deliberately ate them. He knew well enough that some one must
have picked them--for whoever heard of blueberries growing in tin pails?
So there is no doubt that when Buster took them, he stole them. But with
the pail it was different. He took the pail, but he didn't mean to take
it. In fact, he didn't want that pail at all.

You see it was this way: When Buster found that big tin pail brimming
full of delicious berries in the shade of that big bush in the Old
Pasture, he didn't stop to think whether or not he had a right to them.
Buster is so fond of berries that from the very second that his greedy
little eyes saw that pailful, he forgot everything but the feast that
was waiting for him right under his very nose. He didn't think anything
about the right or wrong of helping himself. There before him were more
berries than he had ever seen together at one time in all his life, and
all he had to do was to eat and eat and eat. And that is just what he
did do. Of course he upset the pail, but he didn't mind a little thing
like that. When he had gobbled up all the berries that rolled out, he
thrust his nose into the pail to get all that were left in it. Just
then he heard a little noise, as if some one were coming. He threw up
his head to listen, and somehow, he never did know just how, the handle
of the pail slipped back over his ears and caught there.

This was bad enough, but to make matters worse, just at that very minute
he heard a shrill, angry voice shout, "Hi, there! Get out of there!" He
didn't need to be told whose voice that was. It was the voice of Farmer
Brown's boy. Right then and there Buster Bear nearly had a fit. There
was that awful pail fast over his head so that he couldn't see a thing.
Of course, that meant that he couldn't run away, which was the thing of
all things he most wanted to do, for big as he is and strong as he is,
Buster is very shy and bashful when human beings are around. He growled
and whined and squealed. He tried to back out of the pa