il and couldn't.
He tried to shake it off and couldn't. He tried to pull it off, but
somehow he couldn't get hold of it. Then there was another yell. If
Buster hadn't been so frightened himself, he might have recognized that
second yell as one of fright, for that is what it was. You see Farmer
Brown's boy had just discovered Buster Bear. When he had yelled the
first time, he had supposed that it was one of the young cattle who live
in the Old Pasture all summer, but when he saw Buster, he was just as
badly frightened as Buster himself. In fact, he was too surprised and
frightened even to run. After that second yell he just stood still and
stared.

Buster clawed at that awful thing on his head more frantically than
ever. Suddenly it slipped off, so that he could see. He gave one
frightened look at Farmer Brown's boy, and then with a mighty "Woof!" he
started for the Green Forest as fast as his legs could take him, and
this was very fast indeed, let me tell you. He didn't stop to pick out a
path, but just crashed through the bushes as if they were nothing at
all, just nothing at all. But the funniest thing of all is this--he took
that pail with him! Yes, Sir, Buster Bear ran away with the big tin pail
of Farmer Brown's boy! You see when it slipped off his head, the handle
was still around his neck, and there he was running away with a pail
hanging from his neck! He didn't want it. He would have given anything
to get rid of it. But he took it because he couldn't help it. And that
brings us back to the question, did Buster steal Farmer Brown's boy's
pail? What do you think?

XXI

SAMMY JAY MAKES THINGS WORSE FOR BUSTER BEAR

"Thief, thief, thief! Thief, thief, thief!" Sammy Jay was screaming at
the top of his lungs, as he followed Buster Bear across the Old Pasture
towards the Green Forest. Never had he screamed so loud, and never had
his voice sounded so excited. The little people of the Green Forest, the
Green Meadows, and the Smiling Pool are so used to hearing Sammy cry
thief that usually they think very little about it. But every blessed
one who heard Sammy this morning stopped whatever he was doing and
pricked up his ears to listen.

Sammy's cousin, Blacky the Crow, just happened to be flying along the
edge of the Old Pasture, and the minute he heard Sammy's voice, he
turned and flew over to see what it was all about. Just as soon as he
caught sight of Buster Bear running for the Green Forest as hard as