like to know
the reason? Well, Reynard knew that Bruin had a beehive full of
honeycomb, and that was what he wanted; but Bruin kept so close a
guard upon his honey that Master Reynard didn't know how to get away
from him and get hold of the honey. So one day he said to Bruin,
"Pardner, I have to go and be gossip--that means god-father, you
know--to one of my old friends." "Why, certainly," said Bruin. So off
Reynard goes into the woods, and after a time he crept back and
uncovered the beehive and had such a feast of honey. Then he went back
to Bruin, who asked him what name had been given to the child. Reynard
had forgotten all about the christening and could only say,
"Just-begun." "What a funny name," said Master Bruin.

A little while after Reynard thought he would like another feast of
honey. So he told Bruin that he had to go to another christening; and
off he went. And when he came back and Bruin asked him what was the
name given to the child Reynard said, "Half-eaten." The third time the
same thing occurred, and this time the name given by Reynard to the
child that didn't exist was "All-gone,"--you can guess why.

A short time afterwards Master Bruin thought he would like to eat up
some of his honey and asked Reynard to come and join him in the feast.
When they got to the beehive Bruin was so surprised to find that there
was no honey left; and he turned round to Reynard and said,
"Just-begun, Half-eaten, All-gone--so that is what you meant; you have
eaten my honey." "Why no," said Reynard, "how could that be? I have
never stirred from your side except when I went a-gossiping, and then
I was far away from here. You must have eaten the honey yourself,
perhaps when you were asleep; at any rate we can easily tell; let us
lie down here in the sunshine, and if either of us has eaten the
honey, the sun will soon sweat it out of us." No sooner said than
done, and the two lay side by side in the sunshine. Soon Master Bruin
commenced to doze, and Mr. Reynard took some honey from the hive and
smeared it round Bruin's snout; then he woke him up and said, "See,
the honey is oozing out of your snout; you must have eaten it when you
were asleep."

Some time after this Reynard saw a man driving a cart full of fish,
which made his mouth water. So he ran and he ran and he ran till he
got far away in front of the cart and lay down in the road as still as
if he were dead. When the man came up to him and saw him lying there
dead,