"Sir," and the bear went on: "You have been a
bad boy to-day; indeed, you have been a bad boy all the days of your
life. You have never yet seen that day, Sprigg--neither winter nor
summer--when, eating a Christmas pie, you could put in your thumb and
pull out a plum and say: 'What a good boy am I!' Yet, to be just, you
are a boy of excellent parts in many ways, which encourages us to hope
that we may yet be able to bring out the good that is in you, and, at
the same time, bring out the evil; at any rate, crumple it up where it
is, which amounts to the same. How this desirable end is to be attained
is not yet quite clear to my own mind. So you will have to go home with
us to-night, where you shall make the acquaintance of our cubs, who will
gladly share their bed with you. And pleasant bed-fellows shall you find
them, too--so soft and warm! So affectionate, too! Only you mustn't let
them hug you too hard. Meanwhile, I shall consider your case, which,
being a peculiar one, I shall lay before my wife, that I may have the
benefit of her good advice. This she will gladly give, believe me; for
there is nothing in the world that pleases a wife more than for her
husband to beg the benefit of her good advice. Though I fear it is the
misfortune with some husbands--I won't say how many--to have wives so
overstocked with the treasure in question that they can not wait to be
called on, but must give it gratis, whether anybody wants it or not.
Like giving a man a bottle of bear's grease for his hair, when his scalp
is already sufficiently oily by nature; or by giving a boy a bearskin
cap, when he has already a coonskin one of his own, which answers every
purpose, especially if the tail is left on. These are the wives who save
their husbands' grindstones from being eaten by the cows, and thereby
keep their scissors sharp, to say nothing of their tongues."

CHAPTER XII.

Will-o'-the-Wisp.

"Sprigg!" said the bear, and rose from his tail.

"Sir!" said the boy, as he rose from his seat.

"Can you ride a bear?"

"I don't know, sir; I never tried it," said the boy, dubiously.

"Come, and try it now," said the bear encouragingly. But being by no
means perfectly sure, even yet, of the burly monster, our hero was in no
hurry to accept the invitation.

"Come and try it, I tell you!" repeated the bear in his old, gruff
voice.

"You won't bite me with your long, sharp teeth, will you?" whined the
boy.

"No," growled the bea