ly a trick," drily observed the bear. "Our old house is in the
habit of playing our guests, when they sing or laugh too loud."

"Or, rather a fashion," gently observed the bearess, "our old house has
of reminding us when it is time we were putting our weary guests to bed.
Here, Will-o'-the-Wisp and Manitou-Echo, show our young guest to bed,
and be so courteous as to allow him the choice side, and charge the cubs
not to crowd him or hug him, as he is an only child, and not accustomed
to our litterish way of sleeping."

So, with Manitou-Echo on one side and Will-o'-the-Wisp on the other, the
young guest was shown, in quite a stately style, to bed. The bed he
found to be as nice and snug as the cleanest of leaves and grass and the
most velvety of moss could make it, and was already occupied by three or
four young bears; while close beside it, ranged in a row, were three or
four pairs of red moccasins. At first this circumstance struck the boy
as somewhat curious, but on perceiving that Will-o'-the-Wisp and
Manitou-Echo had kicked off their moccasins, and set them in the same
row with the others, and now, in the likeness of two young bears, were
lying side by side in bed, the mystery was made as clear to him as the
light of Will's lamp, which still hung in the air where he had left it.

As Sprigg stood hesitating whether to turn in or not, Meg came up behind
him, and with a gentle push of the nose against his back, said: "There's
your bed, and there are your bedfellows. So in with you, my stout one,
and make yourself comfortable." As he still hesitated, the bearess
brought him a soft dab of her paw on his back with a somewhat stronger
push, which left him no alternative but to turn in as he was bidden and
make the best of it. Then, humming a low, lullaby sort of a tune, Meg
went 'round the bed, softly pushing up and smoothing down the grass and
moss, all in a motherly way, which was so like dear mam that it brought
the tears to the lost boy's eyes--the softest, the sweetest tears he had
ever shed. He would fain have kept them back, but in spite of all he
could do they would come stealing out and trickling down. But Meg was
glad to see them, hailing them as precious indications that, hard as he
seemed, there was still enough of human affection in his nature to
encourage the hope that he might be easily won over to the side of love
and truth.

With the blossom-like odors and the water-like murmurs still in the air
around h