bravely, "I stepped on it! Do you dare?"

"Of course I do!" said Little White Bear, walking right out on the big
square. "See me!" he shouted and went racing right across the thing.
That is, he started across, but just when he was on the little brown
square, he felt his feet begin to sink. There was a rip--ripping of
something, and down he went, till he struck kerwhack! on something far
below. He jumped to his feet very quickly. Where was he? There were
brown walls all about him, like the walls of the cave where his home
was. And look as he might, Little White Bear could see no way to get out
except to climb back up through the hole he had made when he fell in.
And that was far, far above his head. He could never get out that way.
And what was worst of all, as he began to look around, he was more and
more sure of one dreadful thing. And that was that he was in the house
of Omnok the hunter. My! That was a terrible thought. But it was true!
They had been playing on Omnok's roof, and Little White Bear had fallen
right through the window in the roof. Omnok had made a curtain out of
the coats of many eider ducks, and this was the brown square that Little
White Bear had started to run across.

Well, there wasn't a thing he could do. He just wandered round and
round, but he couldn't find the least little place where he could get
out. "What a strange place to live!" he thought to himself. "How does he
ever get into it himself?"

But Little White Bear wasn't the least bit doubtful that Omnok would be
able to get into his house when he came home. And you may be very sure
he wasn't a bit happy. He just went way over in the corner under Omnok's
bed and sucked his thumb while he wished he was at home in his own dear
cave. All of a sudden he heard a noise. Omnok was coming! Little White
Bear heard his voice, very big and very angry, outside! "Who has stolen
my 'pooksack'?" Omnok growled. "Who has broken my window?"

How poor Little White Bear trembled. He crouched down under the bed just
as far as he could. Now he could hear Omnok come closer to his house.
And then he saw Omnok's face at the side of the wall. Ah! Yes! There was
a little curtain there! Why had he not seen it! But suddenly a happy
thought came to Little White Bear. Just when Omnok was standing up, with
his terrible gun in his hand, Little White Bear rushed right at him and
tumbled against his feet so hard that Omnok went sprawling to the floor,
and his terrible gun