rk sea. And Little White Bear tumbled right into
the ocean after it! Yes, sir! Right into the water, and you never saw
water so cold in all your life! Little White Bear didn't scramble out as
fast as ever he could! He just climbed up on that "pooksack", happy as a
clam, and wanted Little Black Bear to come in too! Little Black Bear,
however, had a notion that the water was cold, so he touched it with his
toe and "Um-m-m! Um-m-m!" he didn't want any swim that day. But Little
White Bear wouldn't come out of the water and play, so all Little Black
Bear could do was to skip along home and tell his mother that he was
quite sure that Little White Bear would freeze to death that very night.

"Oh, no!" said Madam Black Bear, looking very wise. "Little White Bear
won't freeze to death."

"Why," said Little Black Bear, opening his eyes wide, "I'm sure I'd
freeze right away."

"So you would," said his mother. "You were a wise young fellow to try
the water before you ventured in. But Little White Bear is quite
different. He has a very warm coat and is very fat. He is used to the
cold water and will live in it all winter. But just you wait," she
added, with a sly wink. "You will have a surprise for him some day! When
he comes to look for you some cold, cold time, won't he be surprised to
find you snugly tucked away in bed and sleeping all day and all night?
Won't he, though?"

Madam Black Bear laughed a big bear laugh, and Little Black Bear laughed
a little bear laugh, so together they were after all two of the happiest
bears in all the world.

When Omnok went out on the roof of the sea to get his big boat, he saw
what Little White Bear and Little Black Bear had done. He was very angry
when he saw that his "pooksack" was gone. He thought Big White Bear had
been there.

"I'll go hunting for him to-morrow morning," he said to himself. "And
I'll take Huskie, my Malemute dog, along!"

CHAPTER XI

BIG WHITE BEAR MEETS HUSKIE

"Now, I'll tell you," Omnok said to Huskie, "Big White Bear is a great
big bully. He likes to fight all the little folks of the tundra and sea
because he is so big. It would be a good thing if we could show him that
he isn't so awfully big, after all. Wouldn't it?"

"Ki, yi, yiyi," said Huskie, which meant he thought it would.

"Well, then, this is what you must do. Go running about on the ocean ice
everywhere and hunt for him. I will be hunting too. If you find him
first, run away, then call m