ight have been added to the length of his tongue, but, though
that useful member failed him, necessity found a way. He soon discovered
that it was possible to dip in one paw from which the sweetness could
easily be licked. However, the pressure of his other paw upon the rim of
the pail caused it to tip, and sliding from the spile, it rolled upon
the ground.

The accident did not dismay the bear. On the contrary it filled him with
joy, for it served to bring the contents of the pail within reach, and
he lapped up every drop before it could soak into the earth. The pail,
too, was cleansed of sap as far as the eager tongue could reach, though,
during the process, it rolled about in a way which sorely tried the
bear's patience. At length it came to rest against the trunk of a tree,
with which solid backing Mokwa was enabled to thrust in his muzzle far
enough to lap up the last sweet drops.

But alas! when he attempted to withdraw his head, Mokwa found himself a
prisoner. With the pressure against the tree the sap-bucket had become
wedged so tightly upon his head that it refused to come off. Though the
bear twisted and turned, banging the tin upon the ground and against
trunks of trees, the endeavor to rid himself of this uncomfortable and
unwelcome headdress was in vain. Mokwa grew more and more frantic and
the din was so terrific that a horrified cottontail, with eyes bulging
until they seemed in danger of rolling down his nose, sat frozen in his
tracks at the edge of a spruce thicket. The Hermit, on his way to
inspect his sap-buckets, broke into a run.

Mokwa, in his mad scramble, had paused a moment for breath. He heard the
man's footfalls and the sound filled him with fresh alarm. With a last
despairing effort he rose upon his haunches and tugged at the battered
pail. This time his efforts were rewarded. A peculiar twist sent it
flying, and the bear, free at last, made quick time to the friendly
shelter of the spruce thicket, sped by the loud laughter of the Hermit.

"Guess that bear will never bother my sap-buckets again," the man
chuckled, as he picked up his bright new pail, battered now past all
recognition.

On the day following his harrowing experience in the sugar-maple grove
Mokwa was a much chastened bear, but the incident soon faded from his
memory and he once more trod the forest trails as if they had been
presented to him for his sole use by Dame Nature herself. In the swamp
the pointed hoods of skunk c