o long as he lived, did he get home again so quickly.

XII

CUFFY BEAR GOES TO MARKET

"Mother! When is my birthday?" Cuffy asked, a few days after his father
had brought home the little pig.

"Why, your birthday comes on the day the wild geese begin to fly south,"
Mrs. Bear said.

"Is that soon?" Cuffy asked.

"Bless you, no! Not for months and months!" his mother said.

"And when is Silkie's?" he continued.

"The day of the first snow," she told him.

Cuffy knew that that was a long way off--not until summer had come and
gone.

"And Father's?" he inquired once more.

Mrs. Bear shook her head.

"Your father hasn't many birthdays," she said. "He was born on the day
of the great forest fire. It may be a long time before he has another
birthday. I hope so, anyhow," she added, "for a great forest fire is a
dreadful thing."

Now you see, having a birthday like that is a good deal like being born
on the twenty-ninth of February, when you have a birthday only once in
four years. Yes--it's a good deal like that, only worse. For you may
have to wait years and years before another great fire comes. You
understand, of course, that having no clocks or calendars or anything
like that, the wild animals can keep track of birthdays only by
remembering things that happen.

All this made Cuffy Bear feel very sad. He had been hoping that some
member of the family would have a birthday soon, and then perhaps his
father would bring home another little pig for another nice feast. But
now he saw that there was no chance of that happening for a long, long
time.

[Illustration: Mrs. Eagle Rose Higher and Higher]

Cuffy went out of doors then and thought and thought and thought. I'm
almost ashamed to have to say it--he was planning to go down to Farmer
Green's and get another fat, tender, little pig like the one his father
had brought home.

Now, when a very young bear starts out to steal a pig there are many
things to think of. In the first place, there was Farmer Green, and
Farmer Green's boy Johnnie, and Farmer Green's hired man. Cuffy knew
that he must be very, very careful not to meet them.

To his great relief, when he had gone down into Pleasant Valley Cuffy
saw all three ploughing in a field. They did not see him at all. And so
he felt very brave as he went on toward the farm buildings.

Farmer Green's pig-pen was in a little, low building next the cow-barn.
Cuffy had no trouble in finding it. And he wa