Show THE TUE OLD BEA BEAR i f f We Well yes it is a rather queer name to go by but that's thaes what they r 1 tt used to call him just the same Sometimes his neighbors spoke of II Old J Jim irn Chapley but whenever they did every body would be sure to look up and someone would inquire The Old Bear you mean aint amt it So he was known as II The Old Bear and had been so called for fora a long time time ever ever since one evening when he caught a crowd of small boys in his orchard One of them had amused himself by dropping pears upon Chapley's head until the man was wild with anger and then the lad had slipped quickly down one of the limbs an and given the owner a maddening chase among the trees and finally had quietly slunk out of the orchard leaving the angry man stretched upon the i ground with his feet tangled in a trailing grape One scapegrace scapegrace scapegrace grace standing at a safe distance had managed between bursts of laughter to yell out II Come it boys come it Hes He's around I there like an old bear with a sore head And so he had got his name There was a much better reason than that for calling him II The TheOld TheOld Old Bear Anybody will get angry when a herd of small boys begin to have fun with him him and I dont don't blame Chapley for that But he 4 behaved like a bear in his his' own family and he couldn't have been much more natured ill-natured if hed he'd truly h had d a sore head He rean really did love his children and would have knocked a little man down who had told him he was cruel But he had strange ideas about authority and power and thought he ht showed those qualities best by being disagreeable disagree disagree- able and contrary and his temper had grown so terrible one could iI hardly live with him When he came into the house his children skulked into the darkest corner of the room his wife waited awkwardly for him to pass on on sure to be growled at whatever she did If he walked into the yard the pigs huddled up in the farthest corner the cows stopped chewing and followed him with their wild eyes until he was outside the fence and the gate shut This kind of treatment didn't hurt Chapley at all it rather agreed with his ideas of greatness so he just kept growing worse and worse and would have done so until he had broken a blood blood- vessel in one of his fits of rage if something hadn't happened to change his heart It was a gloomy evening late in winter All day the clouds had I Jf t hung low half half concealing ing the gray old mountains and now they t lk f settled still closer and looked more threatening than ever Presently f the snow began to fall darkness came carne on and a long dreary night set setin setin 1 in a night for a roaring fire and pleasant conversation mixed up with the pop of corn and the sputter of roasting apples for happy people i i Jim Chapley was not happy nor would he let his family be so in their dr t house the gloominess was was' was was' intensified The three children went shivering shivering shiver shiver- i lj ing to their beds Jim pulled his chair up before the fire and sat in moody silence stirring the hot coals with a crooked poker occasionally k varying the monotony by settling back in his chair and taking a short ft nap which usually ended with a prodigious snore and then he began tr stirring the fire re again His patient little wife sat by the fire too but as far away dway from him as she could get et and kept her fingers busy husy on a pair of mittens if f that must be finished for little Nannies Nannie's birthday present It was r plain there was something more weighty on her mind than the finishing finishing finish finish- f i ing g of those mittens for her manner was agitated and sometimes when her husband was asleep she stared at him anxiously and once being caught in the act by Chapley suddenly opening his e ejes es she was so f startled that she almost dropped her needles on the floor She immediately imme imme- a l recovered herself however and knitted away faster than ever I When her husband nodded again her hands slackened and she muti muttered muttered mut mut- i to herself The very next chance Ill I'll tell him just as soon as ashe ashe y he wakes When he did wake and stretch his legs out so far there was A danger of his kicking the stove over she was confused and again gave gavet At t the knitting all her attention t Chapley showed no disposition to sleep I r A I any more but stirred the fire viciously His wife grew more calm by byr byJ r J d degrees grees and finally began very meekly meekly- 1 I I I-I-I I I I to to about J James ames was speak you something a was his rough reply as he gave the fire an 1 I extra hard poke You know Nannie 11 soon be eight years old she went on hurriedly Its just a few days and Id I'd like to give her a party if you dont don't mind mind I It wouldn't cost much I could buy everything with the eggs fi J t tHer 1 Her speech throughout had been punctuated with grunts from her husband and when she had finished he made such a noise as would have done credit to a pig Having got his voice to the required by this short practice he answered angrily angrily- I ai aint t going to have such nonsense I cant can't afford it Guess I Ican Ican can have a good time without a lot of people around up up every every every- thing Mrs l Chapley looked hard at the fire and bit her lips Then she wiped a tear from her eye folded her knitting and left the room The Old Beat Bear was quite satisfied with himself and stamped contentedly contentedly contentedly content content- edly back and forth Soon he kicked the cat out into the snow and went to bed Next day things went on in the same old moody way Mrs Chapley sighed over her work the children whispered together in inthe inthe inthe the corner of the room about Nannies Nannie's coming birthday Then they whispered it all to the cat and giggled and tittered with a half fright ened look on their faces lest they should waken their sullen father who lay stretched upon the old old fashioned lounge giving occasional snorts whenever there was a noise loud laud enough to call his attention In the afternoon The Old Bear got up and condescended to tell his wife that he had to go to his sheep-herd sheep next day and she must get together enough grub to last a week As he strode out of the house to do his evening chores the childrens children's faces lighted up with delight and their mother could hardly keep them quiet even by the hardest shakes of her fist until the door was shut after him But the thought of a whole week for a holiday made them behave extra well welland welland welland and the evening passed with no further trouble than two calves breaking breaking breaking break break- ing through the corner of a fence where Chapley was beating them and leading in a race through the snow Next morning Jim got ot up gave a few parting growls and was gone before the day had really begun Do you think you could describe the actions of those children that day No more than you could describe the flight of a bird just let loose from its cage One thing is certain though they played so hard they laughed so loud they would have made their mother nerv- nerv nerv- nerv ous if she hadn't been glad to see them them so happy As it was she felt felt justified in sending them t to bed at eight o'clock even if little litHe Jimmy was trying his best to stand on his head in the corner How jolly and free every day seemed But O 0 N Nannies Nannie's birthday the brightest happiest gayest day in the world Everything seemed to think so The sun wore a broad grin all over his huge face and winked and blinked facetiously at all he saw while the snow glistened and sparkled so brilliantly that the people squinted their eyes scowled their and twisted their mouths trying to modify the brightness with their wry faces They really laughed in their hearts and even Mrs Chap Chapley ley was chuckling instead of sighing as she went about her milking Huh weve we've got ahead of im this time she said just listen to that as a merry peal of laughter reached her from the open door Nannie 11 have one happy birthday in her life anyhow and maybe shell she'll have many more for I wont won't stand this much longer and she shel l gave the cows teat such a squeeze that the animal threw her tail It around striking the milk-maid milk square in the face just as a merry scramble in the snow bank began in the yard No Ill I'll not stand it Ill I'll well Ill Ill I'll well Ill I'll not stand it went on Mrs Chap Chapley ley receiving another lash across the face Ill pull his hair out out when when hes he's asleep wonderfully brave when her husband was gone Presently she completed her task threw in a few ears of corn to the pigs and went to her romping children Jimmy having just pounded Nannie eight times and once to be a good girl on They all greeted their mother with a whoop hurrah Eddie gathered her skirts almost tripping her Jimmy keeled over in the snow while Nannie ran up crying Its me to carry the milk Im I'm eight years old Finally they all reached the house and shaking off the snow warmed themselves by the crackling fire W With shout and song with story book and new mittens they passed the time away until Mrs Chapley bustling from the pantry with the whitest of cloths spread it upon the table Up jumped Nannie Its me to set the table Im I'm eight years old and away she went bringing back knives and forks arranging them on the table and then Eddie fixed them all over again because Nannie didn't know how Then came Jimmy stumbling over the rug and scattering teaspoons in every direction Their mother was vexed but she just smiled and went on fixing dinner until the table with just the tiniest push from Jimmy groaned almost as if it had been the Old Bear and really startled startled startled star star- Mrs Chapley f. f Jimmy was already at his place stretching his mouth with a tooth-pick tooth put in wise cross-wise Nannie soon sat sate in her place and Eddie clambered into his high chair kicking the clean table-cloth table with his feet Then came Mrs Chapley carrying something tall and white and so beautiful that jimmy almost punched a hole through his cheek with the toothpick and Nannie and Eddie clapped their hands and cried O a It was a cake and such a cake not like those you get in your lu lunch ch box with the cream all rubbed off nor like those at Mrs Grundland's Grundland's Grundland's Grund- Grund lands land's but a great big tall cake white and glistening as the snow now with a pretty flower on top and candy arranged to spell Nannies Nannie's name With due care it took its place in the center of the table and remained remained remained re re- while the children dutifully crammed down potatoes and gravey always with an eye on the center of ot the table and then as meekly and patiently y as possible intimated that they were ready for or cake Mrs Chapley picked up the knife glanced along its glittering edge carefully wiped it with a napkin and then pulled the cake toward her Ah Ah such happiness If he h had d been here they could have had no such joy and she flourished the knife a moment in the air Then she carefully laid off the flowers gave each child a piece of candy turned the he cake round and round raised the knife ready to cut great cut great heaven what was the matter Her face was bla blanche che 1 t and her arms hung limp by her side The children with ith hanging heads all settled back in their chairs The Old Bear stood in the doorway With face almost as terrible as a grizzly's he strode into the room Nobody respected his authority everyone opposed him Hed He'd tear that dinner from the table hed he'd trample that cake into the earth As he stamped forward to carry out his purpose his foot caught in N Nannies Nannie's chair upsetting it A moment he held the chair aloft and he thought thought thought-no no he didn't think he was mad he was crazy crazy he he flung it I striking N Nannie annie on the back crushing her to the earth Then he tore the cloth from the table trampled upon it and strode wildly from the room Poor little Mrs Chapley With her two crying boys cling to hershe her she knelt over the prostrate N Nannie Nannie-Nannie Nannie annie N annie Nannie so pale with sad little moans coming from her white lips She gathered the child to her breast and sat swaying back and forth like one bereft of reason Presently the hot tears came to relieve her overcharged feelings and with a child clinging to each knee she lifted poor Nannies Nannie's face and kissed it just as the Old Bear returning from the yard reach reached d the window The childs child's pale face startled him And the broken dishes and the scattered food Good gracious he didn't intend to do so much He just wanted wanted wanted-it it it was their fault fault he he just wanted to keep his authority authority- and they acted so queer when he went in It was their k fault One more glance at the sorrowful picture and he turned and walked away He shivered about the barn he growled at the pigs and cows and after it had grown dark and everything quite still he crept like a thief into his own house The dinner lay just as he had thrown it everything everything every everything every every- thing about looked quiet and cold save for a light creeping under the thedoor thedoor thedoor door of a bedroom He listened at that door the sou sound d of a roaring fire told of gladness but it was not really so loud as the moans and sobs He wanted to see in there but he couldn't so he stole quietly away O 0 what a long night that was Only the two little boys slept Nannie moaned and cried in her pitiful dreams Mrs Chapley sat by and soothed and kissed her while the Old Bear tossed about in his uneasy bed muttering If If she should die die It It It was their fault it was their fault Then followed months and months of such dreary dreary days days- Little N Nannie annie lay on her bed with her back severely injured scarcely 0 z able to move save to cry Mama and clasp her little hands in in her mothers Mrs Chapley seldom left her bedside the boys came and looked at their sister with sober faces and then ran off to romp for forI I their father never them now The Old Bear wandered about muttering and growling to himself He had seen his daughter but once since her birthday and then he had thrown her into such a state of nervousness that he was forbidden to enter the room again Neighbors Neighbors Neighbors Neigh Neigh- bors came in looked at the sick child spoke kindly to the mother offering their assistance and then went out sadly shaking their heads never paying the least attention to the Old Bear Old ladies brought their teas and medicines and walked straight past Chapley only stopping stopping stopping stop stop- ping to shake their fists behind his back or put their heads together and whisper with slight nods toward him The doctor came and went often looked strangely At the father and finally drew him aside and told him that his child would recover but but and and then left him him turning over in his mind but but what but what 0 O Chapley was miserable No one cared in the least for him even the pigs in the pen turned up their noses at him so he thought and finally he grew to h have ve such contempt for himself that he was almost ashamed to be seen seep in the daylight He skulked about the barn and in the back of his house rooms he look with envy on every well-respected well man and sighed over and ov over r again I I didn't mean to do so much and often a mocking voice answered Why dont don't you tell them so Why dont don't you do better now He wanted to go and touch Nannie to kiss her to sit by her side and watch her He couldn't so often at night he stood listening by that door where the I light always crept under and then the slunk away at the slightest rustle rustIe As he stood there once the door was slightly ajar and a dim light showed him that all within were asleep |