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[Pg 101] <h2>THE STORY OF THE LITTLE BIRD'S ESCAPE FROM THE ALLIGATOR</h2> "You see, I am a very small bird, and I live in a very peculiar way. Almost all day I spend my time in the open mouth of the great alligators as they lie on the shore of the river, basking in the sun. You see, they keep their mouths open for me, so that I can pick up the little flies and bugs that torment them very much. These I eat, and so both the alligator and I are pleased. The alligator is very careful not to hurt me, for, you see, if he should close that great mouth it would kill me. "Well, one day the alligator went to sleep as I was hopping about on his great tongue, and he dreamed that he was in the water swimming after a big fish. In his dream he thought he was near the fish and just going to catch it, and 'Snap!' down came his great upper jaw right on top of the poor little bird in his mouth. I expect you wonder why I was not killed. Well, the alligator had a hole in the roof of his mouth just large enough for me to get through, and it happened that I was right under it, when his mouth closed, so I got out through the hole." "How did he happen to have such a hole in his mouth? Do all alligators have such holes in the roof of their mouths?" said the little Cub Bear. [Pg 102] "No," replied the bird, "but a man once tried to catch this alligator. He took a stick that was sharp at both ends, and nearly as big around and as long as his forearm, and when the great alligator swam after him to catch and eat him up, the man turned around and thrust his arm with the pointed stick into the alligator's mouth. As the alligator's jaws came together with a snap, the stick went clear through his upper jaw, and although the alligator got away, and got the stick out, the hole was always there, and that hole saved my life." "Well," said the Cub Bear, "I think I'd rather live in a safer place than an alligator's mouth." That night the little Cub Bear slept very soundly, and was out early next morning, wondering whether any more animals would come. Soon he heard a noise, as if some kind of an animal was coming up the path, but he could not see what it was. Suddenly he said, "I see the strangest thing; it looks like a bird's head on a long pole. The eyes are as big as large marbles; the long pole-like neck seems to have hair on it. The bill is much bigger than a goose's bill." Just then its body came into sight. "It has a beautiful tail of black and white feathers, and small wings with beautiful feathers. Its neck is as long as a yard stick, and its legs are covered with great scales, and are as long as its neck." Just then this strange bird or animal saw an ear[Pg 103] of corn lying in the path, and lowered its queer head to the ground, and began to swallow it. The ear of corn was larger around than the animal's neck, but it swallowed the ear whole without chewing it. The little Cub Bear was too much surprised to say anything, so he watched and could see the ear of corn going down the throat of this queer animal. The skin of the neck stretched so that the ear of corn could go down. It started down in the front of the neck, and then twisted around to the back of the neck and disappeared into the top of its body. The owl called out, "Who-o-o-o? who-o-o-o?" but this strange animal did not reply. The little Cub Bear told the Circus Bear about the corn, and he said: "Oh, I know who that is; that is the ostrich." So the little Cub Bear said to him very politely, "Come in, Mr. Ostrich. We have a beautiful cave, and we would like to have you live with us." But the ostrich said that he would stay a while, but that he liked to lie out-of-doors, and that if any one came to capture him he would hide his head behind a bush, or in the sand, and he would be all right. "But," said the little Cub Bear, "they could see your great body, and so could capture you." But the ostrich said, "Never mind; that's my way." So the ostrich stayed many days. There was not[Pg 104] corn enough for him to eat, but the bears found that he could eat apples, or oranges, or hay, or grass; in fact, one day the little Cub Bear found the ostrich at the scene of the train wreck, picking up all sorts of things to eat, and, strange to say, eating broken window glass and pieces of iron and stone. What a strange dinner that was! When the little Cub Bear returned to the cave that night, he noticed the striped tail of the raccoon, and at once asked the raccoon to tell how he was caught and put into the circus. So the raccoon stopped washing his face long enough to tell the true story of: <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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