Back Aa

Bear Family at Home

Close

[Pg 124] <h2>HOW THE CIRCUS CROSSED THE OCEAN</h2> "You may not believe it, little Cub Bear, because there is so much land, so many trees and rocks, and so little water where we are, but three-fourths of the whole world is covered with water; and I am going to tell you about the time that I crossed the ocean. "The circus was in a great city. The men said it was New York. And one day, without our knowing anything about it, they rolled the big wagons down on the wharf where there was a great ship lying. This ship was as large as a dozen houses all put together—as large as the circus tents all put together, but a different shape, of course. And then we saw that all the men that belonged to the circus were on board the ship. They began to wheel the wagons on board, and took the animals out, one at a time, and put them in great cages on board the ship. "When it came time to put Jumbo on the ship, he didn't want to go. And how do you suppose they got him on board? They put great straps under him, and then they lowered a great rope from one of the masts and fastened it into the strap, and they started the engine going, and the first thing Jumbo knew, he was hanging in the air like a little toy elephant, and he waved his trunk around wildly and[Pg 125] kicked his legs, but it didn't do him a bit of good. And then they hoisted him way up in the air as high as a house, and then they swung him right over, and lowered him clear through two or three decks, way down to the bottom of the ship. And there they found a place for him. "Then they brought back the straps, and put them around the hippopotamus, and lifted him way up in the air and swung him over, and lowered him way down into the bottom of the ship. And then they raised the camel and the rhinoceros, in the same way. But the lions they brought aboard, cages and all. After all the animals were on board, and all the people belonging to the circus were on board, we heard a great gong ring, and then the big engines began to turn, and the ship began to move. The engine didn't go, 'Chu-chu,' like a locomotive, and there was no sound, except, 'Throb! throb! throb! throb!' which kept up until we were clear across the ocean, all day and all night, and the great ship quivered as the engine throbbed. "But this wasn't the worst of it. We hadn't gone very far, until everything began to move. The cages went up and down, and up and down, and up and down, until I got dizzy, and all the other animals seemed to be dizzy. Then I felt so dreadfully, dreadfully sick, that I didn't want to move or say anything to anybody, or look at anybody, or think of anything. [Pg 126] "Once I opened one eye and looked out, and I saw that the men were lying around just in the same way that the animals were, and they looked awfully white and sick, and they didn't say anything to anybody, and they didn't want anything to eat, and we didn't want anything to eat, and I spent all my time wishing that the old boat would stop rocking, and pitching, and turning, and twisting all the time. And the old ship would go down, down, down, and just as soon as we would get used to its going down, down, down, it would turn and go up, up, up, and just as soon as we got used to its going up, up, up, it would turn and go down, down, down again. And when the ship started up, my stomach wanted to stay down, and when the ship would start down, it seemed as though my stomach wanted to stay up. And so I got terribly sore on the inside, and all the other animals seemed to be terribly sore. I hugged myself as hard as I could to keep from coming to pieces. And I saw all of the other bears hugging themselves. All the animals were lying down looking sleepy. Everybody seemed to be sleepy, except some of the men who were dressed in blue. "They ran about, and whistled, and sang, and blew tobacco smoke in our faces, and this made us feel terribly sick. But they seemed to be having a splendid time. After a while I learned that these were the sailors, and that they didn't mind the ship going up and down, and up and down, all the time. [Pg 127] "After a while we all got so that we didn't mind it much. And then we began to eat. It seemed as though we never would get enough. We ate, and ate, and ate. We ate more than enough to make up for all the time when we didn't eat anything. And some people who looked so pale, and so sick, and so weak, seemed to eat and eat and eat, and some of them got so fat, before we got to the other side of the water, that you would hardly have known them. "One day the ship pitched and tossed and rolled worse than it ever had, and for some reason the engine stopped. I heard a man say that something was broken, and as soon as the engine stopped, it just seemed as though that old ship would go to pieces. She rose higher and went lower. And one time there was a great splash, and the biggest lot of water you ever saw came right down where the animals were. "The hippopotamus thought it was fine, until he tasted the water, and then he made up the most awful face that you ever saw; and you can imagine what kind of a face it was, for he is homely enough anyway. His nose is bigger than his face, and his mouth is right on the end of his nose. I asked him what the trouble was, and he said it wasn't the kind of water he liked; it tasted of salt and was bitter. It made him feel as though he never wanted to eat anything again as long as he lived. "I noticed, though, that the seal and the walrus[Pg 128] seemed to enjoy it ever so much. I asked them why, and they said that was the kind of water they liked; that was the kind of water they had always lived in—salt water. "It seemed a long time, but after a while the engine started up again. Then the ship was more quiet, but it kept going up and down, and up and down, until we got clear across the water, and then we noticed that the deck we were on became as quiet and steady as a floor. I heard one of the sailor men say that we were coming into a harbor. And sure enough, we soon stopped, and the men began to take the animals out again. "They hung the elephant on the end of a long rope, with straps around him, just as they had before, and the camel, and the hippopotamus, and the rhinoceros, and they took us all out and put us on a train. Everything looked so green and nice. How glad we were to be on shore! But we couldn't understand anything the men said, because they all talked a different language. It sounded like, 'Jabber, jabber, jabber, mum-mum-mum.' "I asked the lion, who had been in the circus longest, what it meant. He said we were in a new country, where everybody talked a different language, and that there were lots of other countries, where they talked other languages. "We stayed in this new country a long while, but finally came back. And that is the end of my story." [Pg 129] The little Cub Bear said, "I would like to see the ocean, but I don't think I would ride on a ship, if it makes you feel so terribly bad inside." And the Circus Bear said, "You would soon forget all about that and just remember the beautiful things there are to see. I am glad I went across." Then the little Cub Bear went to bed and went to sleep, and that night he dreamed so hard that—what do you think happened to him? He rolled clear out of bed and fell into a stream in the cave—kersplash! The Papa Bear asked him what the trouble was, and he said he dreamed that he was on board ship and was nearly drowned. Some dreams, you see, come true. When morning came, the Papa Bear called the little Cub Bear to him and said: "Now, my little cub, it is time for you to go out alone, to see if you can not find something to eat for yourself. I think if you go and search carefully, you will be able to find some strawberries, and if you can not find strawberries, you may be able to find some blackberries. Don't try to eat any of the gooseberries that you will see, because the wild gooseberries you will find are all covered with stickers, and they will stick in your tongue. If you find a tree filled with honey, come back and tell Papa Bear, because I think you had better not try yet to get the honey out of the tree, for the bees might[Pg 130] sting you. And if you find any bumble-bees, be sure to let them alone, for they have holes in the ground, where they make their honey, and they have very long stingers, and they would sting you very hard, so you better come home at once and tell papa. But if you find the berries, you can eat all you want. And if you find a big patch of berries, you better come home and tell Mamma Bear, and then we will all go and get all the berries we want to eat." <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

1 of 2

2 of 2