CHAPTER XIV

THE POT OF GOLD

Little Bear is happy now, The secret he has told, For he has found the rainbow end, And the pot of gold!

Next day Red Riding Hood said: "I must go and see my grandmother."

Little Bear said: "I must go home."

Bonnie Bell said: "I will stay with Grandpa."

Grandpa Grumbles was so pleased to think that Bonnie Bell wanted to stay that he forgot to grumble.

Red Riding Hood put on her hood and cape, and Little Bear carried her basket, and they went merrily down the road.

Soon it began to rain. Patter, pat­ter, patter, fell the big drops.

"We shall get very wet," said Little Bear.

"We shall see the rainbow," said Red Riding Hood.

Sure enough, pretty soon there came a beautiful rainbow in the sky. One end of the rainbow seemed to come in the hollow of a tree.

Little Bear ran to the tree and put in one of his paws and drew out THE POT OF GOLD!

"Hurrah!" he shouted, "I have the gold!"

Then he opened the pot, and sure enough, it was full of five dollar gold pieces!

Little Bear poured the gold all out on the ground, and Red Riding Hood began to count it.

Suddenly Little Bear set up a shout. What do you suppose he saw?

In the bottom of the pot was written in large letters:

Little Bear was so happy! He danced up and down, and shouted, and he laughed until he cried.

"Now I have a name, a real name, I am Mishe-Mokwa, the Great Bear!" he cried, "and all this gold is mine!"

Little Red Riding Hood now said "Good-by," and Little Bear and Curly Bear carried the gold home.

"What are you going to do with all this gold?" asked Curly Bear.

Little Bear said: "I will give some to Mama Bear, and some to Papa Bear, and some to all the other Bears."

"We shall be quite rich," said Curly Bear. "How much gold will you keep for yourself?"

"I will keep the pot," said Little Bear, and he laughed, and Curly Bear laughed, and they went trotting mer­rily homeward.

"Did you find a name?" asked Curly Bear.

Little Bear nodded his head, but he whispered: "Don't you tell yet, Curly Bear."

It was evening when they got home. Papa and Mama Bear and the little Bears were eating supper.

I never could tell you, if I wrote all day, how those Bears hugged one an­other.

Papa Bear kept saying, "Where did you find the pot of gold?" and they all talked at once.

It was a merry time, you may be sure.

The little Bears all sat down at the table and began to count the gold. Papa and Mama Bear and all the little Bears counted.

Each had a pile of gold in front of him.

Suddenly someone cried: "Where is Little Bear?"

They looked about, but they could not find him.

Where do you suppose he had gone? He had gone up-stairs to hide the pot that the gold came in, the precious pot that held his name.

Pretty soon he heard them all shout­ing his name, and he came bounding down-stairs, and he cried: "Let us have a party, a party!"

So it was decided that all the little Bears should go out next day and in­vite the animals to a party.

Little Bear had happy dreams that night. He thought that the animals made him king of the forest. Once he woke up, and he was afraid he had no pot of gold. He was afraid it was all  a dream.

He crept out of bed softly, so as not to wake the others.

He found the pot where he had hid­den it.

The moon peeped in through the window and Little Bear said:

"Old Man in the Moon, I am very happy, I am no longer Little Bear, I am Mishe-Mokwa, the Great Bear."