tribute, and he saw that every one of them had a tail. Some had long
tails; some had short tails; some had handsome tails and some had
homely tails; but everybody had a tail of some kind. The more he tried
not to think of these tails, the more he did think of them. The more
he thought of them, the more discontented he grew because he had none.
He didn't stop to think that probably all of them had use for their
tails. No, Sir, he didn't think of that. Everybody else had a tail,
and he hadn't. He felt that it was a disgrace that he, the king,
should have no tail. He brooded over it so much that he lost his
appetite and grew cross and peevish.

"Then along came Old Mother Nature to see how things were going in the
Green Forest. Of course she saw right away that something was wrong
with Old King Bear. When she asked him what the matter was, he was
ashamed to tell her at first. But after a little he told her that he
wanted a tail; that he could never again be happy unless he had a
tail. She told him that he hadn't the least use in the world for a
tail, and that he wouldn't be any happier if he had one. Nothing that
she could say made any difference--he wanted a tail. Finally she gave
him one.

"For a few days Old King Bear was perfectly happy. He spent all his
spare time admiring his new tail. He called the attention of all his
subjects to it, and they all told him that it was a very wonderful
tail and was very becoming to him. But it wasn't long before he found
that his new tail was very much in the way. It bothered him when he
walked. It was in the way when he sat down. It was a nuisance when he
climbed a tree. He didn't have a single use for it, and yet he had to
carry it with him wherever he went. Worse still, he overheard little
Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Possum making fun of it. And then he discovered