OUR UNINVITED GUEST

Ernest Harold Baynes


"Jimmy," our young black bear, was known to every child in the
neighborhood. If a children's vote had been taken for the most popular
animal in the county, I believe that Jimmy would have been unanimously
elected. If the grown people had held the election, however, it
is certain that there would have been some votes against him. For
example, when Mr. W--, one of our neighbors, came home very late one
night, got into bed in the dark, and unwittingly kicked a bear cub
that had climbed in at a window earlier in the evening, of course he
had his toes nipped. That man would never have voted for Jimmy.

Neither would the farmer's wife he met one evening coming from the
barn with a pail of new milk. The weather was warm, Jimmy was thirsty,
and he was particularly fond of new milk. So he stood on his hind
legs, threw his arms around the pail, and sucked up half the contents
before the good woman had recovered from her astonishment. But with
the children he was a great favorite. He was one of them, and they
understood him. Like them he was full of fun and mischief, and he
would play as long as anyone cared to play with him.

One Christmas we gave a children's party, and perhaps a score of girls
and boys came to spend the evening. As it was not possible to make
Jimmy understand about the party, he went to bed early, as usual, and
was asleep in his own den under the porch long before the first guests
arrived. He was not forgotten by his little friends, however, and