The Counterpane Fairy Part 8

"So they are," said Teddy, "but I like her stories best when I'm all well, and I like your stories best when I'm sick. Besides I only hear her stories and I see yours."

The fairy smiled. "Well, then, which square will you choose this time?"

she said.

"I think I would like that one," said Teddy, pointing to a square of watered ribbon that shaded from white to a sea-green.

"That's rather a long story," said the fairy, doubtfully.

"Oh, please show it!" begged Teddy.

"Well," said the Fairy, "fix your eyes on it while I count."

Then she began and he heard her voice going on and on. "FORTY-NINE!" she cried.

Teddy was floating on a block of ice across the wide, green Polar sea.

The Counterpane Fairy was with him, and all around were great fields of ice and floating white bergs. The air was very still and cold, but Teddy liked it all the better for that, for now he was an ice-fairy. He was dressed from head to foot in a suit that shone and sparkled like woven frost, and in his belt was a knife as shining as an icicle. Something kept bobbing and tickling his forehead, and when he caught hold of it he found it was the end of the long cap he wore.

As they drifted along, sometimes they saw a walrus with long tusks lying on the ice, or a soft-eyed seal. Once some strange little beings that looked like dwarfs, with goggle eyes and straggling black hair, caught hold of the block of ice, and lifting themselves out of the water made faces at Teddy, but the moment they saw the Counterpane Fairy their looked changed to one of fear, and with a queer gurgling cry they dropped from the ice and were gone.

"What were those things?" asked Teddy.

"They were ice-mermen," said the Counterpane Fairy. "Naughty, mischievous things they are. I'd like to pack them all off to the North Pole if I could."

"Oh, look! look!" cried Teddy. "Just look at those little bears playing over there."

They had drifted in quite near to the sh.o.r.e, and in among the blocks of ice three white bear cubs were playing together like fat little boys.

They were climbing to the top of an ice-hillock and then sliding down again.

As soon as they saw Teddy and the Counterpane Fairy they began to call: "Oh, Father Bear! Father Bear! Just come look at these funny things floating in to sh.o.r.e on a block of ice."

In a moment from behind the ice-hill came a great white father bear galloping up as fast as he could to see what the matter was. He came over toward Teddy growling, "Gur-r-r! gur-r-r-r! Who are you, coming and frightening my little bears this way?" But as soon as he saw the Counterpane Fairy he grew quite humble. "Oh, excuse me," he said. "I didn't know it was a friend of yours."

"Yes, it is," said the fairy, "and I have brought him here to stay awhile. Will you take good care of him?"

"Yes, I will," said Father Bear. "He shall sleep in the cave with us and have part of our meat if he will, and I will be as careful of him as though he were one of my own cubs."

"Very well," said the fairy; "mind you do." Then turning to Teddy she bade him step on sh.o.r.e.

"But aren't you coming too?" asked Teddy.

"No," said the Counterpane Fairy, "I can't come, but Father Bear will take good care of you." So Teddy stepped onto the sh.o.r.e, and the fairy pushed the block of ice out into the water, and waving her hand to him she drifted away across the open sea.

The Father Bear stood watching her until she was out of sight, and then he turned to Teddy. "Now, you Fairy," he said, "you may climb up onto my back, and I'll carry you to my wife; she'll take good care of you for as long as the Counterpane Fairy chooses to leave you here."

The three little bears cubs had disappeared, but as soon as the Father Bear carried Teddy around the hill of ice he saw what had become of them. They were sitting with the Mother Bear at the door of a cave. One of them was sucking its paws, and the other two were talking as fast as they could. The Mother Bear looked worried and anxious.

"What's all this Dumpy and Sprawley are telling me?" she said. "And what's that you have on your back?"

"It's an ice-fairy," growled old Father Bear, "and the Counterpane Fairy wants us to take care of it for a while. You don't mind, my dear, do you?"

"Oh dear, dear!" said the Mother Bear, "I suppose not, but what shall we give it to eat, and how shall we keep it?"

"Oh, it will do just the other cubs do, I suppose," said the Father Bear. Then turning to Teddy he said, "You eat meat, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," answered Teddy, timidly.

"Then that's all right," said the Father Bear. "Here, you children, take this fairy off and let him play with you."

Two of the little bears, Fatty (who was the one who had been sucking his paws) and Dumpy, were delighted to have a new playmate, and they told him he might come over and slide down their hill, but the third one, Sprawley, scowled and grumbled. "Another one to be eating up our meat,"

he said. "Just as if there weren't enough of us without."

Still he went over with them to the icehill and they all began sliding down.

After a while Sprawley said: "I know a great deal nicer hill than this one. It's just a little farther on; come on and I'll show it to you."

"Oh," said Fatty, "but suppose we should see some ice-mermen?"

"Pooh!" said Sprawley, "I ain't afraid. It's a great deal nicer than this. Come on."

So the three little bears and Teddy trotted on to another hill, and it really was much longer and steeper than the other; it went down almost to the edge of the sea.

They had slidden down it only a few times when Dumpy cried out: "Oh!

look! look! There are some ice-mermen and they are making faces at me."

There they were, sure enough, looking over the edge of the ice,--ugly little gray things with mouths like fishes, and they were making faces, and presently they began to sing,--

"Bear cubs! Bear cubs! Look at their toes; Look at their ears and their hair and their nose.

The great big walrus will surely come To eat up the bear cubs and give us some."

Dumpy growled at them, though he was frightened, but Fatty began to cry.

Just then one of the mermen sent a piece of ice sliding across at them, and it hit Fatty's paws and upset her. She was so fat that she rolled over and over before she could get up. Dumpy ran to her, and as soon as she was on her feet again they began galloping toward home as fast as they could, followed by Sprawley and Teddy.

As they ran along Teddy saw that Sprawley was shaking all over, and he thought it was because he was afraid, until he caught up to him; then he saw that he was laughing. "What are you laughing at?" he asked, but Sprawley only showed his teeth and growled in answer.

When they reached the cave and told the Mother Bear about the mermen she scolded them well for going so near the edge of the water, and said it was time for them to go to bed. Father Bear was going on a hunt the next day, and he was going to let the cubs go part of the way with him, so they must have a good rest.

The Mother Bear gave them each their share of seal meat, and then she went into the cave.

"Oh, Fatty," said Sprawley, "just look behind you and see if you don't see a merman."

Fatty turned her head, but there was nothing there. When she looked back again she burst into a loud whine. "Ou-u-u! ou-u-u-u!" she cried, "Sprawley stole my nicest piece of meat, so he did. Ou-u-u!"

Out shuffled Mother Bear in a hurry. "You naughty cub," she cried, aiming a blow at Sprawley's ear. But quick as a wink Sprawley slipped behind Dumpy, and it was upon Dumpy that the blow fell.

And now Dumpy joined in with his sister. "Ou-u-u!" he cried.