Three little Trippertrots

The three little Trippertrots were in the house one day, looking out of the window. Suzette, the nursemaid, was in the next room, trying to mend a hole that Mary had torn in her red dress. I mean that Mary had torn a hole in her own dress, not in Suzette’s, you understand, of course. And the way it happened was this:

They were playing soldiers, the Trippertrot children were, Tommy and Johnny and Mary, and Tommy had a make-believe gun. It was really the poker from the stove, but it looked something like a gun.

And they were having a great battle, making believe shoot off the poker-gun bang-bang, you know, when, all of a sudden, Mary ran past Tommy, and the poker caught in her dress, and tore a hole in the cloth.

“Oh, I’m afraid you can’t play soldiers any more,” said Mrs. Trippertrot. “It’s too rough a game. Please play something gentle, that doesn’t make so much noise.”

So Mary and Tommy and Johnny played a guessing game; that is, they tried to guess how many people were in the trolley cars that passed the window, or how many letters the postman had in his bag, or how fast the butcher boy could run when a pussy cat chased him, and all guessing games like that. So that’s the reason, as I told you at first, why the Trippertrots were looking out of the window of their house.

“Oh, I’m tired of this,” said Tommy at last.

“And so am I,” said Mary.

“What can we do?” asked Johnny.

“Oh, let’s make-believe we’re lost again,” suggested Mary. “We can pretend that the parlor is away off downtown, and that the dining-room is another city, and the kitchen can be a cave where a fairy lives, and upstairs—I wonder what upstairs can be?”

“That will be a mountain, of course,” said Tommy. “The stairs are high, and so are mountains; and I’m going to climb one, and get lost on the top, and build a campfire, and sleep there all night.”

“Pooh! You sleep upstairs all night, anyhow,” said Johnny. “Our beds are there.”

“Oh, but this is only a make-believe mountain,” said Tommy. “Come on! All ready to play this game! We’ll see who will be the first one to get lost.”

Well, the Trippertrots played that game a long time, and then Suzette had Mary’s dress mended, and the nursemaid went to answer the back doorbell, for the butcher boy was there with some meat for supper.

Now in about a minute you will see where the dancing bears appear in this story. I’m almost up to that part, so watch closely.

When Suzette was at the back door, Mrs. Trippertrot happened to think there was no bread in the house for dinner.

“I know what I will do,” said the children’s mamma. “I will just run next door to Mrs. Johnson’s, and borrow a loaf. Now don’t you children go outside while I’m gone!” she called to Tommy and Mary and Johnny.

“Not even in case of something most extra-extra-extraordinary happening?” asked Johnny.

“Oh, I suppose if it’s something most extraordinary you may go out for a minute,” answered Mrs. Trippertrot, “but don’t you dare to get lost.”

So they promised that they wouldn’t, and then they went back to play the game of looking out of the windows, and Mary said:

“Oh, I wish something most extra-extraordinary would come along!”

“So do I!” exclaimed Tommy.

“And there it is!” suddenly cried Johnny. “If that isn’t extraordinary, I’d like to know what is!”

And sure enough, down the street came a man with three dancing bears. There was a little bear and a middle-sized bear and a big bear, just as in the story book. And the man had a horn, on which he played jolly, funny little tunes.

“Oh, I hope the bears dance where we can see them,” said Mary, and Tommy and Johnny said the same thing; and really it was just as if the dancing-bear man heard the Trippertrot children, for, sure enough, he stopped in front of their house, and began to blow a tune on his horn.

And with that, those bears stood up on their hind legs, and began to dance around almost as well as you or I could do it. I’m sure you would have been very glad to see them, for they were such nice bears.

The big bear took big steps when he danced, and the middle-sized bear took middle-sized steps, and, of course, the little bear had to take little steps, for that was all the kind of steps that were left, but they suited him exactly.

“Oh! Aren’t they fine!” cried Mary.

“Yes. I wish we had one,” said Johnny.

“Oh, I don’t!” exclaimed his sister. “He might scratch us, not meaning to, you know, but accidentally. I don’t want a bear in the house.”

“I think it would be fun,” said Tommy. “We could play we were hunters on a mountain, and make-believe shoot the bear, only, of course, we wouldn’t really do it.”

“Oh, look! Look!” suddenly cried Mary. “One bear is climbing a telegraph pole!” And, sure enough, the middle-sized bear was doing that, while the man played more tunes on his horn.

“Oh, look there!” cried Johnny. “The big bear is standing on his head!” And, just as true as I’m telling you, he was.

“See! See!” exclaimed Tommy. “The little bear is turning somersaults just like Simple Simon and Jiggily Jig did! Isn’t it great!”

Well, the man made the dancing bears do many more tricks, and then he held out his hat for money, for that was how he made his living. And Suzette gave the children some money to give to the bearman.

Then the man made a bow, to show that he was thankful, and the bears made bows, too, to show they were thankful, for if the man hadn’t gotten any money the bears wouldn’t have had much for supper. Then they started off up the street to dance some more.

“Oh, I’m sorry they’re gone!” said Mary, and her brothers were, also; and they were just wondering what else they could do to have fun, when, all of a sudden, Tommy cried:

“Look! Look! The little bear has run away from the man, and is coming back here!”

“Yes, and I guess the man doesn’t know it, or he would come back after him,” said Johnny. “I think we ought to go out and catch the little bear for the man.”

“Oh, don’t you do it!” cried Mary, shivering.

“Why, he’s tame, and won’t hurt me,” said Tommy. “Besides, we would be doing the man a kindness.”

“But mamma doesn’t want us to go out of the house,” said Mary, for she could now see the bear quite plainly, as he was right in front of the house again, and he was so kind and gentle-looking, and he seemed to smile so at the children, that they just loved him.

“I’m going out and catch him for the man, and give him something to eat,” said Tommy.

“Who? The man or the bear?” asked Johnny.

“The little bear. See! He has a chain on his neck, and we can lead him by that. Come on.”

“Oh, dear! Well, I s’pose I’ll have to go, too,” said Mary. “This is one of those most extra-extraordinary occasions, I guess. But I do hope we’re not lost again.”

“Hurry up!” called Johnny. “We can catch the bear, take him to the man, and soon be in the house again.”

Well, would you ever believe it if I didn’t tell you? That little bear just stood still when the Trippertrot children came up to him, and he almost seemed to smile, you know the way bears do, by opening his mouth, and then he made a low bow.

“Oh, I almost believe he could talk, if he wanted to, he is so cute,” said Mary.

“Come along, little bear,” spoke Tommy.

“Yes, we’re going to take you back to the man,” said Johnny. “He doesn’t know you’re lost, I guess.”

Well, the bear growled a little bit, but that was only his way of saying “Thank you!” And then he stood still while Johnny took hold of the chain around his neck—I mean the chain around the bear’s neck, not Johnny’s, for Johnny didn’t have any chain on his neck. And Tommy also took hold of the bear’s chain, and so did Mary, just the littlest, tiny tip end, you know.

“Now we’re all ready,” said Johnny. “Come along, little bear, and we’ll soon have you back to your master.”

So the three little Trippertrots marched down the street, leading the tame little bear, and they expected any minute to find the man with the horn. But they couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Oh, we must find him soon,” said Mary.

“Yes,” said Johnny. “We can’t take the bear back home with us.”

“And if we let him go by himself he’ll get lost,” spoke Tommy. “Let’s go on a little farther.”

So they went on a little farther with the animal, but they couldn’t find the man who owned the bear, and they couldn’t hear his tooting horn. And then, as they turned around a corner, Mary suddenly said:

“There! I knew it!”

“Knew what?” asked Johnny.

“I knew we were lost again,” said Mary. “I’ve never seen this street before. We are certainly lost again.”

“Oh! What will mamma say?” asked Tommy.

“And lost with a little dancing bear to take care of,” added Mary.

“Well, if we’re lost, the bear is lost, too, and that’s all there is about it,” spoke Johnny cheerfully. “Maybe we can find our way back. Let’s try.”

So they walked down another street, looking for the way back home, or for the man who owned the little bear.