Feeling surprisingly at his ease, in view of his strange surroundings, Wilby stretched himself out on his comfortable couch, and almost forgot the pain from his sprained ankle in his delight at his novel experience. "What a lot I’ll have to tell them at home!" he said exultingly to himself. "They won’t believe one-half of it, I know." Maximus was evidently head of the household, and superintended in a dignified way, while Major and Minor bustled about getting dinner ready. In a little while all the preparations were complete, and Major, who seemed to feel especially responsible for Wilby, brought him a steaming bowl of something which the hungry boy was not long in sampling. And it proved to be such delicious rabbit-stew that he could not help exclaiming,— "My sakes, but this is fine! Mother couldn’t make a better stew herself,"—which compliment pleased Minor, who had prepared the stew, so much that he filled Wilby’s bowl up again before it was fairly empty. Besides the stew there were roast partridges and baked potatoes, and also apples and nuts, so that Wilby had just about as much as he could comfortably eat—in fact, perhaps a little more. At all events, his waistband began to remind him it was there. Dinner over, the dishes were cleared away and the room set in order again, Wilby watching everything with the liveliest interest, determined to have such a story to tell as would make him the hero of the country-side for a whole month at least. He was particularly struck with the deftness with which the bears went about their work. Although their big paws looked clumsy enough, the dear knows, they did things as handily as Wilby himself could have done them. When every sign of the dinner had vanished, Max, Major, and Minor drew up their chairs (for they each had a big arm-chair) in front of the fire, and sat down to talk over the events of the day, quite ignoring the addition to their family,—who, indeed, was very well pleased at being left alone, as he much preferred using his eyes to his tongue, when everything around him was so delightfully novel. The bears’ voices were so low and deep that Wilby could not make out one-half they were saying. Besides, what with the warmth of the room and his own weariness, he began to feel very sleepy again, especially as the couch was extremely comfortable. In fact, he had just about dozed off, when he was awakened by Maximus jumping up from his chair, and saying in a loud tone,— "Come, fellows, let us have a song, and then we’ll turn in." Whereupon the three of them stood up together around the fire, and sang very heartily the following song, the words of which, so far as he heard them, Wilby had no difficulty in remembering, although the tune went completely out of his head. He had not much of an ear for music, any way.