“Good morning,” rumbled the yearling cub, peering and blinking into the treetops at the flash of blue wings. Twinkly’s eyes are very poor, though his ears are so sharp and his nose sharper. He could hear the squeak of a wood mouse a long way off, and he could tell just by sniffing whether or not he would find those delicious sour-tasting ants underneath a fallen log. “How do you find the hunting these days?” asked Tattletale politely. “Oh, nothing extra—nothing extra at all,” grumbled Twinkly Eyes. “Haven’t had much of anything but roots and frogs so far this spring. Blueberries aren’t ripe yet, there won’t be any nuts till fall, to say nothing of green corn. And a bear of my size can’t make much of a living off of grubs and mice, of course. I do wish I could find a bee tree!” “I don’t suppose, now,” ventured the Jay, “that you’d be interested in a nest of young squirrels?” “Try me—just try me once!” chuckled the little bear. “All right; see that old oak?” directed Tattletale, flying on ahead. [Illustration: [Bear]] XV THERE’S MANY A SLIP Fortunately for most of us, there is many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip, which only means that many a plan is laid that doesn’t pan out just as it was expected to. It was so in the case of Twinkly Eyes, the little Black Bear. It was lucky for him and it was lucky for Shadow Tail, the Red Squirrel, and it was lucky for Tattletale, the Jay. For if Tattletale had really been the means of leading the little Bear to Mother Red Squirrel’s nest, she’d never have forgiven Tattletale, but surely would have gone back and broken the rest of the eggs on which he had left Mrs. Jay sitting so patiently. And if Twinkly Eyes had really caught the squirrel babies, as he wanted to, he’d have made such an enemy of every squirrel in all the woods around that he’d never have known peace again. For they’d have followed through the treetops, everywhere he went, scolding him and warning the mice and frogs and snakes to beware of his coming. But there was one thing Tattletale the Jay had not stopped to consider when he led Twinkly Eyes to the tree in which Mother Red Squirrel had located. He didn’t stop to realize that the squirrel babies were far too clever to be caught napping. No sooner did Shadow Tail and his brothers hear Twinkly’s great claws scrambling up the tree trunk than they promptly leaped into another tree, and the bear had his climb for his trouble. Sliding down the trunk like a bag of meal, he tried the next tree, on the Jay’s advice, but with the same success. The little squirrels raced from branch to branch around him, hurling taunts and laughter at him, till he really began to be angry. But it was Mr. Jay he was angry with! “See here,” he grumbled, “I do believe you have just been playing a prank on me!” “Oh, no, I assure you,” began Tattletale, flying down beside the bear.