Transcriber's Notes: Obvious punctuation errors and misprints have been corrected. Blank pages present in the printed original have been deleted in the e-text version. Text in small capitals has been replaced by regular uppercase text whereas text in italics is indicated between _underscores_. * * * * * The Laughing Bear [Illustration] The Laughing Bear And Other Stories _By_ ROBERT B. H. BELL, M. A. [Illustration] NEW YORK ROBERT J. SHORES PUBLISHER Copyright, 1917, ROBERT J. SHORES. DEDICATION. To the children of St. Mark's Church, Seattle, whose interest in these stories, told many years ago, was the inspiration that brought them to life. May they prove to other children the same joy. And so to them this book is lovingly dedicated by The Author. CONTENTS The Laughing Bear Page 15 The Gray Witch Page 34 Mr. Rooster Page 54 The Mid-Earth People Page 61 The Black Hus Page 78 The Leviathan Page 96 The Brown Friar Page 109 The Laughing Bear THE LAUGHING BEAR--or MOUWOU THE DELIVERER. A LONG time ago at Seoul, the capital of Korea (now under the control of Japan), lived a king and queen who had a little daughter called Chonwa. The little princess grew in the sunshine of her parents' love, until she reached the age of eight. Then it was announced that, according to the custom of her country, her betrothal was to be arranged by the state. The mother led her into the beautiful garden and tried to show the perplexed girl why the rules of the court required that a king's child should be married for the sake of the country. So fixed were their minds on this subject, that neither of them noticed a dark, fierce-looking man creeping after them. None but a very bold man would have dared come thus into the king's private grounds. He followed with fierce glances every movement of the innocent pair. When the queen and her child sat down on a bench to watch a turtledove drink at the fountain, the man crawled toward them with a long knife in his teeth. He was almost upon them, when the queen happened to see him. Before she could even cry for help, the ruffian stabbed her twice.