Thirtieth Evening"It was in a little provincial town," the Moon said; "it
certainly happened last year, but that has nothing to do with the
matter. I saw it quite plainly. To-day I read about it in the
papers, but there it was not half so clearly expressed. In the
taproom of the little inn sat the bear leader, eating his supper;
the bear was tied up outside, behind the wood pile—poor Bruin, who
did nobody any harm, though he looked grim enough. Up in the garret
three little children were playing by the light of my beams; the
eldest was perhaps six years old, the youngest certainly not more
than two. 'Tramp, tramp'—somebody was coming upstairs: who might it
be? The door was thrust open—it was Bruin, the great, shaggy Bruin!
He had got tired of waiting down in the courtyard, and h
