Little Bear
by Else Holmelund Minarik
What Will Little Bear Wear?
It is cold. See the snow? See the snow come down?
Little Bear said, “Mother Bear, I am cold. See the snow? I want something to put on.”
So Mother Bear made something for Little Bear.
“See, Little Bear,” she said, “I have something, something for my little bear. Here it is. Put it on your head.”
“Oh,” said Little Bear, “it is a hat. Hooray! Now I am not cold.”
Little Bear went out to play.
Here is Little Bear.
“Oh,” said Mother Bear, “do you want something?”
“I am cold,” said Little Bear, “I want something to put on.”
So Mother Bear made something for Little Bear.
“See, Little Bear,” she said, “I have something, something for my little bear. Put it on.”
“Oh,” said Little Bear, “it is a coat. Hooray! Now I am not cold.”
Little Bear went out to play.
Here is Little Bear again.
“Oh,” said Mother Bear, “do you want something?”
“I am cold,” said Little Bear. “I want something to put on.”
So Mother Bear made something again for Little Bear.
“See, Little Bear,” she said, “here is something, something for my little bear. Now you cannot be cold. Put it on.”
“Oh,” said Little Bear, “it is snow pants. Hooray! Now I am not cold.”
Little Bear went out to play.
Here is Little Bear again.
“Oh,” said Mother Bear, “what can you want now?”
“I am cold,” said Little Bear. “I want something to put on.”
“My little bear,” said Mother Bear, “you have a hat, you have a coat, you have snow pants. Do you want a fur coat, too?”
“Yes,” said Little Bear, “I want a fur coat, too.”
Mother Bear took the hat, the coat, and the snow pants.
“See?” said Mother Bear. “There is the fur coat.”
“Hooray!” said Little Bear. “Here is my fur coat. Now I am not cold.”
And he was not cold.
Little Bear made a picture of a monster.
“This picture makes me happy,” he said.
Hen came to visit.
“Hello, Hen,” said Little Bear. “Look, this picture is for my Grandmother. Will you take it to her, Hen?”
“Yes, I will,” said Hen.
Grandmother loved the picture. She was very happy.
“This kiss is for Little Bear,” she said. “Will you take it to him, Hen?”
“Yes, I will,” said Hen.
So Grandmother Bear gave Hen a kiss.
Then Hen saw some friends. She stopped to chat.
“Hello, Frog. I have a kiss for Little Bear. It is from his Grandmother. Will you take it to him, Frog?”
“OK,” said Frog. “I will.”
But then Frog saw a pond. He stopped to swim.
“Hi, Cat. I have a kiss for Little Bear. It is from his Grandmother. Will you take it to him?”
“OK,” said Cat. “I will.” He came and got the kiss for Little Bear.
Then Cat saw a nice place to sleep.
“Little Skunk,” said Cat, “I have a kiss for Little Bear. It is from his Grandmother. Will you take it to him?”
“OK,” said Skunk. “I will.”
But then he saw another little skunk. She was very pretty.
He gave the kiss to her. And she gave it back. And he gave it back again.
But then Hen came. “This was Little Bear’s kiss from his Grandmother! And where is it now? Who has his kiss?”
Little Skunk had it. He gave it back to Hen.
Hen ran to Little Bear. She gave him the kiss.
“It is from your Grandmother,” Hen said. “It is for the picture you sent her.”
“Take one kiss back to her then,” said Little Bear.
“No,” said Hen. “Too much kissing!”
And the skunks soon got married. They had a lovely wedding. Everyone came.
Little Bear Goes to the Moon
“I have a new space helmet. I am going to the moon,” said Little Bear to Mother Bear.
“How?” asked Mother Bear.
“I’m going to fly to the moon,” said Little Bear.
“Fly!” said Mother Bear. “You can’t fly.”
“Birds fly,” said Little Bear.
“Oh, yes,” said Mother Bear. “Birds fly, but they don’t fly to the moon. And you are not a bird.”
“Maybe some birds fly to the moon, I don’t know. And maybe I can fly like a bird,” said Little Bear.
“And maybe,” said Mother Bear, “you are a fat little bear with no wings and no feathers. Maybe if you jump up you will come down very fast.”
“Maybe,” said Little Bear. “But I’m going now. Just look for me in the sky.”
“Be back for lunch!” said Mother Bear.
Little Bear thought: “I will jump from a high spot, up into the sky, and fly up, up, up. I will be flying too fast to look at things, so I will shut my eyes.”
So Little Bear climbed to the top of a little hill, and climbed to the top of a little tree, a very little tree on the little hill, and shut his eyes and jumped.
Down, down he came, and down the hill he rolled.
Then he sat up and looked around. “My goodness!” he said. “Here I am on the moon.”
“The moon looks just like the earth. Well, well,” said Little Bear. “The trees here look just like our trees. The birds look just like our birds. And look at this! Here is a house that looks just like my house. I will go in and see what kind of bears live there.”
Little Bear went into the house.
“Look at that,” he said. “Something to eat is on the table. It looks like a good lunch for a little bear.”
Mother Bear came in and said, “But who is this? Are you a bear from Earth?”
“Oh, yes, I am!” said Little Bear. “I climbed a little hill, and jumped from a little tree, and flew here, just like the birds.”
“Well,” said Mother Bear. “My Little Bear did the same thing. He put on his space helmet and flew to Earth. So I think you can have his lunch.”
Little Bear put his arms around Mother Bear.
He said, “Mother Bear, stop fooling. You are my Mother Bear, and I am your Little Bear, and we are on Earth, and you know it. Now may I eat my lunch?”
“Yes,” said Mother Bear, “and then you will have your nap. You are my little bear, and I know it.”
“Mother Bear, Mother Bear, where are you?” called Little Bear.
“Oh, dear, Mother Bear is not here, and today is my birthday. I think my friends will come, but I do not see a birthday cake. My goodness – no birthday cake! What can I do? The pot is by the fire. The water in the pot is hot. If I put something in the water, I can make Birthday Soup. All my friends like soup. Let me see what we have. We have carrots and potatoes, peas and tomatoes. I can make soup with carrots, potatoes, peas and tomatoes!”
So Little Bear began to make soup in the big black pot.
First, Hen came in.
“Happy Birthday, Little Bear,” she said.
“Thank you, Hen,” said Little Bear.
Hen said, “My goodness! Something smells good here. Is it in the big black pot?”
“Yes,” said Little Bear, “I am making Birthday Soup. Will you stay and have some?”
“Oh, yes, thank you,” said Hen. And she sat down to wait.
Next, Duck came in.
“Happy Birthday, Little Bear,” said Duck. “My goodness! Something smells good here. Is it in the big black pot?”
