CHAPTER I HUNTING A NAME

 Little Bear cried, "Boo-hoo! Boo-­hoo!"

 

He cried so hard that his tears fell into his bowl of bread and milk.

 

The tears made the milk taste salty!

 

"What is the matter?" asked Papa Bear.

 

Little Bear did not say a word, he only cried, "Boo-hoo!"

 

Mama Bear said: "Every one teases² Little Bear because he has no name."

 

"Why didn't you give him a name?" asked Papa Bear.

 

Mama Bear said: "There were not enough names to go round!"

 

If you could look in and see the whole Bear family at supper, you would not wonder that there were not enough names to go round.

 

There, at the table, sat Mama and Papa Bear and seventeen little bears. They all had bowls of bread and milk for supper. After supper the bears played a game of tag and went to bed.

 

They all went to bed but Little Bear. He sat in his little red rocking­chair.

 

Little Bear was crying softly, "Boo­-hoo!"

 

At last, when the house was still and Papa and Mama Bear had gone to bed, Little Bear crept down-stairs.

 

He opened the door and went hur­rying down the road.

 

What do you suppose Little Bear was going to do?

 

He was going to find a name! Little Bear could read very well and by and by he came to an old sign. The words on the sign were partly rubbed off. There was only one word left. It was the word "fire."

 

"Fire, fire, that is a fine name," said Little Bear, "I will call myself 'Fire'!"

 

Pretty soon he met an old owl¹. The owl said: "What is your name, Little Bear?"

 

"Fire!" shouted Little Bear.

 

"How do you know it is your name?" asked the owl.

 

Little Bear ran on, shouting, "Fire! fire!" and all the animals in the woods awoke, and they came running with buckets of water.

 

They wanted to put out the fire. Little Bear was so surprised that he did not look where he was going, and he ran right into an old bon-fire, and burned his dear little paws.

 

All the Bear family came to help put out the fire.

 

Little Bear went limping³ home.

 

As he hurried along the old owl called: "When you want a good name, come to me; 'Fire' is not a good name.

 

"To-whit, to-whit, to-whoo,

Such a name will never do!"

Little Bear got home at last, and his mother tied up his paws. She put flour on them.

 

"It will help the burn," said Mama Bear.

 

Little Bear did not like to see his paws white, so he licked⁴ off the flour. I will find a new name to-morrow," he said, "but I will not ask the owl to help me."

 

Then Little Bear went to sleep.

 

He had a fine dream. He thought he found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. He thought he tried to carry the pot of gold.

 

"It is heavy," he shouted. 'It is so heavy I cannot carry it!"

 

Little Bear shouted so loud he woke up. All the little Bears woke up.

"What is the matter?" they cried. Little Bear said he had been dream­ing about the pot of gold.

 

Mama Bear came in rubbing her eyes, she was so sleepy.

 

Papa Bear said, "It is too early to get up, go to sleep again."

 

They all went back to bed and fell asleep.

 

Little Bear did not dream this time.

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 teases   

v.取笑，戏弄( tease的第三人称单数 )；梳理（羊毛等）

参考例句：

• My boyfriend's brother is really out of it; he always teases us. 我男友的弟弟很无聊；他总是捉弄我们。 来自辞典例句
• The little boy teases for ice-cream. 小男孩不住地吵着要买冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

3 limping   

一瘸一拐地走( limp的现在分词 )； 困难地航行； 磕磕绊绊； 跛行

参考例句：

• We were off before sunrise, Sandy riding and I limping along behind. 还没出太阳，我们就动身了，桑弟骑马，我一瘸一点的在后边跟着。
• The young surgeon lifted up the limping General, and offered to conduct him to his home. 青年外科医生把瘫软无力的将军扶起来，要送他回家。

4 licked   

舔( lick的过去式和过去分词 )； 打败； （波浪）轻拍； （火焰）吞卷

参考例句：

• He licked his fingers. 他舔了一下自己的手指。
• The flames of the fire licked the sides of the fireplace. 火焰卷烧着壁炉的边缘。