THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR

Southland Times, Issue 23793, 15 April 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR

By

HELEN A. MONSELI

One early morning in June Paddy Bear and his mother were picking berries. It was hot - work, and Paddy couldn’t help thinking how much more fun it would be to be playing with Betty. Squirrel down by the brook. “I wish I could do just what I wanted to for a whole day, once, ’ he grumbled to his mother.

. Mother Bear picked up her huge pail and started for the blue-black cave. “Well,” she said, “maybe we might fix it so you could."

“Really?” cried Paddy Bear. “Wouldn’t that be fun? Oh, mother, I know! To-morrow is the longest day in the year. Our calendar says so. Please, please let me do just what I want to all day that day." “All right,” said Mother Bear, "but you had better decide beforehand exactly what you want to do, so that when the longest day comes, you won’t waste any time.” “That’s a good idea,” said Paddy. “I expect maybe I had better practise first don’t you?” All that morning he played his favourite games, trying to decide which he would rather play when the longest day came. He rubbed the skin off his paws, through climbing trees, and when he played ball with his pine cones, one of them bounced back and hit him In the eye. He started to go wading in the brook, but stubbed his toe on a sharp rock, and hurt hjmself badly. By lunch .!me, he was tired and cross.

Just then Mother Bear called him. She seemed very pleased about something, and had quite forgotten he was practising what he should do the next day. “Look, Paddy,” she said. “You know how, when Daddy Bear comes home at night all tired out, he often wishes he had a little den just big enough for him to crawl into, so that he could rest for a while. Well, do you know, since the last rain the wall on this side of the cave has become so soft that I believe you and I could dig him out a little den ourselves. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Oh, my, me!” cried Paddy Bear. “Let’s start in right now. Won’t daddy be surprised and pleased?”' They worked very, very hard, but the wall wasn’t quite as soft as they thought it would be, so that, before they were even half through, it was time for daddy to come home. Mamma Bear stopped digging, and began to shake the earth from her claws.

“It is the finest surprise 1 ever had in my life,” he told'Paddy and Mamma Bear. All three of them crawled into the den together just to see how comfortable the nice soft bed of pine boughs really felt. “And just to think,” said Daddy Bear, “that you two have been working hard like this for me all day on the longest day of the year.” “Why,” cried Paddy Bear, “it hasn't seemed like a long day at all. Yesterday felt awfully long while I was playing, and when I was just lying around doing nothing, it was worse still. But to-day, I’ve just had the best time, the very best time I ever had. Isn’t that funny?”

“We’ll have to stop now," she told Paddy, “but we’ll pile some branches in front of the hole we’ve made, so that he won’t see it at all." “And then we can finish tomorrow,” said Paddy. “Oh, no,” answered Mamma Bear, "because to-morrow is the longest day in the year, and you are going to do just what you want to all day.” “But, why, this is just what I want to do!” cried Paddy. "Please, please, mother, let’s go right on with

it. I don’t want to wait till the day after to-morrow.” . So all through the longest day in the year, Paddy worked with his mother, digging the den for Daddy Bear. After they had made it big enough, they carried all the earth away which they had dug out. Then they cut down pine boughs out in the woods and lined the little den with them so that there would be a nice soft bed for Daddy Bear to lie on. The sun was going down behind the trees by the time everything was finished, and Mother Bear just had time to wash her paws and get a clean apron on by the time Daddy near got home, after a long and hard day’s work. . “Now close your eyes, And you’ll get a surprise!” -

Paddy Bear sang to his daddy. Daddy Bear closed his eyes tight just as he was told, for he thought that something nice was about to happen; and Paddy took him by the paw and led him until he stood right in front of the new den. “Open your eyes!” cried Paddy, and when daddy opened his eyes, he was just the most surprised bear on that whole mountain! Yes, he was.