BY M. C. McNEILL

Three little bears came into the town.
“How do you do?” said everybody.
Their faces were smiling, with never a frown.
“How sweet!” said everybody.
The three little bears made three little bows.
“How very polite!” said everybody.
They bowed as boys bow in dancing-school.
“What airs and what grace!” said everybody.

One little bear had a little red coat.
“How smart!” said everybody.
One had a tippet all made of soft down.
“How cozy and warm!” said everybody.
And one was a fiddler of great renown.
“What charming music!” said everybody.

The three little bears began then to dance.
“How cute!” said everybody.
“What do you want, you little black bears
With manners so nice?” said everybody.
“I don’t like to be a fool, so I want to go to school,”
Said the red-coated bear to everybody.

Then Tommy Perkins, making a bow,
Right in front of everybody,
Took down his book and his slate as well,
And began to explain to everybody
Just what the little black bears should do
To read and to cipher like everybody.

“Sit up quite straight, and mind your stops;
Say, ‘A, B, C,’ for everybody.”
“A, B, C,” said the three little bears,
All in one voice, to everybody.
“A, B, C! What fiddle-dee-dee!”
Was whispered aloud by everybody.

“I want to count,” said one little bear.
“One! Two! Three! Four!” shouted everybody.
“We’re not at all deaf!” said the three little bears.
“Oh! I beg your pardon!” said everybody.

“We’d like to learn manners,” said the three little bears;
“And we’d like to learn from everybody,
But every one hasn’t fine manners,” they said.
“Some have very bad manners,” said everybody.

“What manners you have may be better than ours,”
Said the three little bears to everybody,
“For we live in the wood—which no manners requires.”
“Then how did you learn?” said everybody.

“For when you came in you were quite as polite
As Tommy Perkins,” said everybody.
“You bowed and you danced, while we all sat entranced,
So sweet were the notes,” said everybody.

“You wanted to learn to say, ‘A, B, C,’
Like good little bears,” said everybody.
“And when we exclaimed, ‘Such fiddle-dee-dee!’
No notice you took,” said everybody.
“And when we all shouted out, ‘One! Two! Three! Four!’
Instead of roaring,” said everybody,
“You gently reminded us all that in school
We must not be noisy,” said everybody.

“If you won’t teach us manners,
We’re going back home,”
Said the three little bears to everybody.
“For after the night falls it won’t do to roam;
So we’ll say our farewells to everybody.”

Then they stood up and bowed, and held out their paws,
And shook hands all round with everybody.

“We’ll dance all the way, for we know how to play,”
Said the three little bears to everybody.
“And with our best compliments we wish you good day.”

“Good day and good luck!” said everybody.