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[Pg 179] <h2>The Badger's School,</h2> <h4>or</h4> <h4>The Adventures of a Bear Family.</h4> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER I.</h3> In the very heart of a great forest in Sweden lived a Bear family, called "Bjornson." They were much respected throughout the whole neighbourhood, for they were kind and hospitable to everyone; and as their home was in such an unfrequented part of the country they were able often to give entertainments which it was quite safe to attend without fear of Foresters or other human inconveniences. Their house was built of large stones, neatly roofed with pine branches, and was reached by a winding path through the rocks, the entrance to which had become covered by a dense thicket of bushes. A small wire had been cunningly arranged by the Bear-father, so that in the event of any stranger entering the door a bell would be rung in the Bear-kitchen; but so far the household had fortunately never been alarmed by this contrivance.[Pg 180] The two Bjornson children, Knut and Otto, led a very happy life in the forest. Whenever they liked they could bring some of their young companions home from the School-house in the evening; and then the Bear-mother would seat herself on a tree-stump and play tunes for them to dance to—for Fru Bjornson was highly educated, and had learnt the concertina in all its branches. <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/image205.png" width-obs="313" height-obs="400" alt=""THE BEAR-MOTHER HAD LEARNT THE CONCERTINA IN ALL ITS BRANCHES"" title=""THE BEAR-MOTHER HAD LEARNT THE CONCERTINA IN ALL ITS BRANCHES"" /> "THE BEAR-MOTHER HAD LEARNT THE CONCERTINA IN ALL ITS BRANCHES"</div> This of course was all very delightful: but every morning Knut and Otto were obliged to start off at daybreak with their books and satchels for the forest School, and there a time of trouble usually awaited them. It was kept by an old Badger of very uncertain temper, and all his pupils stood in great awe of the birch rod which lay in a conspicuous place upon his writing-table. "It's all very well for the Hedgehogs," the scholars often grumbled to each other. "Of course they can do just what they like, as they happen to be covered all over with quills—but for us it's a very different affair!" Certainly strict discipline was maintained by the Badger during School time. His eyes seemed to be upon everyone at once, and it was vain to try and crack nuts, draw caricatures, or eat peppermint lozenges—the rod would come down immediately with a thump! and the offender, as he stood in a corner of the room with a fool's cap on, had time to fully realize the foolishness of his own behaviour. Forest History and Arithmetic were the Badger's two favourite studies, and each pupil was expected to know the[Pg 181] Multiplication Table upside-down, and to be able to give the date of any event in Bear-history, without a moment's hesitation. It was perhaps not to be wondered at that the scholars were glad when playtime arrived, and that they rushed home helter-skelter, with shouts of joy, the moment the School-house door was thrown open. Many practical jokes had been tried upon the old Schoolmaster, and the offenders had invariably been severely punished, but one day in early autumn Knut and Otto, as they walked home with their friends, suggested a plan which would sweep away at one blow a great part of the misery of their School life. "You know the great History and Arithmetic books that Herr Badger always keeps on the desk in front of him?" said Knut. "We'll scoop out the insides and fill them with fireworks. Then directly he comes into School, we'll let them off. What an explosion there'll be! He will be frightened! No more sums and dates after that. Hurrah! Hurrah!" The scholars jumped about with delight when they heard the young Bears' idea, and eagerly agreed to join in the mischief. Their mothers were quite surprised the next morning to see with what alacrity they all started for School—half-an-hour earlier than their usual custom—and Fru Bjornson remarked to her old servant that "she really believed the[Pg 182] children were beginning to take an interest in their studies at last!" The old Badger had not yet finished breakfast in his cottage by the School-house; so his pupils were able to enter the School-room unobserved, and had soon carried out their simple arrangements. An oiled string was attached, winding up the leg of the table to the fireworks; and the end was to be lighted by Knut the moment Herr Badger had seated himself. Everything being completed, the scholars seized their books; and when their master appeared in the doorway, murmured a respectful greeting, to which he responded by a stately bow. "Your slates, pupils. We will commence as usual with a few easy sums." A subdued groan broke from the scholars; and Knut—stooping down under pretence of tying up his shoe—applied a match to the string, while his companions shuffled as loudly as possible, to hide the sound of the striking. "Silence, if you please!" shouted the Badger. "Have you come to school to dance the polka? Attend to this little problem immediately, and mind it is correctly answered. If 10,000 Bears and a Pole-cat, ran round a tree 1,500 times and a half, in an hour and ten minutes; each knocking off one leaf and three-quarters every time he ran round—how many leaves would be knocked off in a fortnight?" "They couldn't do it," muttered a hedgehog derisively.[Pg 183] "There wouldn't be room for a quarter of them!" "Make haste! Make haste!" cried the Badger, rapping his desk; but just at that moment, whirr! whizz! bang! The books flew open with a loud report, and out sprang the crackers, and began to fizz and bound about the table. Herr Badger's black skull cap tumbled off, and he fell backwards in his astonishment, shouting for help; while the whole school darted away through the open door into the woods, in a state of the wildest delight and excitement. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER II.</h3> Fru Bjornson was busily employed in her kitchen, stirring up some liquid in a large saucepan. It was cranberry jam for the winter, and on the floor stood a long row of brown jars into which it was to be poured when the boiling was thoroughly completed. The servant, a little thin light-brown Bear, in a large apron, waited close by, ready to poke the fire, or give any other assistance that was required of her. In the salon, Herr Bjornson, with a pucker on his forehead, was adding up his Bee accounts—for he kept a number of hives in the garden and fields belonging to him. Suddenly the alarm bell sounded loudly, and in rushed the Bear-mother, with the jam-ladle in her hand, her hair almost erect with terror.[Pg 184] "They have found us at last! What shall we do? Where shall we fly to?" she cried distractedly. "Into the ice-cellar," cried Herr Bjornson, "come, Ingold. Everyone follow me!" and he threw his papers down on the ground and ran out at the back door. Fortunately the ice-cellar was near the house, and the frightened family were soon safely in its shelter. By opening a crack in the small trap-door, which was level with the ground, they were able to see all that went on in the garden; and the steps afforded them a place to sit down upon, without touching the great blocks of ice that looked white and ghostly as the thin streak of daylight struggled in upon them. "Is anyone coming?" whispered the Bear-mother nervously. "I can't see anything moving," growled Herr Bjornson. "Keep back, Mother. I can't help treading upon you. Dear me! How cramped we are here!" "It's terribly cold," said the Bear-mother shivering. "I can feel myself freezing in every hair." "Wrap your shawl round you, and stamp about a little." Fru Bjornson attempted to carry out the directions, but the space was so small there was scarcely room to move in it. The air seemed to get colder and colder; Ingold's fur turned frost-white, and she twined her apron round her head to prevent herself from being frost-bitten.[Pg 185] "Oh, this is awful," quaked the Bear-mother. "We shall all die or be turned into icicles if we can't get out before long!" The Bear-father had put up his coat-collar and tied his bandanna pocket-handkerchief over his ears. His hair was also covered with white crystals, and he was seized with an attack of coughing which obliged him to borrow the Bear-mother's shawl to bury his head in, so that the sound might not be heard outside. "This is painful in the extreme," he said in a choked voice as he emerged gasping. "A cough lozenge at this moment might be the saving of us!" "What shall we do if the enemy hears us!" cried Fru Bjornson. "Here! I have just found a peppermint-drop in my pocket. Let us divide it into three. It may be some slight assistance." They soon discovered, however, that lozenges were utterly powerless to keep out that biting air, and the Bear-mother seated herself resignedly on an ice-block. "It's no good struggling against fate," she murmured. "We shall be found by the children, I suppose. You'd better keep your arms down straight, father; and freeze as narrow as possible. Then they will be able to get you out of the opening without much difficulty. It seems hard to think they will never know the true facts of the case," she continued mournfully. "Our epitaph will probably be 'Sat down carelessly in an Ice-house!'"[Pg 186] "Don't despair, Mother," cried Herr Bjornson, who had one eye anxiously applied to the crack in the trap-door. "I see the back gate opening. In another minute we shall know the worst—Hi! What! Well, I never! Who do you think it is, Mother? Why, the Schoolmaster!" Herr Badger indeed it was, who had come off in a great hurry to complain of the disgraceful behaviour of his pupils, and being very excited had inadvertently trodden on the wire of the alarm bell as he entered the private grounds of the Bear-family. He seemed a little surprised as the strange procession suddenly rose up out of the ground in front of him, but without making any enquiries as to what they had been doing there, he plunged at once into the history of his wrongs. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER III.</h3> All day the Badger's scholars enjoyed themselves in the forest. They played leap-frog, ran races, bathed in the river, had lunch in a shady hollow, and picked more cranberries than they knew what to do with; but as evening came on, they began to wonder a little anxiously whether the Schoolmaster would already have been round to their parents to complain of their behaviour; and when Knut and Otto entered their own door in the bushes, their knees were shaking under them, and it occurred to them[Pg 187] that perhaps the fireworks hadn't been quite so amusing as they expected, after all! They were met by Herr Bjornson with a gloomy frown. There was no doubt that Herr Badger had told him everything, and the little Bears waited tremblingly for what was to happen next. "What is this that I hear?" commenced the Father-bear angrily. "Your respected Master ill-treated in his own School-house. Thrown violently upon the ground, with crackers exploding round him for several hours! What have you to say for yourselves?" "Please, father, we didn't mean to hurt him," began Knut in a piping voice; "It was only to get rid of the books. We won't do it again!" "I should think not, indeed," said Herr Bjornson. "I shall punish you myself severely to-morrow, after School time, and Herr Badger is going to give you two hours' extra Arithmetic every day for a fortnight." Knut and Otto crept off miserably into the garden, and that evening there was no dancing, and the Bear-mother's concertina was silent. Before it was daylight next morning, Knut had awakened Otto. They had determined the night before that they would never return to Herr Badger's rule, and the matter of the extra Arithmetic had settled their determination. They started with their cloaks, and with lunch in their[Pg 188] satchels, as if going to School—leaving a note for their mother upon the kitchen dresser. This letter was written with the stump of a lead pencil, and ran as follows:— <div class="blockquot">"To the well-born Fru Bjornson. "We cant keep at ilt any mor. We want to be inderpendent, and the sums are 2 mutch. We sik our fortones, and return wen we ar rich. "Knut. Otto." </div> As soon as they reached the forest, the two little Bears ran forward as quickly as they could towards the river. They intended to take any canoe they found by the shore, and row themselves over to the opposite side. They did not know exactly what they should do when they got there; but anyhow, they would be safe from punishment when they were once over. As they went along they kept as much as possible behind the underwood, though it was so early it was scarcely likely that any of the charcoal-burners or fishermen would be stirring. After some search they discovered a small canoe drawn up under the bushes, and untying it without much difficulty, they got in, and Knut paddled actively out into the strong current. "This is independence!" cried Otto, arranging the knapsacks and cloaks in the bow of the boat, and taking up the[Pg 189] steering-paddle. "What would Herr Badger say if he could see us now?"—and he chuckled. All day they drifted down the river—watching the salmon dart about the boulders, and the trout leap in the curling eddies. It was so silent in the great forest, with the pine trees growing close to the edge of the water, that at last the little Bears' high spirits began to fail them; and as the evening came on their laughter ceased, and they sat quietly in the canoe, steering their way between the great rocks without speaking. "How strong the current is here," muttered Otto at last. "I can scarcely keep the boat straight!" "Well, let's land and find some place to sleep in," cried Knut—but this was more easily said than done. The moment they tried to turn the canoe in towards the shore, it began to whirl round and round; and finally striking against a stone, it upset the two little Bears into the middle of the foaming river. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3> Fortunately Knut and Otto were good swimmers, and they were able after some struggling to scramble to the shore; but they found to their great annoyance that they had landed on the same side as that from which they had started.[Pg 190] Their canoe was whirling rapidly away down the rapids, and it was useless to think of recovering it; so the two little Bears proceeded to dry their clothes as well as they could, and then looked about to see if they could find a comfortable place to sleep in. A large hollow tree stood close to the edge of the river, and into this they climbed, and being very tired they were soon fast asleep. They were awakened by voices. "It's men!" whispered Otto, clutching Knut's arm in terror. "Oh, why did we ever run away! They'll be sure to find us!" "Be quiet, Otto," muttered Knut. "Do you want them to hear? Lie still, and I'll think of some way to escape." "Are you sure this is the right tree?" said a man's voice. "Don't you see the mark?" asked another. "The Forester put it on himself; though it's rather high up. You'd better begin work at once, or you'll not get through with it before he comes round again." This was awful. Otto trembled so that he could hear his own teeth chattering; but Knut kept his presence of mind, and poking his brother warningly, said in a hoarse whisper, "Wait till I give the signal, and then jump out after me as high in the air as you can. Follow me till I tell you to stop." An echoing blow resounded against the tree trunk, which made Knut fly up like a sky-rocket.[Pg 191] "Now!" he cried, and bounding on to the edge of the opening, he jumped right over the heads of the woodmen into the tangled bushes, followed by Otto, and away they raced through the forest, before the astonished men could recover themselves. "What in the world was that?" cried the wood-cutters, rubbing their eyes and blinking; but no one had been able to see more than two flying brown balls, and after hunting about in vain, they decided it must have been a couple of gigantic owls. Only one thing did they find in the hollow tree, and that certainly puzzled them—a small piece of crumpled paper, on which was sketched a life-like picture of a Badger with a fool's cap on his head; underneath, written in cramped letters— "How would you like it?" After running for about half an hour, Knut sank down panting on a juniper bush, while Otto rolled upon the moss thoroughly exhausted. "Arithmetic was better than this!" he panted dismally, fanning himself with a large fern leaf. "History was better—anything was better!" "Well, we're quite safe here for the present," replied Knut, "so don't worry yourself any more. I'm so tired I can't keep awake, and I'm sure you can't." And, indeed, in spite of their fright, in a few minutes both the little Bears were sound asleep again.[Pg 192] When they next opened their eyes, the sun was glinting through the pine trees; and looking down on them benignly, stood a Fox in travelling dress, with a soft felt hat upon his head. He smiled graciously upon Knut, and beckoned him to come out of the juniper bushes. "Ha! ha! my good gentlemen, you are taking a comfortable rest in a very secluded spot, but you can't escape my observation!" he cried cheerfully. "Are you on your way to some foreign Court—or perhaps you are couriers with State secrets?" The two little Bears, feeling very flattered, sat up and straightened their tunics. "The truth is, we are seeking our fortunes," said Knut with dignity. "Oh, nothing easier," replied the Fox. "You come with me. Such hearty, well-grown young Bears will find no difficulty in getting excellent situations. I can almost promise you each a large income if you implicitly follow my directions." "Where should we go to, then?" asked Knut cautiously. "To a dear friend of mine, who employs an immense number of workmen," said the Fox easily. "I will just let you see who I am before we proceed further," and he drew a case from his pocket, and taking out a card, presented it to the little Bears with a low bow.[Pg 193] "Just as if we were grown up!" whispered Otto. "Oh, Knut, how different this is to Herr Badger!" On the card, printed in elegant copper-plate, was the following— "Herr Kreutzen, Under-Secretary (and Working Member) of the Society for promoting the welfare of Farmers." Knut looked at Herr Kreutzen respectfully. "If you'll be so kind as to show us the way, we'll follow you at once," he said. "If we could get a little breakfast on the way, we should be glad; for we have lost our satchels, and berries are not very satisfying." "Come along, then!" said the Fox briskly; and seizing the two little Bears by the paw, he dragged them into the heart of the forest at a rapid pace. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER V.</h3> On the day after his visit to the Bjornson family, Herr Badger, feeling very dull, sat alone in the cottage by the School-house. Every one of his pupils had deserted him; for not only had the two little Bears run away, but all their companions had also played truant; and the whole of that part of the forest was filled with parents anxiously searching for their missing children—like a gigantic game of hide-and-seek. Herr Badger called to his housekeeper to bring him the[Pg 194] black-board, a couple of globes, and the book of conic-sections, and for some hours he amused himself happily; but at the end of that time he began to experience an almost irresistible desire to teach something. "If I can't get anyone else, I'll call Brita," he said to himself. "I can just ask her a few easy questions suited to her limited intellect." The housekeeper came in, curtsying respectfully, and seated herself at the table, as she was bidden. "I must imagine I have given up school, and taken to private pupils," the Badger said to himself. "I hope she won't exasperate me, and make me lose my temper! Now take this slate," he continued aloud, "and try and do one of these simple sums. You'll soon get used to them— "If five onions were to be boiled in six saucepans, how would you divide the onions so that there would be exactly the same quantity in each pan?" "Chop them up," replied the housekeeper promptly. The Badger glared. "You're not attending. I said, 'How would you divide them!'" "You might mince them very fine, or pound them in a mortar," replied the housekeeper anxiously. "I don't know of no other way of doing it." "Work it out on the slate, creature!—on the slate!" cried Herr Badger, thumping the table with his long ruler. "I'd rather do it on a dish, sir," said the housekeeper, trembling. "It's more what I'm accustomed to."[Pg 195] Herr Badger started up in a fury. "You call yourself a private pupil?" he shouted (quite forgetting that the housekeeper had never called herself anything of the kind). "Go back to the kitchen immediately." "I could bring you the Mole who blacks the boots, if he'd be any good," said the housekeeper humbly. "I know I'm very ignorant, but the Mole tells me he's been attending day school for years, and he reads recipes out of the cookery-book quite beautiful." "Don't speak to me of Moles!" said the Badger crossly. "I shall take no more private pupils—they're not worth it." And he walked over to the black-board, and began to draw diagrams. "What's the good of diagrams, without a class to explain them to?" he muttered. "I declare I believe I was too hard on those children. We can't be all equally gifted. It wouldn't be a bad idea if I went out as one of the search parties. I declare I will!" he continued, his face brightening, "and I'll make every creature I find promise to come back to school again. I must make up a class somehow, or I shall die of monotony." He took down his old felt hat with the ear-flaps, and putting some food in a knapsack, and choosing a stout walking-stick, he flung a green cloak over his shoulders, and let himself out into the forest.[Pg 196] <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER VI.</h3> The Fox took the two little Bears on so quickly, that they soon began to feel both cross and tired. To their anxious enquiries as to where they were going, and whether they could not soon have some breakfast, Herr Kreutzen answered vaguely that they would very soon reach their destination, and should have as much breakfast as they could possibly care for. "My friends are kind worthy people, and you'll find every sort of luxury," he said, smiling benignly. "We seem to be coming near a town," whispered Knut to Otto. "I don't quite like this!" and he tried to pull his paw away from the good "Secretary of the Society for promoting the welfare of Farmers." "Come along, my dear child. We are almost there," cried the Fox. "I am just going to tie you both up to this tree for a minute—merely to be sure you are quite safe and happy in my absence—and I shall return with my kind friend, in no time!" Herr Kreutzen took some string from his pocket as he spoke, and the two little Bears—who saw there was no use in struggling—submitted to be fastened together to a fir tree. As soon as the Fox had disappeared, Otto burst into a loud roar of terror. "Oh, he's going to do something dreadful, I know he is! We shall never, never get away again!"[Pg 197] "It's no good making that noise," said Knut, angrily. "Leave off, Otto, and let me think." "You may think for ever," wailed Otto, "and unless you've got a pocket knife you won't get these knots undone!" and he began to cry again with renewed vigour. "Why, whatever is the matter?" said a friendly voice close by. The little Bears looked round eagerly, and saw that an elderly Badger was approaching. He was evidently a woodcutter, for he had a large axe in his hand, and the three young Badgers who followed him were carrying neatly-tied bundles of sticks. Knut stretched out his paw beseechingly. "Please cut the string! Oh, please, Herr Badger, make haste, and let us get free. Herr Kreutzen will be back in a minute, and then there'll be no hope for us!" "So this is some of his work!" said the Badger angrily. "I declare that creature is a plague to the whole forest!" With two blows of his axe he cut the strings that bound the little Bears; and ordering them to follow him to a place of safety, he darted through the bushes with his children, and never stopped until they came out into a secluded valley, at the end of which, in a small clearing, stood a hut built of pine logs. Before the door sat the Badger-mother with some plain sewing, while five of the young Badger-children played about on the grass in front of her.[Pg 198] "You're home early to-day, father," she said cheerfully, and added, as she caught sight of the little Bears—"Why, wherever did you pick up these strangers, father?" The Badger described the unpleasant position in which he had found them; and the whole family gathering round, Knut related their adventures truthfully from the very beginning. "I'll tell you where the Fox was taking you, my children," said the Badger-mother; "There's a Wild Beast Show in the town at this present moment, and Herr Kreutzen has already enticed two or three animals into it. He is well paid by the showman, and would have made a good thing out of you, because you could have been taught to dance. Oh, what a miserable fate you have escaped from!" Knut and Otto looked thoroughly ashamed of themselves, and began to realize what their foolishness might have led them into. However, no one could be miserable for long at a time in the Badger family; they were all so happy and light-hearted—so after a good dinner, the two little Bears ran out into the garden, and forgot their troubles in a romp with the children. "You did not know your old schoolmaster was a cousin of ours?" remarked the Badger-mother, as they rested, later on, under a shady fir tree. "He really is a worthy creature at heart, and you ought all to try and put up with him as much as possible."[Pg 199] "We really will," cried the two little Bears heartily. "If ever we get back again, we really will!" and they thoroughly intended to keep their promises. "I think this evening you should start for home before it grows dusk," said the Badger-mother. "Father will see you well on your way, and your parents must be longing to hear of you. Come into the house now, and I will make you look respectable." Knut and Otto were all obedience, and followed the Badger-mother meekly to the kitchen. Here she took down two large scrubbing-brushes, and proceeded to give them a thorough tidying. Then their faces were soaped, and finally two of the young Badgers' caps were placed upon their heads—for their own had fallen off when they were upset into the river. The elastics were very tight under their chins, but they refrained from saying anything—and this showed how complete was their reformation! Just as all the preparations were completed, there came a loud knock at the door; and the Schoolmaster himself appeared, his clothes torn, one flap off his hat, a bandage covering his right eye, leading in a little crowd of scholars that he had collected with infinite toil from many perilous positions. There were two Hedgehogs, a young Fox, five Badgers, a Mole, and a tame Guinea-pig. All of them were more or less scratched, and dismal looking; and some had evidently[Pg 200] been in the water, for their clothes were still dripping, and hung round them in the most uncomfortable manner. "What! you here, after all! Well, this is a happy meeting!" cried Herr Badger, embracing the little Bears warmly. "I wasn't going home till I'd found you—and here you are. A most fortunate coincidence!" "Sit down, sit down, cousin," said the Badger-mother hospitably. "Bring in the pupils, and let them dry their hair before the fire—they seem in a sad state, poor things!" "They certainly do look a little untidy," said the Badger, "but we shall soon remedy all that. I have been explaining to the class (at least to as much as I've got of it)," he continued, turning to Knut, "that the plan of the School is to be entirely reformed—ten minutes' Arithmetic per day, and History once weekly. What do you say to that, children?" A feeble cheer arose from the pupils; and the two little Bears, throwing themselves upon their knees, begged their Master's pardon for all the trouble they had caused him. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3>CHAPTER VII.</h3> Fru Bjornson, seated on a camp-stool by the side of the entrance gate to her house, was looking anxiously around her. Close by stood Ingold, with one eye tightly screwed up, and an old-fashioned telescope in her hand, trying in vain to adjust the focus.[Pg 201] "What do you see now?" enquired the Bear-mother, leaning forward. "A great fog with snakes in it!" replied the servant truthfully. "Why, those are trees, of course!" said Fru Bjornson. "Turn the screw a little more, and it will become as plain as possible." Ingold twisted her hand several times rapidly, and again applied her eye to the end. "It doesn't seem like snakes now, does it?" asked the Bear-mother triumphantly. "Oh, no! It's turned to milk with green splashes in it," said Ingold. "You don't see anything of my darling children, then?" enquired Fru Bjornson. "Nothing at all, ma'am," said Ingold. "A telescope may be a wonderful thing for those who haven't any eyes, but really I think I see better without it." At this moment, through the trees, an extraordinary procession came in sight; which caused the Bear-mother to jump up from her seat with a cry of joy. Herr Badger, with his cloak thrown over one shoulder, leading Knut and Otto by the hand; and behind them the rest of the pupils in single file—depressed and gloomy, but resigned to whatever Fate might have in store for them. Fru Bjornson ran forward, and clasped her children in her arms.[Pg 202] It was a happy meeting; and as she thought the Schoolmaster would already have gone through all the scolding that was necessary, she refrained from adding a word more. "I've got the class together, ma'am," said Herr Badger triumphantly, "and I'm never going to let it go again! The new School system commences from to-morrow!" <hr style='width: 45%;' /> All the parents agreed that the children had been sufficiently punished during their wanderings in the forest, and they were therefore allowed to return to their homes, without anything more being said on the subject. The next morning the scholars assembled at the School-house in excellent time; but most of them unfortunately, having lost their satchels, were obliged to carry their books and luncheon, wrapped up in untidy brown paper parcels—which was certainly very mortifying. "My dear pupils," commenced Herr Badger, as he entered the room and bowed graciously, "on this auspicious occasion, I wish to call the Arithmetic class for ten minutes only. We will begin, if you please, with 'twice one'—repeating it three times over without a failure!" <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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