For those in southeastern Michigan, Sunday,
April 26, is the National Day of Puppetry. Come to the Clarkston
Independence District Library for a free workshop at 3:00 p.m. on
"Puppets from Dollar Store Items" with Brad Lowe. Make a puppet and
learn tips
on using this inexpensive addition to storytimes. The Detroit
Puppeteers Guild will hold a brief meeting open to the public after the
workshop. Registration is at https://events.getlocalhop.com/detroit-puppeteers-guild/event/OXSPafBRTz/ .
Puppets are such a great addition to storytelling. I once had a campground that wanted stories about bears. Prowling some of the stories by Arthur Scott Bailey about Cuffy Bear easily turned up many adventures I shared with a puppet bear. Bailey wrote more than forty children's books. Cuffy was Bailey's first book with The Tale of Cuffy Bear and so popular he wound up writing four more about the mischievous bear, but I counted 42 other books about a wide variety of animals and insects. Plenty of facts and adventures can be found in his nature stories for whatever puppet you might have.
Because it's spring I'm going to give the second adventure Cuffy had. Telling it, I would omit the comments about the porcupine and Cuffy's injuries from it. The book I have is battered and obviously well-loved by its first owner. It includes on the cover this illustration about the porcupine.
 |
| (The story said: Cuffy Gave It One Good, Hard Cuff.) |
III
CUFFY AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING
The pricks of the porcupine's quills made Cuffy Bear's paws
so sore that it was several days before he could run about
again. And during all that time Cuffy was a very good little
bear. He did not cuff his sister Silkie once. You see, he knew
it would hurt his sore paws if he did.
The days were still fine. Cuffy loved to feel the bright
sunshine upon his black coat. It warmed him through and through
and he did not care at all if his feet did get wet in
the melting snow.
At last one afternoon when his paws were quite well again
Cuffy strayed some distance down the side of Blue Mountain, He
was alone, because Silkie was asleep. You know, she was younger
than Cuffy and still had to take naps. Cuffy had slid and
tumbled down the mountainside until he was further from home
than he knew. It did seem good to be able to put his paws upon
the ground again without whimpering with pain. And coming to a
short, steep place, Cuffy felt so glad that he actually turned
a somersault and landed in a heap at the foot of the bank. He
sat there for a moment, brushing the soft snow out of his face,
when a flash of light dazzled his eyes. It came from a tree
right in front of him. And Cuffy at once jumped up and ran to
see what it was. He found that some one had fastened a shiny,
new tin bucket to the trunk of the tree.
Cuffy felt that he must have that bucket to play
with. He knew that he could have heaps of fun rolling it about
on the ground. And he was just going to knock it off the hook
that held it when he noticed that a small spout had been driven
into the tree just above the bucket. And as Cuffy stood there
on his hind legs, reaching up as high as he could, he saw a
tiny drop fall from the spout and go splash! into the bucket.
Then, as he watched, another drop fell; and another and another
and another. Cuffy wondered where they came from. It must
be—he thought—that there was a spring inside that
tree. Yes! he was sure of it, for the bucket was half full of
water. He felt thirsty, for he had not had a drink since
lunch-time. And so Cuffy stuck his head into the pail and took
a good, big swallow.
The next instant he squealed with joy. It was the nicest
water he had ever tasted in all his life, for it was quite
sweet—just as if somebody had left a heap of honey in the
bottom of the bucket. But when Cuffy licked the end of the
spout with his little red tongue he found that that tasted
sweet too. Yes! it certainly was a wonderful spring. Cuffy was
very glad that he had found it. And he decided that he would
drink all he could of the delicious, sweet water and leave the
pail hanging there. Then he could come back the next day and
there would be more of that wonderful water all ready and
waiting for him to drink up.
IV
CUFFY LEARNS SOMETHING
After leaving the wonderful spring Cuffy Bear was so long
getting home that he decided he would not say anything to his
father and mother about what he had found. You see—he was
afraid they would tell him not to go so far away from home
again. But Cuffy had not been long in the snug little house
before he had a terrible stomach-ache. He stood the pain as
long as he could without saying anything. But he simply
had to hang onto his little fat stomach with both his
front paws. And at last he began to cry softly. Then Mrs. Bear
asked him what he had been doing; and before Cuffy knew it he
had told all about finding the delicious, sweet water.
"How much did you drink?" asked his mother.
"Oh—only a little," Cuffy answered faintly.
Then Mrs. Bear nodded her head three times. She was very
wise—was Mrs. Bear. And she knew quite well that Cuffy
had drunk a great deal too much of that nice-tasting water. So
she made Cuffy lie down and gave him some peppermint leaves to
chew. In a little while he began to feel so much better that
before he knew it he had fallen asleep.
When Cuffy waked up he found that his father had come home.
And soon Mr. Bear had Cuffy on one knee, and Silkie on the
other, and he was telling them all about maple-sugar. For of
course you knew all the time that what Cuffy had found was not
a spring at all—but a sugar-maple tree, which Farmer
Green had tapped so that he might gather the sap and boil it
until it turned to maple-sugar. If Cuffy had gone further down
the mountainside he would have found a great many other trees,
each—like the one he discovered—with a tin bucket
hanging on it to catch the sweet sap.
"So you see there are many things for little bears to
learn," Mr. Bear said, when he had finished. "And the one
big lesson you must learn is to keep away from men.
Farmer Green visits those trees every day to gather the sap. So
you must not go down there again."
A cold shiver went up and down Cuffy's back at these words.
Farmer Green! Cuffy had heard a great deal about Farmer Green
and he certainly did not want to meet him all alone and far
from home. But as soon as the tickle of that shiver stopped,
Cuffy forgot all about his fright.
"This maple-sugar—does it taste as good as the sweet
sap?" he asked his father.
"Yes, my son—a hundred times better!" Mr. Bear
replied. "I ate some once And I shall never forget it."
A hundred times better! After he had gone to bed that
night the words kept ringing in Cuffy's ears. A hundred
times better! A hundred times better!... A
hundred—And now Cuffy was fast asleep and—I am
sorry to say it—sucking one of his paws for all the world
as if it was a piece of Farmer Green's maple-sugar.
****
In case you are considering more about Cuffy, Project Gutenberg gave the book this introduction:
"The Tale of Cuffy Bear" by Arthur
Scott Bailey is a children's storybook written in the early 20th
century. This charming tale follows the antics of a young bear named
Cuffy as he explores the woods around Blue Mountain, encounters various
animals, and learns valuable lessons about behavior and the world. With
its engaging storytelling and whimsical adventures, the book captures
the innocence and curiosity of childhood. The story begins with Cuffy
waking up after a long winter's sleep and enjoying the arrival of
spring. His adventures include finding a porcupine, discovering a
sugar-maple tree, and learning to swim with the help of his father, Mr.
Bear. Throughout the tale, Cuffy's mischief often leads him into
trouble, such as trying to capture a pig from Farmer Green's farm and
getting chased by hornets. These humorous escapades, mixed with moments
of reflection and growth, reveal Cuffy's character development as he
learns about friendship, family, and the dangers of the wild. All of
these experiences culminate in heartwarming lessons for both Cuffy and
the readers, making the book an enjoyable read for children and adults
alike.
With so many books by Bailey, Project Gutenberg provides a great service providing 44 of the books. For those extra four about Cuffy, go to Internet Archive.
************
This is part of a
series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the
Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to
preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate
heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays
this intent on works of the 20th century. My own library
of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided
to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.
At
the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates
projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an
audience. Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the
publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.
This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.
(Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared
towards future storytelling to an audience.) Response has
convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain"
should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage
it.
See the sidebar for other Public
Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."
