Arthur quickly took the wrappings from the Plush Bear and wound up the
spring as Mr. Mugg had shown him. Then, when the Bear was set down on
the floor, the toy began to wave his paws, to shake his head from side
to side, and from his red mouth came several growls.

"Oh! Oh!" exclaimed Nettie, who had knelt down beside her brother to
look at the Bear. "I don't like him when he growls!"

"Oh, he won't hurt you, Nettie!" laughed the fat boy Arthur. "See, he's
waving his paw to you, and he only growls like your rubber doll squeaks.
My Plush Bear is nice, Nettie."

And when the little girl found that the Bear did no harm, but only
growled in a make-believe, jolly fashion, she decided to make friends
with him. She sat down on the floor close beside him, and when the
clockwork inside the toy had run down, and the Bear was still, Nettie
took him up in her arms and loved him.

"Isn't he nice?" asked Arthur.

"Yes, pretty nice," agreed Nettie. "But he isn't as nice as my Rag
Doll."

"Well, girls like dolls and boys like Plush Bears. That's the best way,
I guess," said Arthur.

Then he and his sister played some more with the Plush Bear, winding him
up, listening to his pretended growls, and watching him wave his paws
and shake his head.