THE GREAT BEAR IN THE SKY
_Greek_
"Oh mother, what do you think? Last night that English boy, Charlie
Thornton, asked me if I knew where Charles' Wain was, and when I said I
didn't know, what do you suppose he showed me? Why, nothing but the Big
Dipper up there among the stars. I told him he was mistaken and that
nobody ever called it the odd name he had for it. But he said his mother
called it that, and he wouldn't give it up. Wasn't that queer?"
"Why, no, Ralph, I don't think it was strange that he called it as his
mother had taught him. That is exactly what you do. Many English people
call it Charles' Wain. Wain means wagon, and it does look a little like
a cart or wagon."
"I don't think it does, not the least bit. It looks just like a big
dipper, and like nothing else."
"Why, you silly boy! What would you think if I should tell you that ever
so many people call it the Great Bear?"
"Why, that is queerer yet. Can you see a bear up there in the sky? Maybe
when it thunders it is the Great Bear growling!" and Ralph jumped off
the porch and rolled on the grass, laughing at his discovery.
[Illustration: THE GREAT BEAR IN THE SKY]
In a moment a thought seemed to come to him, and springing up, he ran to
his mother's chair on the porch and said: "Mother, is there any story
about the Great Bear? How did it get up there among the stars? Is the
North Star the Bear's eye? Does his nose always point to the North Star,
the same as the two pointers in the Big Dipper?"
"Now, my boy, you will be surprised again when I tell you that there are
two bears in the sky, the Great Bear and the Little Bear.
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