Question

The Adventures of Buster Bear
Buster Bear yawned as he lay on his comfortable bed of leaves and watched the first early morning sunbeams creeping through the Green Forest to chase out the Black Shadows. Once more he yawned, and slowly got to his feet and shook himself. Then he walked over to a big pine-tree, stood up on his hind legs, reached as high up on the trunk of the tree as he could, and scratched the bark with his great claws. After that he yawned until it seemed as if his jaws would crack, and then sat down to think what he wanted for breakfast.

While he sat there, trying to make up his mind what would taste best, he was listening to the sounds that told of the waking of all the little people who live in the Green Forest. He heard Sammy Jay way off in the distance screaming, “Thief! Thief!” and grinned. "I wonder," thought Buster, "if someone has stolen Sammy’s breakfast, or if he has stolen the breakfast of someone else. Probably he is the thief himself."

He heard Chatterer the Red Squirrel scolding as fast as he could make his tongue go and working himself into a terrible rage. "Must be that Chatterer got out of bed the wrong way this morning," thought he.

He heard Blacky the Crow cawing at the top of his lungs, and he knew by the sound that Blacky was getting into mischief of some kind. He heard the sweet voices of happy little singers, and they were good to hear. But most of all he listened to a merry, low, silvery laugh that never stopped but went on and on, until he just felt as if he must laugh too. It was the voice of the Laughing Brook. And as Buster listened it suddenly came to him just what he wanted for breakfast.


"I’m going fishing," said he in his deep grumbly-rumbly voice to no one in particular. "Yes, Sir, I’m going fishing. I want some fat trout for my breakfast."

He shuffled along over to the Laughing Brook, and straight to a little pool of which he knew, and as he drew near he took the greatest care not to make the teeniest, weeniest bit of noise. Now it just happened that early as he was, someone was before Buster Bear. When he came in sight of the little pool, who should he see but another fisherman there, who had already caught a fine fat trout. Who was it? Why, Little Joe Otter to be sure. He was just climbing up the bank with the fat trout in his mouth. Buster Bear’s own mouth watered as he saw it. Little Joe sat down on the bank and prepared to enjoy his breakfast. He hadn’t seen Buster Bear, and he didn’t know that he or anyone else was anywhere near.

Buster Bear tiptoed up very softly until he was right behind Little Joe Otter. "Woof, woof!" said he in his deepest, most grumbly-rumbly voice. "That’s a very fine looking trout. I wouldn’t mind if I had it myself."

Little Joe Otter gave a frightened squeal and without even turning to see who was speaking dropped his fish and dived headfirst into the Laughing Brook. Buster Bear sprang forward and with one of his big paws caught the fat trout just as it was slipping back into the water.

"Here’s your trout, Mr. Otter," said he, as Little Joe put his head out of water to see who had frightened him so. "Come and get it."

Source: The Adventures of Buster Bear by Thornton W. Burgess, Public Domain

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Questions
"After that he yawned until it seemed as if his jaws would crack." This sentence is a(n):

Simile

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Alliteration
How do Buster Bear’s thoughts contribute to the text?

They explain the relationship between Buster Bear and Little Joe Otter.

They demonstrate that Buster Bear doesn’t think about others very often.

They reveal what Buster Bear thinks of other characters.

They show that Buster Bear is not actually hungry.
What is Buster Bear’s opinion of Sammy Jay?

Sammy Jay is clever and conniving.

Sammy Jay moody and impolite.

Sammy Jay foolish and simple-minded.

Sammy Jay is weak and helpless.
How might this written story differ if it were turned into an audio version?

It would depict Buster Bear’s morning routine.

It would include Buster Bear’s inner thoughts.

It would use lighting to capture the time of day.

It would inco
rporate yawning and scratching sounds.
As the story pauses, Buster Bear tells Little Joe Otter to come and get the trout from him. Finish the rest of the story. Be sure to include what happens to Buster Bear, Little Joe Otter, and the trout. End the story with a lesson.

Answer 1

Little Joe peeped his head out of the laughing water and looked first at his trout and then at the great, sleepy face of Buster Bear. His whiskers quivered.

"That's my trout, Mr. Bear!" he cried. "I caught it fair and square. Please give it back."

Buster looked down at the fat, shining fish in his big paw. It wiggled and slapped and sent a little spray of water over his nose. He remembered how his mouth had watered at the sight of it, and, for a whole second, he felt as if he could gobble it up right then and there.

But Little Joe's small brown eyes were so honest and so earnest that something inside Buster went soft. He had frightened the poor otter and then taken his breakfast. The thought did not sit well with him. Still, his paw was warm around the trout and his tummy grumbled.

"Come and get it, then," he rumbled again, trying to sound as if he meant well and not as if he had designs on the fish. "If you can."

Little Joe darted forward like an arrow. He was quick and slim and very determined. He made a grab for the trout; Buster tightened his hold a little to be on the safe side. The trout gave a mighty flip. One great slap of tail sent a shower of water into Buster's face, and the fish squirmed out of his paw.

There was a funny little scramble. Buster, who had been standing on the moss, slipped on a wet stone and went down with a great, surprised snort. He fell plump into the Laughing Brook, sending up a splash that made the little singers in the trees stop and laugh all at once. Little Joe, with a twist and a twist more, caught the trout again and held it tight in his teeth, shaking himself like a little wet dog to get the drops off his fur.

When Buster came up sputtering and blinking, he felt very foolish indeed. Little Joe sat on the bank with his trout and looked at Buster just as a father otter might look at a clumsy cub who has learned a hard lesson.

"I'm sorry I frightened you, Mr. Otter," said Buster in a deep, contrite voice. "I—well, I was tempted. I shouldn't have taken your fish that way."

Little Joe's whiskers twitched. He could have scolded the bear, but he liked his breakfast more than he liked long words, and he liked being friends more than he liked being angry.

"We'se all make mistakes," he said kindly. "But you might have asked."

Buster thought a moment and then, from somewhere in the very bottom of his rumble, something like a smile came. "Will you share a bit of it with me?" he asked. "And then perhaps you can show me where you catch them, and I'll keep a sharp eye out for thieves so you won't be frightened again."

Little Joe agreed that a plan so sensible deserved to be eaten, and he divided the trout in two. They sat together on the mossy bank and ate until the Laughing Brook laughed louder than ever. After breakfast, Little Joe showed Buster a favorite deep pool and how the rocks made the trout gather there, and Buster, in return, promised never to frighten an otter in the morning again.

And so they went on their ways—one to his digging and one to his splashing—but they had learned something that kept them company all summer long: frightened friends sometimes lose their own, and a hungry heart feels lighter when it shares what it has.