After all, the world was rather tame.
He set off at a new angle, came around the edge of a huge rock, and suddenly stopped.
From behind the other end of the rock protruded a huge hind paw.

For a few moments Neewa sat still, eyeing it with a growing anticipation.
This time he would give his mother a nip that would waken her for good! He would rouse her to the beauty and the opportunities of this day if there was any rouse in him! So he advanced slowly and cautiously, picked out a nice bare spot on the paw, and sank his little teeth in it to the gums.
There followed a roar that shook the earth.

Now it happened that the paw did not belong to Noozak, but was the personal property of Makoos, an old he-bear of unlovely disposition and malevolent temper.

But in him age had produced a grouchiness that was not at all like the grandmotherly peculiarities of old Noozak.

Makoos was on his feet fairly before Neewa realized that he had made a mistake.