The Bear Scouts slid their canoe intothe water, hopped in, and started topaddle.

"Just a minute," said Papa. "This isjust a quiet stream, but it leads to GreatRoaring River!"

"We know, Papa," answered thescouts. "We're going to earn our officialBear Scout Canoe Merit Badges today!"And off they paddled toward the soundof Great Roaring River.

"You'd better wait for me!" shoutedPapa. "I just happen to be the world'sgreatest canoe expert. I can help if youget into trouble."

"But, Papa!" called Sister. "You're theone who may get into trouble. You'renot wearing a life jacket!"

"Stuff and nonsense!" said Papa,standing up in his canoe. "Don't worryabout me"

"Sit down, Papa!" said Brother. "Theofficial Bear Scout guide book says'Never ever stand up in a canoe'!"

"Tut, tut!" continued Papa, ignoringBrother's warning. "Why, I know thisriver like the palm of my paw. I know itfrom top to—hel-l-lp!" he hollered asthe dugout tipped over ... and sent himto the bottom.

"Don't worry, Papa!" called Brother."We'll save you!" The Bear Scoutsfished him out of the river with a boathook and helped him back into hisdugout.

"Save me} Expert swimmer PapaBear? Pooh!" said Papa. "Why, I justdecided to cool off with a little dip!"

"Hmm," said Sister, looking at themap. "The river narrows up ahead.That could mean rapids!"

"Nonsense!" said Papa. "Those rapidsare miles away! I'll have a little nap andjust float along."

"Papa, the Bear Scout guide says'When canoing, be alert for every sightand sound,'" said Brother.

But Papa was already dozing anddidn't hear the sound of rapids ahead.

"White water!" screamed Sister asthey rounded a bend.

The Bear Scouts managed to lassoPapa's dugout with their rope justbefore it got sucked into the whirlpool.

"Phew!" said Cousin Fred. "That wasa close call!"

"Not at all," said Papa. "I justwanted to see how you'd react in anemergency."

Soon after they shot the rapids,Brother shouted, "Head for the shore!The map says 'Danger—rocky gorgeahead.' It's time to portage!"

"What's 'portage'?" asked Sister."It means to take the canoe out of the

water and carry it along the shore.""Carry the canoe? That's ridiculous!"

said Papa. "As for rocks—who's afraid ofa rock or two? See you downstream!Ta-ta!"

When the cubs got back to the river,there was Papa, hanging on to a rockfor dear life as his battered dugoutfloated away.

"What took you so long?" he said.Once again, the Bear Scouts managed

to rescue Papa and his dugout.

The Bear Scouts were almost at theend of their merit badge trip downGreat Roaring River. To the right was asmall winding stream.

The scouts looked at the map. Theright fork showed a twisty stream.Straight ahead was marked "Danger!"

"No twisty streams for me! I'll takethe fast way," said Papa, paddlingstraight ahead. A few seconds later hesaw a sign: great grizzly falls ahead.

The cubs paddled their way down thetwisty stream. When they got to thebottom of Great Grizzly Falls, therewas Papa waiting for them once more.He was in tatters and his dugout was insplinters. Scout Leader Jane waswaiting too. Together they pulled himout of the river.

"We're sorry," said Brother to ScoutLeader Jane. "But we were so busyrescuing Papa that we didn't have timeto do our merit badge tests."

"You did them—and then some!"answered Jane. "Because Papa Bear putyou to the test! So here are merit badgesfor each of you...and one for Papa, whoshowed you what you should not do!"