THE BEAR One Saturday morning, a few weeks after Patsy had left, Maurice awoke at six o’clock. His window was blurred because it was raining so hard. The hamster stirred in its cage. “You’re up too early,” Maurice said. The robin lifted one wing slowly and opened its good eye. Maurice went into the kitchen and made himself a grape-jelly sandwich. It felt good to be eating a sandwich and walking down the hall so early in the morning. No one else was awake. He gave a piece of bread crust to the robin and one to the hamster. Then he got dressed. Soon there was a soft knock on the front door. It was Jacob, who always arrived early on Saturday mornings and who usually brought something with him. Today he was carrying a paper sack. “Do you want a jelly sandwich?” asked Maurice. Jacob nodded. Then he showed Maurice what he had brought in the bag. “What is it?” asked Maurice. “I think it’s for weighing things. I found it in a box on the street,” Jacob said, holding up a large white scale.
