But as they talked the machine got wise And with buzz and whiz it began to rise And broke the ropes that held it tight And went towards the clouds and out of sight With TEDDY-B and TEDDY-G Grabbing at anything they could see:
The one on a bar beneath the sail And the other on a rope to make a tail. They started so quick and went so high They hadn’t a chance to say good-bye.
They had ridden before and lively too, On cow-boy horses and in frail canoe; In an old balloon and a ’mobile car, But this ride that day beat those by far.
Copyright, 1907, by Edward Stern & Co., Inc.
“‘We’ve sailed before,’ said TEDDY-B, ‘We hit Chicago down a tree.’” ]
They went over town and farm and creek In one straight line like a lightning streak, And it wasn’t forty minutes when They came in sight of William Penn Looking so wise and straight and tall On the top of Philadelphia’s city hall. TEDDY-B called out from where he sat, “There’s a man ahead; I see his hat; His hand is out; he means to try To catch the rope as we go by.” And TEDDY-G in cow-boy style Let out the rope, nearly half a mile, And as it coiled he pulled with might And William Penn he lassoed tight. A crowd of children down below Looked up and saw the Bears let go And come from the clouds like sailors bold, With not a thing but the rope to hold,
“_They came from the clouds like sailors bold, with not a thing but the rope to hold._” ]
And land all right on the old man’s hat, Where both sat down to have a chat And look about and view the town And ask each other how they’d get down.
They looked over the brim to see Penn’s face And ask him questions about the place:
What would happen if they should fall? And how long it took to build the hall?
And what it cost and if he thought it nice To pay so much for expert advice?
And one thing sure they’d like to know Why this Quaker town was considered slow?
A crowd soon gathered round the square; Police and engineers were there,
And business men and children too, And each one wondering what to do; For how to get the two Bears down Was soon being asked by half the town.
The Mayor came out with megaphone And called aloud up the tower of stone And promised Father Penn a dime If he’d give the Bears a high old time.