III. BUSTER BEAR IS GREATLY PUZZLED III. BUSTER BEAR EST TRÈS INQUIET III. URȘUL BUSTER ESTE FOARTE PUNZIT

Buster Bear hadn't enjoyed himself so much since he came to the Green Forest to live. Buster Bear ne s'était pas autant amusé depuis qu'il était venu vivre dans la Forêt Verte. Buster Bear nu se distrase atât de mult de când venise să locuiască în Pădurea Verde. His fun began when he surprised Little Joe Otter on the bank of a little pool in the Laughing Brook and Little Joe was so frightened that he dropped a fat trout he had just caught. Son amusement a commencé quand il a surpris Little Joe Otter au bord d'une petite piscine dans le Laughing Brook et Little Joe a eu tellement peur qu'il a laissé tomber une grosse truite qu'il venait d'attraper. It had seemed like a great joke to Buster Bear, and he had chuckled over it all the time he was eating the fat trout. When he had finished it, he started on to do some fishing himself.

Presently he came to another little pool. He stole up to it very, very softly, so as not to frighten the fish. A furat până la ea foarte, foarte încet, ca să nu sperie peștii. Then he sat down close to the edge of it and didn't move. Buster learned a long time ago that a fisherman must be patient unless, like Little Joe Otter, he is just as much at home in the water as the fish themselves, and can swim fast enough to catch them by chasing them. Buster a appris il y a longtemps qu'un pêcheur doit être patient à moins que, comme Little Joe Otter, il ne soit aussi à l'aise dans l'eau que les poissons eux-mêmes, et puisse nager assez vite pour les attraper en les chassant. So he didn't move so much as an eye lash. Așa că nu s-a mișcat atât de mult decât o genă. Тож він не ворухнувся навіть віями. He was so still that he looked almost like the stump of an old tree. Perhaps that is what the fish thought he was, for pretty soon, two or three swam right in close to where he was sitting. C'est peut-être ce que les poissons pensaient qu'il était, car très vite, deux ou trois ont nagé juste à côté de l'endroit où il était assis. Poate că asta credea peștii că este, pentru că destul de curând doi sau trei au înotat chiar aproape de locul în care stătea el. Now Buster Bear may be big and clumsy looking, but there isn't anything that can move much quicker than one of those big paws of his when he wants it to. Maintenant, Buster Bear a peut-être l'air gros et maladroit, mais il n'y a rien qui puisse bouger beaucoup plus vite que l'une de ses grosses pattes quand il le veut. One of them moved now, and quicker than a wink had scooped one of those foolish fish out on to the bank. L'un d'eux bougea maintenant, et plus vite qu'un clin d'œil, il avait ramassé un de ces poissons stupides sur la berge.

Buster's little eyes twinkled, and he smacked his lips as he moved on to the next little pool, for he knew that it was of no use to stay longer at the first one. Les petits yeux de Buster pétillèrent et il fit claquer ses lèvres en passant à la petite piscine suivante, car il savait qu'il ne servait à rien de rester plus longtemps à la première. Ochii lui Buster sclipiră și plescăi din buze în timp ce se îndrepta spre următorul bazin mic, pentru că știa că nu era de folos să stea mai mult la primul. The fish were so frightened that they wouldn't come back for a long, long time. At the next little pool the same thing happened. By this time Buster Bear was in fine spirits. În acel moment, Buster Bear era bine dispus. It was fun to catch the fish, and it was still more fun to eat them. What finer breakfast could any one have than fresh-caught trout? Quel meilleur petit-déjeuner pourrait-on avoir que de la truite fraîchement pêchée ? No wonder he felt good! Nu e de mirare că s-a simțit bine! But it takes more than three trout to fill Buster Bear's stomach, so he kept on to the next little pool. Mais il faut plus de trois truites pour remplir l'estomac de Buster Bear, alors il a continué jusqu'au prochain petit bassin. But this little pool, instead of being beautiful and clear so that Buster could see right to the bottom of it and so tell if there were any fish there, was so muddy that he couldn't see into it at all. It looked as if some one had just stirred up all the mud at the bottom.

"Huh!" "Huh!" said Buster Bear. "It's of no use to try to fish here. „Nu are rost să încerci să pescuiești aici. I would just waste my time. Mi-aș pierde timpul. I'll try the next pool." So he went on to the next little pool. He found this just as muddy as the other. A găsit asta la fel de noroiat ca și celălalt. Then he went on to another, and this was no better. Buster sat down and scratched his head. It was puzzling. A fost derutant. Yes, Sir, it was puzzling. He looked this way and he looked that way suspiciously, but there was no one to be seen. Il regarda dans cette direction et il regarda dans cette direction avec méfiance, mais il n'y avait personne en vue. Everything was still save for the laughter of the Laughing Brook. Tout était encore sauf le rire du ruisseau qui rit. Somehow, it seemed to Buster as if the Brook were laughing at him. Cumva, lui Buster i se părea că pârâul râdea de el.

"It's very curious," muttered Buster, "very curious indeed. It looks as if my fishing is spoiled for to-day. Se pare că pescuitul meu este stricat pentru ziua de azi. I don't understand it at all. Nu înțeleg deloc. It's lucky I caught what I did. It looks as if somebody is trying to—ha!" A sudden thought had popped into his head. Then he began to chuckle and finally to laugh. "I do believe that scamp Joe Otter is trying to get even with me for eating that fat trout!" And then, because Buster Bear always enjoys a good joke even when it is on himself, he laughed until he had to hold his sides, which is a whole lot better than going off in a rage as Little Joe Otter had done. Et puis, parce que Buster Bear aime toujours une bonne blague même quand c'est sur lui-même, il a ri jusqu'à ce qu'il ait dû se tenir les côtes, ce qui est bien mieux que de se mettre en colère comme l'avait fait Little Joe Otter. "You're pretty smart, Mr. Otter! You're pretty smart, but there are other people who are smart too," said Buster Bear, and still chuckling, he went off to think up a plan to get the best of Little Joe Otter.