On Valentine's Day, J.B. Blackfoot baked a honey heart … just for himself. While J.B. waited for the honey heart to cool, he thought of the valentines that he had sent to his friends. He was quite sure that he had remembered everybody.

He had even sent a valentine to Priscilla Whistlepin. Last autumn, he and Priscilla had quarreled. Yesterday, a small voice inside J.B. had told him to let bygones be bygones. So he had mailed Priscilla a card that said: Stop Breaking My Heart, Valentine.

Then all of a sudden, J.B. remembered Gertie Groundhog. He had not sent her a valentine! And Gertie was such a good friend! Why, last Christmas she had knitted him the dandiest polka-dot socks a bear ever had. "Oh, crickets!" muttered J.B. "What am I going to do?"

Just then, a small voice inside J.B. said, "You are going to take Gertie your honey heart!"

J.B. argued with his small voice. He told it that he had used his last jar of honey to make the heart, and there would not be any more until the summer bees came. But the voice said, "Good friends are more important than good eats!"

So J.B. put the honey heart on a lily-pad platter and trudged over to Gertie's house. Gertie smiled and thanked him ever so much.

But Gertie Groundhog was on a diet. After J.B. left, she said, "I will give this honey heart to Granny Fox. She needs some meat on her old bones."

Gertie decorated the honey heart with tiny frosted rose-buds. Then she took it to Granny Fox. Granny thanked her ever so much.

But Granny could not eat sweets. They made her old teeth ache. So after Gertie left, Granny said, "I will take this honey heart to Bill Beaver. Beavers have strong teeth."

Granny sprinkled nuts on the top to make the honey heart crunchy. Then she carried it over to Bill Beaver's pond. Bill thanked Granny ever so much.

Bill, however, was busy mending his dam. So after Granny left, he said, "I will take this honey heart to Priscilla Whistlepin. Then I can get back to my work."

Bill tossed mint leaves on the honey heart for color. Then he took it to Priscilla's house. Priscilla thanked Bill ever so much.

Just then, Priscilla's valentines arrived in the mail. Among them was the one from J.B. Blackfoot—the one that said: Stop Breaking My Heart, Valentine.

Priscilla felt happy all over because J.B. wanted to be friends again. Then she remembered that she had not sent J.B. a valentine. How could she let him know that she wanted to be friends again, too?

"I know!" she cried. "I will take him this honey heart!"

Priscilla wrote Let's Be Valentines on the honey heart. Then she carried it over to J.B.'s house. J.B. thanked Priscilla ever so much. They promised to remain friends forever.

After Priscilla left, J.B. looked at his honey heart. He knew it was his own honey heart because he recognized the lily-pad platter. J.B. had no idea how Priscilla had come to have it, but it did not matter. What really mat- tered was that he had given his honey heart away, and it had come back to him. And now it looked even yum-mier than before.

As J.B. tasted the honey heart, he was glad he had listened to his small inside voice. Very glad, indeed.