Little Bear loved the spring. As he skipped along the forest path, he came upon something half-hidden in the leaves.

"A packet of seeds," said Little Bear. But the picture on the packet was so faded that he couldn’t tell what kind of seeds they were.

"Surprise seeds," he said, smiling. "And I know just where to plant them."

Little Bear climbed the hill behind his home. He dug a hole in the soft, dark dirt and dropped in the seeds. Then he covered them.

"There," said Little Bear. "Now I’ll have to wait."

One morning, Little Bear climbed the hill and was happy to see tiny green leaves growing.

Two weeks later, he found the hill covered with lovely green vines. When Little Bear lifted the leaves he saw big yellow flowers.

"Oh, my!" said Little Bear. He ran all the way home.

"Come and see!" Little Bear shouted to his brothers as he burst through the door. "My surprise seeds have grown flowers!"

Middle Bear and Biggest Bear followed Little Bear up the hill.

"These aren’t so special," said Middle Bear.

"They don’t even smell good," said Biggest Bear.

Little Bear thought his flowers were special, no matter what his brothers said.

A week or so later, Little Bear went back to check on his flowers. They were gone. Now, lumpy green balls grew where the flowers had been.

Little Bear ran home as fast as he could.

"Come quick!" he shouted. "My surprise seeds are growing tomatoes!"

"I love tomatoes!" said Middle Bear.

"Me, too!" said Biggest Bear.

Once again they followed Little Bear up the hill.

"These are not tomatoes," said Middle Bear.

"They are nothing but lumpy, hard blobs," said Biggest Bear.

Little Bear’s brothers walked away laughing.

Little Bear didn’t care what they said. He knew he was growing something very special. He patiently watched and waited as the green balls grew larger.

Soon fall came to the forest. The trees and bushes turned yellow, red, and gold. The lumpy green balls on Little Bear’s vines turned bright yellow.

"Mama!" Little Bear called. "Come and see!"

Mama Bear followed Little Bear to the top of the hill. Little Bear pushed the leaves away. "What are they, Mama?"

Mama Bear hugged her littlest cub. "Those are squash, Little Bear! And they are ready to pick!"

Little Bear helped Mama Bear carry the squash home.

"You are going to love squash," Mama told him. "These will be a wonderful surprise for dinner."

Little Bear watched Mama Bear cut the squash into small pieces and put them in a pot. He scooped up some of the seeds and saved them in a cup.

When the squash was cooked, Little Bear called to his brothers, "Come and share my surprise squash!"

"Not another one of Little Bear’s surprises," groaned Biggest Bear.

Mama Bear scooped the squash into big bowls.

Little Bear looked at it. He poked it with his fork. Then he took a taste. "This is yummy!"

Middle Bear took a bite. "Ummm, good!"

Finally Biggest Bear took a bite. "Delicious! We are sorry we made fun of your surprise seeds, Little Bear."

"That’s OK," Little Bear said. "I saved some seeds to plant next year, too."

"Can we help you plant them?" asked Middle Bear.

"And help you take care of them?" added Biggest Bear.

"I would like that," Little Bear said happily.