Spring had come, and Little Bear jumped out of bed terribly hungry. He sat on his doorstep for a little while, sniffing the fragrant air. But the more he sniffed, the hungrier he got. "How nice it would be if a pancake would fly right in my mouth," he thought. So he went off through the forest, singing a little song he had just made up:

      "I wish I had a pancake
          as big as a house.
      For I am a great big bear
          and not a little mouse."

And though he doesn't find even a crumb of a pancake, he learns (with the help of a few friends) to make some for himself.

The Mouse (who had lived with people and was the only one who could read) explained the recipe, the Squirrel broke the eggs, the Owl poured the milk, the Sparrow brought the butter, the Monkey poured the flour—and Little Bear mixed them all up.

From the dust jacket