Bearly Reasonable

"Bearly Reasonable" by W. C. Tuttle is a humorous adventure novel probably written in the early 20th century. This light-hearted tale follows the misadventures of two characters, Magpie Simpkins and Ike Harper, as they embark on a comical quest involving a professor's unusual scientific inquiry into the maternal instincts of grizzly bears and the relationship between rattlesnakes and prairie dogs. The story begins when Magpie and Ike are approached by Professor Phinney, who seeks their help in settling a debate about wildlife behaviors. They find themselves misled into a series of chaotic events when they attempt to use a sickly bear owned by a neighbor, Mighty Jones, as a stand-in for a mother grizzly, along with a badger as its supposed cub. As the pair navigates comedic challenges, including the bear's antics and unexpected encounters with their eccentric employer and his wife, the characters become embroiled in a humorous chaos that showcases Tuttle’s ability to blend adventure with witty dialogue and absurd situations. The narrative culminates in a farcical conclusion where the scientific inquiries take a backseat to sheer hilarity and mishaps in the wilderness. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

W. C. Tuttle was an American writer who sold more than 1000 magazine stories and dozens of novels, almost all of which were westerns.