It was fine if there was no comparison, but now that there was, everyone realized how distant the Eldest Prince had been from them. Since they couldn't very well flare up at the Eldest Prince, they could only shift the blame to Little Bear.
In addition, with his long limbs, Little Bear looked more like a five-year-old than the three-year-old child that he was. Yet, he couldn't even speak at this age.
Those who were chosen to be the Eldest Prince's study companion were all extremely intelligent.