"And then he would hop-hop-hop all down the walk till he came to the tree, and then he would fly up in the tree, and sit in the tree, where he could not see the sun, and shut his eyes, and go to sleep.

"I did love my white owl, and my white owl did love me."

STORY XIII.

HOW A BEAR PUT OUT A FIRE.

"SHALL I tell you a tale of a bear ?"

"Yes, do tell me a tale of a bear. Is it a true tale ?"

"I think it is true. Two men went to a land where bears live. They had a long way to go, and night came on, and there was not a house near to them. They had to lie on the ground.

But one man said to his friend,

"We will not go to sleep till we have made

a fire.

Bears do not like the fire, they will not

come near the fire. You shall sit up to take care that the fire burns clear, and I will sleep. Then you shall sleep, and I will sit up and see that the fire burns clear and bright.'

"So the man made up the fire, and then he laid down to sleep; and he soon fell a-sleep. Now, his friend sat by the fire and made the fire burn bright, but he did want—oh, so bad he did want to sleep. He did try not to go to sleep. He did look at the fire, and he did poke the fire, but at last his head sank down on his breast, and he fell a-sleep quite fast, oh, as fast as a top. He had not been long a-sleep when a bear went by that way, and the bear did look, and he saw the two men fast a-sleep, and he said, in his

way,

“Ah! ah! there is a good meal for me. If I can put out that fire I can make a good meal of those two men. But how can I put out that fire?'

"And the bear did look round, and he did spy the sea, and he said to him-self,

"If I wet my coat in the sea, and come and roll on the fire, I shall put out the fire, and then I can have my meal.'

"So the bear ran to the sea, and he did roll in the sea till he had made his coat all wet, and then he came to the fire and did roll on the fire and put out the fire, and if the man had not woke up just as the bear put out the fire, the bear would have made a meal of the man; but the man woke up, and the man took his gun, and did fire at the bear, and the bear ran a-way. But the man did not kill the bear, for the fire was out, and the man could not see which way the bear did run."

"Oh, I am so glad the bear did not make a meal of the man.'

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"So am I. It would have been sad if the bear had made a meal of the poor man."

STORY XIV.

HOW THE SNAKE DID DANCE TO A TUNE.

"My aunt had a snake."

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A snake! And did she love the snake ?"

Yes, she did love the snake; it was a boa. It slept by the fire in her room, and she fed the snake, so that it was quite țame, and it did not try to hurt her. The snake did love to hear a tune, and when my aunt did play a tune the snake would pop up its head, and then it would raise its head some feet from the floor of the room, and beat time with its head. It was fun to see the snake bow its head to the tune, and it kept such good time. It would be well if you could keep as good time when I play a tune.' "Did you like to see the snake?

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"Yes I did like to see the snake; but a girl, whom I knew, felt fear when she saw the snake move its head to the tune, and she would but just peep in at the door, and as soon as she

saw the snake move from side to side, she would run from the snake as fast as she could run."

"I do not think I should have run from the snake."

"I hope you would not. I hope you would have been a brave boy. It was not wise to run from the snake."

STORY XV.

HOW NED KNEW WHO WAS HIS FRIEND.

"MAY I go for a ride on Ned?"

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Yes, you may go for a ride on Ned. You must go slow, for Ned is old now, and must not

go fast. Shall I tell you a tale of Ned when Ned was young?"

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Yes, do tell me of Ned."

"Ned was born in our field.

He was a

fine young ass, and we were all fond of Ned.