There was an old bark
chimney, with a great hole rotted in its base. She looked in.
"It was pleasantly shadowy inside, with a musty smell and no sign of
danger. She dropped upon a narrow shelf. From the shelf, sniffing and
glancing this way and that, she sprang to a kind of wider shelf close
under the eaves.
"That was a bunk, of course, where one of the lumbermen used to sleep,
though _she_ didn't know _that_. It was full of old dry hay, very
warmy and cozy. And the hay, as the Little Sly One observed at once,
was full of mice.
"She pounced on one at once and ate it. Decidedly, this was the place
for her. She curled herself up in the warm hay and went to sleep
without fear of any enemies coming to disturb her."
"But what would she do when the lumbermen came back?" demanded the Babe
anxiously.
"By _that_ time," answered Uncle Andy, putting away his pipe and rising
to go, "she would no longer be the _Little_ Sly One! She'd be big
enough to take care of herself--and run away as soon as she heard them
coming."
CHAPTER XIV
THE DARING OF STRIPES TERROR-TAIL
"What would you do if a bear came at you, Uncle Andy?" inquired the
Babe.
"Run," said Uncle Andy promptly, "unless I had a gun!"
The Babe thought deeply for a moment.
Pages:
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250