A BEAR ON FIRE. 27 



again, then again spun around. But he 

 got across, I am glad to say. And this al 

 ways pleases my little girl, Juanita. He 

 sat there on the bank looking back at us 

 quite a time. Finally he washed his face, 

 like a cat, then quietly went away. The 

 rattlesnake was the last to cross. 



The beautiful yellow beast w r as not at 

 all disconcerted, but with the serenest dig 

 nity lifted her yellow folds, coiled and un 

 coiled slowly, curved high in the air, 

 arched her glittering neck of gold, widened 

 her body till broad as your two hands, and 

 so slid away over the water to the other 

 side through the wild white rain. The 

 cloudburst put out the fire instantly, show 

 ing that, though animals have superhuman 

 foresight, they don't know everything be 

 fore the time. 



"Beastly! I didn't get a blawsted sketch, 

 you know." 



"Awful beastly! Neither did I, don't you 

 know." 



And that was all my English friends 



3 



