18 TRUE BEAR STORIES. 



on the farther bank, followed by the 

 ponies. 



The mule is the most traduced of all ani- 

 mals. A single mule has more sense than 

 a whole stableful of horses. You can han- 

 dle a mule easily if the barn is burning; he 

 keeps his head; but a horse becomes in- 

 sane. He will rush right into the fire, if 

 allowed to, and you can only handle him, 

 and that with difficulty if he sniffs the fire, 

 by blindfolding him. Trust a mule in case 

 of peril or a panic long before a horse. The 

 brother of Solomon and willful son of David 

 surely had some of the great temple-build- 

 er's wisdom and discernment, for we read 

 that he rode a mule. True, he lost his head 

 and got hung up by the hair, but that is 

 nothing against the mule. 



As we turned our eyes from seeing the 

 animals safely over, right there by us and 

 a little behind us, through the willows of 

 the canyon and over the edge of the water, 

 we saw peering and pointing toward the 



