262 
A BRAVE WOMAN. 
something, came running in, and says, ‘Mo¬ 
ther,’ says he,\ ‘there’s ever so many wolves 
down by the barn, in the edge of the woods. 
I heard them and saw them as plain as 
could be.’ ‘Hush!’ says she, going to the 
door to listen. Sure enough she heard 
’em; and presently—though it was getting 
pretty dark—she saw a wolf come to the 
edge of the clearing. lie looked towards 
the house, and then threw up his head and 
gave one long howl,—a kind of signal-cry. 
She stepped in quick enough, shut and 
barred the door, and fastened the windows 
as well as she could by piling things against 
’em. Then she made up a rousing fire; 
but she hadn’t much wood in the house, and 
didn’t dare go out for more, lest the wolves 
should come upon her.” 
“What was the fire for?” asked Daisy. 
“ To scare Them,” replied Erastus. “All 
wild animals are afraid of fire. She was 
very much frightened; for she knew the 
wolves would never be so bold if they were 
not almost starved, and she was afraid they 
might break in, in spite of her. Presently 
she heard something scratching like a dog; 
and, looking down through the cracks of the 
