Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-08-28
Freddy's Experience.
From the Youths Companion.

I FROM CIie 1OuLu companion.
u please, mamma, dear? please let
| 81"
! "Now, mamma, please do!''
Two eager voices begged and coaxed
and argued and plead and teased, and
at last Henry and Fred had to 90 up
in their own little room, instead Of
sleeping out in the tent, as they want.
ed to do. It was such pretty tent
and such new tent, and such q nice,
cool place place to sleep in on this
night!
II don't see why mamma wou]dn t
let u.s. growled Harry
LESS we might get the whooping-
cough suggested little Fred.
"Oh, nonsense! It's because she's
nervous. I heard grandpa tell her 50
once, and now know what he meant ,!
''She says We might get scared:
"But we won't. I tell you Fred 81
said Harry, his eyes sparkling with
mischief, If we just slept out there
once, she'd let us I'll t he time, cause
then she'd know it wouldn't make Us
sick"
"But she told US not to-" ~.
ooh, well, you know, she wouldn't
really care if she found we didn't get
| cold, or rheumatism, or ammonia, and
weren t a speck frightened"
"But she said we mustn't"
"Oh, you're afraid''
81 ain t.''
eyes, YOU are. don want you to
go with me, anyway. I'd have more
fun by myself Good-by 'fraid-cat!'
~ ain't 'fraidcat, and I'm going
to sleep in the tent if you do,' cried
| Freddy, sturdily. 'tOnly--l-guess
you'd better take your popgun, Har-
ry."
So Harry armed himself with his
| popgun, and the two boys stole down
stairs. Freddie did hope his mother
would hear them, and come out to see
where they were going; but she didn't
How dark it was outside! The
moon had gone behind q cloud, and
| somehow the stars looked dim and
sleepy.
Harry kept saying the tent was so
pleasant and comfortable, and he just
wished somebody would dare to dis.
turb him, SO he could shoot him down
dead with his popgnn. But: dear me,
how dark it was inside!
Freddie was nearly frightened out
Of his wits, but he had been playing
hard all day, SO be just curled himself
up and said, "Nou kill--anything-
down dead-that--' and was off to
the land Of Nod before he could finish.
"What did he mean?" thought Har-
ny. ''There ism anything that could
hurt us really and truly. There ain t
any ghosts, and I guess lions don't
live anywhere near here.
Then he tried to spy into those
dreadful little hooks and crannies all
Of darkness, where snakes might hide,
or bears, or tigers, or even lions, if they
did find their way to the tent.
My, how hard the ground was! Not
a bit like a bed with plenty of pillows,
but all bumps and sticks and stones
and ants and bugs.
He wasn't afraid, oh no, indeed! but
somehow he couldn't get to sleep, and
kept sitting up and listening to the
queer noises and wondering whether
mamma had gone to bed, and hand,
ling his pop-gun.
| What was that? Surely he heard
something creeping, creeping, creeping
softly over the grass;
! They had fastened the tent back
| on both sides to let the cool air come
in, and at one of these openings ap
peared big black head.
1t was a lion!
! Harry WAS so terrified that he could
not even scream. His heart went pit.
a-pat, and his hands grew cold as ice
and he never once thought Of his pop.
gun.
Then the lion uttered low growl.
"Freddie! Freddie!" cried Harry.
"What? What?' grasped Freddie,
waking from his sleep in great fright
"Run! Run! There's a lion after us!
And in moment the two boys were
rushing across thegarden screaming at
! the top of their voices, with the horri-
| BILE creature close behind them.
Mamma heard the cries and came
running out to meet the naughty
youngsters. "Why, what is the mat
ter?" she asked, breathlessly. "Where
have you been? What has frightened
you? Why, surely you can't be afraid
! OF CarloH'
Then the two brave, brave boys
looked at the lion again, and saw that
it was Carlo, dear, kind, gentle old Car
10, the big Newfoundland! .-
Harry burst into tears, and threw
his arms around his mother.
ooh, please forgive u.s. he sobbed,
and mamma just kissed them both,
and did not ask any questions, or say
| another word about the lion. Sheun-
derstood what Harry meant, just the
way mammas always do. + (.
| From research into some old doc.
| uments it is learned that before the
! revolution the professors at Harvard