Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-11-05
4 KIND.HnARTED sEAn.
IL Lifts = Little Child in It's Paws and
Yufa Her in a pInna ,f Anfat..

VI
IL nfts Little Child in It's Paws ana
Puts Her in a Place OF safety.
Miss Isabel F. Hapgood translates
for the October st. Nicholas trus
story from the Russian of Vera p.
Zhelikhoysky. 1t is an incident that |
occurred in 1847, in the Trans
Caucasian German Colony of Eliza
beththal, about 30 miles from Tifiis. A
picnic party discovered large bear
{called Mikhail Ivan itch" and 4
General Toptygin' in Russian) on a
narrow ledge of rock high up In al
gorge. This is what followed:
All at once, a simultaneous cry of
pity, terror, horror. broke from all.
From behind the crag little girl made !
her appearance. The tiny colonist was
or 5 years old; not more. She was
strolling along with her arms crossed
carelessly on her pink apron. A large
hat of coarse straw, such as all the
colonists, whether young or old, wear
In hot weather, had fallen quite over
on the nape of her neck; and SUR
rounded by his aureole, all flooded with
sunlight the poor little thing stepped
out on the path which skirted the cliff
on the brink of the abyss.
The poor child was going to her death
In plain sight OF many men and women
and to what a. dreadfu death And
not one of them could help her! No
one could either save her or even warn
her of her danger.
All we're condemned to gaze, inactive,
at the dreadful event which was on the
point of happening before their eyes.
The women raised cry, and fell to
weeping. The majority of them sobbed
themselves into Mysteries beforehand.
The men, oven those who had been
in battle more than once, who had be.
held death and blood, said afterward
that they became cold and dizzy, and
many turned away their eyes in an.
guiah.. But those who endured the
ordeal, on the other hand, beheld a
marvel. a
Because Of the turn in the path. the
child could not see the terrible fellow
traveller who was coming to meet her.
She only caught sight of that clark
brown shaggy mass at the moment when
it almost came in contact with her.
The huge beast completely blocked her
road. His left DAVIS stood on the very
edge of the path. while with his right
side he almost rubbed the cliff. They
caught sight of each other almost ut
bue bauub nOnenl.f lF -a5.I tt5~.
Probably cry or an exclamation
on the part of the child revealed her
presence to the beast, as he was walk
ing along with his muzzle and eyes
dropped earthward. They stared fixedly
at each other. The little girl was
petrified with fear; the bear halted, in
INDIGESTION, no doubt much astonished
if not frightened. For one moment,
probably, he reaected "What am ] to
do pow?" 1t was impossible to pass
without crushing the unexpected OBJ
staCle, without striking ii or hurting
it into the abyss. The path was so
narrow at this point that he could
not even turn round on all fours.
What was TO be done? III
Down below the people waited, with
bated breath. expecting at any moment
to see the unhappy child pushed into
the abyss. But evidently that was not
the way in which fulfilled and therefore
good -natured ''Mikhail Ivan'itch,-
General Toptygin, had settled the
problem. He wished neither death
nor harm to this tiny creature, help
less before him, with open mouth and
staring eyes, having lost through fear
al power OF crying, and ava ting his
will in trembling silence And Mis-
lenka' carried out his will,
With a faint growl, caused not by
anger but by the necessity of putting
himself to trouble, he reared up on his
hind legs, strobe up close to the little
girl, and, bracing his back against the
cliff, clasped his forepaws around her,
just beneath the shoulders.
Shrieks and groans of despair re.
sounded from below. The ladies', who
still continued to gaze with dim eyes,
grew faint; but the men, especially the
huntsmen, who were acquainted with
the murderous habits of the beat
family, ieaped in spirit, and with d
hope--a mad hope = for the chiid't
safety. They perceived that Mishenks
WAS behaving in a very remarkable
manner, with all the caution and dex
terity which he could command
They were not mistaken az to his un
precedented goodness. The kind-heartet
bear lifted the little girl-up, CAREFUL,
bore her ever the precipics, and, turn
ing on the pivot of his hind paws, SO
her down on the other side of the path
Having performd this gymnastit
exercise, the bear, without waiting t,
be thanked (evidently he was we'll &C
quainted with the human race), whirlel
about, dropped on all fours, an,
proceeded quietly oil his way. swayin.
from side TO side, and grunting con
tendedly in anticipation of sweet repos
in his lair not far away.