Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-05

gran father awas stasH1n;4 10 sim con-; and he says to Sine onSthatSiitSsd! !goshardtswith the sheep stealers If Sthey Twas ever ketched. It'd be states prison, sure as cats, he. says.
 The tbeark thatgSimeon had ketched asleep was layin's Z thereby it's pole; pre- tendin' to be- snoo2ip,'l Z but when < my grandfather, spoke them ,wordssit xopsned it's eyes andss looked up student @and queer. Then 1t got up and took to thinkin' like, and kep' turnin' it's eyeson Simeon, and grandfather says to Simeon ag'in to beware O that bear; but Sim con jest says: 'PooE!'
 Next. day. says the Squire, gran father went awayson a s three, weeks raftin' trip, and the day 7 after that young Steve, who lived n ext farmto Sim con, got up early and found three of his sheep gone. But the thief had left such, a trail that Steve follered it till it stopped, and then he almost ker- flummixed, he was so astounded.
 But he .we9teright ss off 'ag says the Squire, and woke up the justice of the peace. and, ,toldrhtrnt he, wanted a war rant for the,sheep thief; and:When young Steve told him who it ,was he gi'most fell in fit. Then Steve routed out the con- stable, and where. do yeu think he led him? Straight to,, ,,simgon's!
 'First. says 1SheS SsquireSS they went to the milk house There hung young steves three sheep. :. And 'athey were skinned! Then they went to the barn. There laid the .pelts off O them sheep, on the barn.foor.
 That was, all they wanted. They got Simeon, up served V che warrant and marched hin. of In, spite of all he could say. Young Steve said afterward,' says the Squire, that he See the bear dancin' around thet pale, and ihuggin' itself as if it was jest rahout. Justin with. joy or somethln'' AHt stsye .djdaSt think nothin' about it, bears ybe ein', queer
 '"rhe Squire went on and told Uncle Jase how the upshot of it all was that the day his grandfather got back from his three weeks .raftin trip he went over to Simons to see how him and the bear was gittin' along, the Squire's grandfa- ther, of course, not havin' heerd any thing about Simeon bein'' took up for sheep stealin', and there was the bear layin' down by the pole, ponderin' like, when along conqssyouIg Steve with the news from the county seat, and he hol- lers out:
 Hooray! Simeon gifts three years in jail! Hooray!'
 With that says the Squire, the bear jumped up and danced and hugged itself, and almost hollered hooray, too
 When the Squire's grandfather heerd all about it. he up and says:
 ' I warned him! I warned him ag'in the bear, but he pooled atme! The bear stole them sheep and put 1t on to Simeon, sure as gups!'
 Then says the Squire, the bear quit huggin' itself, and laid down and looked skeert and sneakin', But there wouldn't nobody else believe that the bear had done it, and the .unfortunate man that pooled at my ancestor, who knoWed bears from A to izzard, and that scoffed at Natur', not knowln' she was so won derful in bears that bear ketched asleep was bound to git even with it's fletcher, even if it had to make him out | a sheep thief-that unfortunate man had to serve his time. Uncle Jase.' says the i Squire, the best thing you can do Is to | send Evander warnln''
 Uncle Jase he sot spell, and then he says to the Squire, sort o.as clincher;
 'Squire,' he%Esays, happens that Simeon was an ancestor O mine. he says, and not so long back, neither he says, and it's a littlo queer, seems to me- he says, 'that,I neyerAeerd of a,bear maxim of him out to be asshdep' 'thief!' says he.
 What" saysHtbe Squire, jest as if he was s'Drised, more than he could say. Simeon an ances4Cr o, .your'n?,, he says. 'Well-wellv-well! gh he. says. .~'K Kin 1t be then says he, that the, bear didn't steal them sheep after reall2' says he.
 And says to the Squire then, and I'd say it to him DOW
 Squire says, you hadn't ought to done it!'
 But the Squire he jest only grinned." " N Y. Sun.