Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-10-24


her big fraids that turned out to be
la very. very little fraid'?"
ooh, yes, grandma, you know such
nice stories, just love to hear them .
And Winnie brought her little rocker
ard seated herself in it at grandma's s
feet, prepared to enjoy herself thor
oughly.
This little girl | am going to tell
you about lived away out on the prai-
rie in the west, many years ago. She
was afraid of almost everything, just
as you are The little boys at school
caEed her LITTLE Fraid WrE,' and
when they wanted to tease her very
much they called her 'Scaredy-cat.'
when Little Fraid Girl heard the
coyotes bowling on the prairie al
night, and the wind go Woo, Woo, as
i. swept around the corners of the
house and ratified the windows, she
would cover down under the bed
clothes and just shiver with fright.
She was so afraid of the dark that
she always covered her head up tight
when she went to bed at night. or
course this was very unhealthy for
her and people used to wonder what
made her so pale and delicate look
ing.
Little Fraid Girl had to walk a
mile and a half to school, and there
were two ways she could go. One led
down a lonely lane and across the
prairie where strange cattle herded,
and the other way took her through
a narrow strip of woods and dow
into a hollow. AS she was Very, very
much afraid of the woods, she usually
went to school by way of the lane.
But one morning as she started to
school she happened to glance down
the lane and there, only :: few yards
away. near clump of bushes, she
was sure she saw big lio't. He Was
standing perfectly motionless, ytlnS
across the road. 1t would never do to
ot down the lane ard run the risk OF
being eaten by a lion, ana vet she
would not 90 back 10 tho house and
say that lien was standi?2 down the
lane. for it might not be Il lion, and
tlen her uncles would laugh at her.
They had enough to tease her about
already. So she went TO school that
morning through the woois.
Every minute she expected a gcp-
lin to chase her or big lnfan TO
leap from behind a tree and grab her.
She would run until almost out OF
breath, then She would walk littls
while until rested. then rum again.
The way seemed endless, bEt nealla'
q very tired Ii tie girl reached the
schoolhouso.
Little Fraid Girl did not mention
the lion to any of her schoolnlates
for she feared their ridc"ie. That at
ternoon as she was going homo a
aiehbor on his way to town gave hc'
a ride on his wagon. AS they passed
the place where Little Fraid Girl haa
Sc en- the lion she looked to see if he
V ere still there, but the lion had dis
appeared. She gave sigh OF rel1ef'
But the next morning there stood
Mr.. Lion. as big as life, in the same
SPOT. Little Fraid Girl stood by the
cate for a few minutes, trying to de
eide what to do. She would about as
soon be eaten by lion as to brave
! the terrors of those awful woods
again, and she felt. way down in the
bottom of her heart, that this was nc
lion at all. All the lions she had ever
read about walked back and forth and
switched their tails and roared until
Won could hear them mile. She De
ciGad to walk very close to this mys
terious looking thing and, it it moved
she would turn and run home as fas
as she could.
almost tiptoeing, Little Fraid Cir
stole softly down the lane, scarcel!
daring to breathe, as she drew neal
the object of her fright. The llof
never moved At last she was close
enough to see what this terrible crea
ture she had been running iron
was"
WAS it a COW, grandma? sale
Winnie.
t "Nothing so dangerous as a poor
innocent COW, even," said grandma
at was nothing but an old blackene'
, fence rail sticking up from cluml
, of bushes by the side of the road. LII
lie Fraid Girl fairly skipped for Joy