Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-10-13

y
re in the west, many years ago. She
was afraid of almost everything, just
as you are. The little boys at school
! caTad her Little Fraid CVrF,' and
when they wanted to tease her very
much they called her 'Scaredy-cat.'
when Little Fraid Girl heard the
coyotes howling on th" prairie al
night. and the wind go Woo, Woo, as
l. swept around the corners OF the
house and ratified tho 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. Of
course this was very unhealthy for
her and people used to wonder wha
made her so pale and delicate look
ing.
Little Fraid Girl had to walk a
mile and a half to school. and there
we're two ways she could go. One led
down lonely lane and across the
prairie where strange cattle herded,
F, and the other way took her through
ia narrow strip of woods and dow l
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 lior. He was
standing perfectly motionless, ea1ins
across the road. 1t would never do to
g, down the lane ard run the risk OF
being eaten by lion, and vet she
would not go back to the hOIst and
, say that lion was standag down the
lane. for it might not DC Il ZION. and
tten her uncles would la1en ut hcr.
They had enough to tease her abou.
already. SO she Went TO school that
morning through the woOIs.
Every minute she eypectel gcb-
lin to chase her or a big Indian to
leap from behind a tree anci grab her.
She would run until almost Oui Of
breath, then she would Walk a littls
while until rested then run again.
The way seemed endless. bEt n"allS
very tired little girl reached the
schoolhouse.
Little Fraid Girl did not mention
for she feared their ridic"ia. 1ha, af-
ternoon as she was going horne a
eiehbor on his way to town gave to-
a ride on his wagon. AS they pas sei
the place where Little Fraid Girl had
Sc en- the lion she looked to see if h
we're still there, but the lion had dis
appeared. She gave a sigh of relief.
But the next morning there stood
Mr.. Lion, as big as life. in the same
spot, Little Fraid Girl STOOD by the
cate for 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 thu
bottom of her heart, that this was no
lion at all. All the lions she had over
read about walked back and forth and
oh hni
you could hear them a mile. She de-
cided to walk very close to this mys-
tcrious looking thing. and. if it moved,
she would turn and run home as fas
as she could.
almost tiptoeing, Little Fraid Girl
stole softly down the lane, scarcely
daring to brea The. as she drew near
the object of her fright The lion
never moved. At last she was close
enough to see what this terrible crea-
ture she had been running from
was"
WAS it COW. grandma?' said
Nothing so dangerous as poor,
innocent COW, even. said grandma.
ut was nothing but an old blackened
fence rail sticking up from clumD
IF bushes by the side of the road. Lit
lie Fraid Girl fairly skipped for JOY,
sc great was her relief, and she ac-
tually forgot to be afraid once be-
tween the fence rail and the school
house.
"And after that. when Little Fraid
Girl saw anything she did not under
stand shealways investigated the mat
Ter before running away, and she
found that the most of her big fraids'
were very small fraids' indeed"
Winnie studied moment, then she
said:
What was the Little Fraid Girls
real name. grandma"