What the Animals Do and Say by Eliza Lee Cabot Follen
page 28 of 43 (65%)
page 28 of 43 (65%)
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asleep, and the little girl jumped right upon his growling majesty.
The bear arose, evidently not quite pleased at being made a stepping stone, took the little girl in his great shaggy paws, and gave her an ugly hug, such as only a bear can give. Mr. Bear would have squeezed the breath out of the body of the poor little girl, had not the good old cow seen the danger. The courageous creature, instead of running away, turned back immediately, and began goring the bear with her horns in such a way as to force old Bruin, if he valued a whole hide, to turn round and defend himself. So he let go his hold on the little girl, who, though sadly frightened and bruised, was still strong enough to run towards home. Presently the bear followed her. Immediately the cow attacked him again with her horns, and drove him off. This continued till they got out of the wood, when the bear ran back to his own home. The gentleman who told us this story said he had seen the little girl, and that she had never quite recovered from the effect of the horrid squeeze of the grim old bear, but still suffered in her chest. Still she was thankful that her life was saved, and always considered the good old cow her preserver." "Why, Mother," said Frank, "I did not think that a cow could be good for any thing but to give milk." "In Germany, they use cows for draught, and make them work pretty hard. There you see cows every day doing the same work that our oxen do, and giving the poor man his supper at the end of the day besides; and it is said that the labor does not hurt them. The Germans feed the cows well, treat them gently and kindly, but make them, as well as the dogs, work for a living." |
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