Thus they wait in patience for, while they command success, and the
end of their toil is an old age of competence, and in the closing
years of life, quiet and repose. Well, he was enjoying these pleasant
visions when he saw, some thirty rods ahead of him, a huge bear, with
her cubs, 'travelling his way,' as the saying is, in other words
coming directly towards him. He was no hunter, and had with him no
weapon. He had heard strange stories of the ferocity of the bear when
her cubs were by her side, and to say that he was not horribly
frightened would be a departure from the strict requirements of truth.
He had heard, too, that a bear could not climb a small, straight tree,
and _he_ could. The question then was between climbing and running. He
was not much in a race, and he decided to climb; so selecting a
smooth-barked, perpendicular ash sapling, he started with might and
main towards the top. He went up, as he supposed, till he was out of
the reach of the bear, and held on, all the time keeping his eye on
the animal, and making as little noise as possible. The bear,
doubtless seeing that he was beyond her reach, passed on out of sight,
and after he remained till the danger was over, he concluded to come
down. He was astonished to find that his efforts to descend were
powerless. He seemed to have frozen to the tree.
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