Three children were playing in a garret one evening. They were having a happy time.

Soon they heard something coming up the stairs, tramp, tramp, tramp! Scratch, scratch, scratch!

Then a black head came through the open door, and a big black bear came into the room. The children were frightened and ran to hide. The bear found them, but he did not hurt them. He rubbed his soft nose against their hands. "This must be a dog," they said. "He does not hurt us. Maybe he wants to play."

They patted his shaggy coat, and pushed him down on the floor. The baby lay with her head against his side. She played with the rope that hung from his neck.

Then one of the boys began to beat his drum.

The bear jumped up.

An old broom lay on

the garret floor. The bear took the broom in his paws, and began to march. The other boy got his toy gun, and marched behind the bear.

Rub-a-dub, dub! rub-a-dub, dub! went the drum. Left, right! left, right! left, right! left, right! marched the soldiers around the room.

Just then their mother came home. She looked in at the door, and saw the great bear with the children. She was so frightened that she could not move or speak.

While she stood there looking in, a in, a man stepped up behind her. He saw the bear, too; but he was not frightened.

The bear belonged to him. He was a tame bear and could dance. The man had tied him to a tree while he ate supper; but the bear had untied the rope and had wandered away.

"Come!" said the man.

The bear dropped the broom and walked after his master, down the stairs.

ANDROCLUS AND THE LION

cit'y

I

An'dro clus Rome slave cru'el cave fight mouth thorn licked lon'ger

Here is a story from a far country. It is about a man and a lion. The man's name was Andro-clus. He lived long ago, in the city of Rome.

Androclus was a slave.

The man who owned

him was hard and cruel.

When he was angry,

he beat his slave.

One night poor Androclus ran away.

He hid in the thick woods for many days. He was afraid to go far from his hiding place to look for food, so it was not long before he grew very weak and ill.

At last Androclus found a dark cave. He crept into the cave and lay upon the cold stones. Soon he was fast asleep.

This cave was the home of a lion. While Androclus was asleep, the lion came back, roar

ing. The roaring awoke Androclus. He could not fight; and he could not run away, for the lion was standing in the mouth of the cave.

How frightened he was! He closed his eyes and waited, but the lion was not angry.

When Androclus opened his eyes, the lion limped to his side. In some way the lion's foot had been hurt.

Androclus raised the foot to look at it, and the lion rubbed his head against the slave's arm. In the lion's foot was a long, sharp thorn. Androclus pulled out the thorn, and the lion thanked him just as a dog would have done. He jumped about him and licked his hands and feet.

Androclus was no longer afraid. When night came, the man and the lion slept side by side. In the morning the lion brought food for Androclus.

Soon the two were good friends. Every day the lion fed Androclus; and it was not long before Androclus was well again.

One day some soldiers saw Androclus walking in the woods. They knew him, because they had seen him with his master. So they took him back to Rome, where his master lived.

Now the master was more cruel than before. He beat Androclus, and had iron chains fastened to his arms and legs, so that he could not run away or fight. Then he put him into a dark prison, where he had to stay for weeks.

At last Androclus was led out of prison, and soldiers drove him to a place that looked like a large circus ground.

A high stone wall ran around this ground. Against this wall were rows of seats raised one On the seats were hundreds and

above another.

hundreds of people.