ped him still harder. It hurt so that the boy could
not keep the tears back, but he did not cry out or say a word.

"Very well, then," said Father Bear, raising his paw very slowly,
hoping that the boy would give in at the last moment.

But just then the boy heard something click very close to them, and
saw the muzzle of a rifle two paces away.

"Father Bear! Don't you hear the clicking of a trigger?" cried the
boy. "Run, or you will be shot!"

Father Bear grew terribly hurried. He gave himself time, though, to
pick up the boy and carry him along. As he ran, a couple of shots
sounded; the bullets grazed his ears, but he escaped.

When Father Bear had run some distance into the woods, he paused and
set Nils down on the ground.

"Thank you, little one," he said. "I dare say those bullets would have
caught me if you hadn't been there. Now I want to do you a service in
return. If you should ever meet with another bear, just say to him
this--which I shall whisper to you--and he won't touch you."

Father Bear whispered a word or two into the boy's ear and then
hurried away.

THE GIANT ENERGY AND THE FAIRY SKILL

Long, long ago, when there were giants to be seen, as they might be
seen now if we only looked in the right place, there lived a young
giant who was very strong and very willing, but who found it hard to
get work to do.

The name of the giant was Energy, and he was so great and clumsy that
people were afraid to trust their work to him.

If he were asked to put a bell in the church steeple, he would knock
the steeple down before he finished the work. If he were sent to reach
a broken weather vane, he would tear off part of the roof in his zeal.
So, at last, people would not employ him and he went away to the
mountains to sleep; but he could not rest, even though other giants
were sleeping as still as great rocks under the shade of the trees.

Young Giant Energy could not sleep for he was too anxious to help in
the world's work; and he went down into the valley, and begged so
piteously for something to do that a good woman gave him a basket of
china to carry home for her.

"This is child's play for me," said the giant as he set the basket
down so hard that every bit of the china was broken.

"I wish a child had brought it for me," answered the woman, and the
young giant went away sorrowful. He climbed the mountain and lay down
to rest; but he could not stay there and do nothing, so he went back