h faster than men are, you
see; and if OLD-man had wakened the Lion, he would never have caught
him again, perhaps. Little by little he crept to the stone where the
Mountain-lion was dreaming, and at last grabbed him by the tail. It
wasn't much of a tail then, but enough for OLD-man to hold to. Ho!
The Lion was scared and begged hard, saying:

"'Spare me, OLD-man. You were full and I was hungry. I had to have
something to eat; had to get my living. Please let me go and do not
hurt me.' Ho! OLD-man was angry--more angry than he was when he waked
and found that he had been robbed, because he had travelled so far on
his hands and knees.

"'I'll show you. I'll teach you. I'll fix you, right now. Steal from
me, will you? Steal from the man that made you, you night-prowling
rascal!'

"OLD-man put his foot behind the Mountain-lion's head, and, still
holding the tail, pulled hard and long, stretching the Lion out to
great length. He squalled and cried, but OLD-man kept pulling until he
nearly broke the Mountain-lion in two pieces--until he couldn't stretch
him any more. Then OLD-man put his foot on the Mountain-lion's back,
and, still holding the tail, stretched that out until the tail was
nearly as long as the body.

"'There, you thief--now you are too long and lean to get fat, and you
shall always look just like that. Your children shall all grow to look
the same way, just to pay you for your stealing from the man that made
you. Come on with me'; and he dragged the poor Lion back to the place
where the fire was, and there rolled him in the hot ashes, singeing his
robe till it looked a great deal like burnt hair. Then OLD-man stuck
the Lion's nose against the burnt logs and blackened it some--that is
why his face looks as it does to-day.

"The Mountain-lion was lame and sore, but OLD-man scolded him some more
and told him that it would take lots more food to keep him after that,
and that he would have to work harder to get his living, to pay for
what he had done. Then he said, 'go now, and remember all the
Mountain-lions that ever live shall look just as you do.' And they do,
too!

"That is the story--that is why the Mountain-lion is so long and lean,
but he is no bigger thief than OLD-man, nor does he tell any more lies.
Ho!"

THE FIRE-LEGGINGS

There had been a sudden change in the weather. A cold rain was
falling, and the night comes early when the clouds hang low. The
children loved a br