LESSON 20 THE NATIVE BEAR

THE NATIVE BEAR

bear un-til Queens-land native

ko-a-la crea-tures harm-less trem-bled

1. Away in the Queensland bush, there was a little native bear or koala. He lived in a place where the gum-trees grew thick and tall, far away from the homes of men. Only now and then did he catch sight of these strange creatures, and, whenever he saw one, he trembled, he knew not why.

NATIVE BEARS

2. It was night, and the little bear was all alone. Think of it! A little baby bear all alone in the bush at night!

3. He could not find his mother; and he was very hungry and cold.

4. "O, mother, where are you? Where are you? Why don't you come home?" he cried. "I'm so cold and hungry! Why don't you come back?"

5. But there was no mother to, come back to her little one. So he lay down at the foot of a big gum-tree, and cried until he went to sleep. Poor little bear! He was only a baby bear, too.

6. Where do you think his mother was? Why didn't she come back to her little one? Alas! she had been shot.

7. If you were a man and had a gun, would you shoot at the harmless little bears that climb about in the gum-trees?

8. I'm sure you would not.