LESSON 66 AN ADVENTURE WITH WOLVES

AN ADVENTURE WITH WOLVES

I

1. "Father, do take me with you!"

I can't, my boy. There may be wolves on the lake to-night.

But I am not afraid of them, father. I have my whip and hatchet [1] , and I will whip and cut them.

2. The speakers were Toll, and his little son, Thor. Toll was a cooper [2] who lived in Norway. A customer had ordered a very large vat [3] ; and, on the evening before Christmas, Toll had finished it, and was now preparing to take it upon a sleigh [4] to its owner, who lived several miles away, on the other side of a lake.

Well, said Toll, in reply to his son, "come along, my little man."

3. It was a glorious winter night. The snow sparkled brightly, as if sprinkled with diamonds; the northern lights flashed in pale, shifting colours along the horizon [5] , and the moon sailed calmly through the starry sky above. The lake which had to be crossed was now frozen hard. How the cold air cut their faces, as they sped swiftly over the ice!

4. Hark! what was that? A terrible howl, as from a chorus of wild far-away voices, came floating over the crowns of the pine-trees.

What was that, father? asked Thor.

It was wolves, my child, said Toll.

Are you afraid, father? asked the boy.

No, child, I am not afraid of one wolf, nor of ten wolves; but, if they are in a pack of twenty or thirty, they are dangerous. And if they scent our track, as they probably will, they will be on us in five minutes.

THE HORSE STRAINED EVERY NERVE.

5. "How will they scent our track, father?"

They smell us in the wind; and the wind is from us towards them. Then they will howl to let their comrades know, so that they may attack us in strong force.

Why do we not return home, then? inquired the boy.

They are behind us. Our only chance is to reach the shore before they overtake us.

6. The horse, sniffing the presence of wild beasts, strained every nerve [6] to reach the farther shore. The howls now arose with a frightful distinctness [7] .

Why do you not throw away the vat, father ? said Thor. "Then the sleigh will run so much the faster."

7. "If we are overtaken, the vat may prove our safety. Fortunately it is large enough for two, and, when turned upside down, it will fit close to the ice. Be brave, my boy," whispered Toll. "They will soon be upon us. Give me your whip."

8. Toll had heard that men had often escaped from wolves by dragging some small object on the ground behind them. He therefore broke a chip from one of the hoops of the vat, and tied it to the lash of the whip. Just then he heard a short, hungry bark behind him, and turning his head, saw a pack of wolves numbering more than a dozen, the foremost of which was within a few yards of the sleigh.

9. While encouraging the horse, Toll, who had little faith in the experiment [8] with the whip, watched anxiously the leader of the wolves, and observed, to his astonishment [9] , that the creature seemed to be getting no nearer. As soon as he reached the little chip, which was dragging along upon the ice, this suddenly arrested [10] his attention, and his speed slackened.

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[1] hatchet: Small axe.

[2] cooper: A man who makes casks.

[3] vat: A cask, wooden tank.

[4] sleigh: A kind of carriage used on snow or ice.

[5] horizon: Where the earth and the sky seem to meet.

[6] strained every nerve: Tried its hardest.

[7] distinctness: Clearness.

[8] experiment: Something tried; a trial.

[9] astonishment: A feeling of great surprise.

[10] arrested: Stopped.