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Show Children's Bedtime Story By THORNTON W. BURGESS WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HEMLOCK TREE When hope Koes out, despair comes In, And then the battle's hard to win. I0 YOU know the meaning of - the word despair? It means the feeling that there is no hope, not the least bit of hope. It is a dreadful dread-ful feeling. Bobby Coon knows all about it. It is a feeling which makes you want to let go and not try any more, or else do something very desperate, which means something which you would never think of doing do-ing if you had any hope at all. . When Bobby Coon, looking down from his hiding place near the top of the young hemlock tree in the Green Forest, saw that the hunters knew by the barking of the dogs that he was in that tree a terrible fear clutched at his heart. Still he did have a little hope. He knew by the way they walked round and round the tree that they couldn't see him. The branches of the young hemlock hem-lock were thick and the light from Mistress Moon made the shadows very black. It was where the branches were thickest and the shadows were blackest that Bobby was hiding. So as he watched the hunters walk round and round, all the time looking up, he knew that they couldn't see him and in spite fin Up went Farmer Brown's Boy and down, down came Bobby Coon. of his terrible fear a little hope began be-gan to grow in his heart. But when at last Farmer Brown's Boy began to climb the tree hope went out and despair came in. If Farmer Brown's Boy kept on his way to the top he was bound to find him. Bobby knew that. And what could he do? Nothing. Just nothing. Anyway that is the way it seemed. Of course he might jump to the ground, but there were those dreadful dread-ful dogs waiting for him. If there had been but one it would haVe been different. There might have been just a wee chance that he could get away. But with two there simply sim-ply was no chance at all. If only he had chosen a tree a little nearer to other trees so that he could have crossed from one to another. But there wasn't a tree near enough to this one for him to do that. Up went Farmer Brown's Boy and down came Bobby Coon. One was on one side of the tree and one on the other. Was Farmer Brown's Boy going to be stupid enough to let Bobby Coon pass without seeing him? Bobby almost held his breath as he got so near that he seemed to be looking right into the eyes of Farmer Brown's Boy. He knew then that Farmer Brown's Boy did not see him. There was no doubt about it, Bobby didn't know whether to go on or to stay where he was and fight as best he could if Farmer Brown's Boy tried to hurt him. He' drew back his lips so as to show his teeth, his sharp, white teeth, and he started to growl. And just at that very minute he saw something in the eyes of Farmer Brown's Boy that made him change his mind. He didn't know why, but somehow he had a feeling that Farmer Brown's Boy didn't want to hurt him and didn't mean to hurt him. Bobby kept right on down one side of the tree while Farmer Brown's Boy kept on up the other. Bobby waited until he saw a chance and then softly dropped to the ground and ran. He knew it wouldn't be long before those dogs found his tracks and it wasn't. But it gave him time enough to reach and climb another tree, where he was safe. Farmer Brown's Boy looked very foolish as he climbed down from the young hemlock tree to join the others. At least he tried to look foolish as the other hunters made fun of him for letting Bobby Coon get away. He wouldn't for the world have them suspect that he had joined them in their hunt so as to save Bobby Coon. No one would have guessed it to have seen the eagerness with which he led the way to the tree at the foot of which the dogs were now barking. (Associated Newspapers WNU Service.) |