Show A III BEDTIME STORY III III By THORNTON W. W BURGESS s 1 AN EXCITING MINUTE I LONGEST loves whose wits H HE work fast Nor stop until the dangers danger's past Every one of the Little People People-on the Green Meadows in the Green Forest and around the Smiling Pool knows that this Is true It is those with the quickest wits who have the longest lives Almost every day every everyone one of them has to depend on d l r vl V x 1 I tir Buster Bear Was Splashing Through the Rushes on the Other Side Sido of the tho Pond and the tho Air Was V Filled With Ducks his wits to get him out of danger unexpected danger There Isn't time for thinking He must act first and do his thinking later Such times may come ome to you and to me b but bile t they are not likely to come often We go days and days without meet- meet Ing Ins any real danger But with the Little People it Is different Right when they think themselves safest they are likely to have to use their wits and to use them quickly to save their lives That Is one reason why we should do all we can to help them and protect them and never give ghe them reason to fear us Now It dl didn't seem possible that there was the least bit of danger for foran an anyone anone one as Buster Bear swam about in the pond of Paddy the Beaver that hot summer afternoon It was wasas wasas wasas as quiet and peaceful there as a place could possibly be Then along came a mischievous Little Breeze and carried the smell of ot Farmer Browns Brown's Boy to Buster Bear swimming swimming swim swim- ming out there In the pond That doesn't seem like much for Farmer Browns Brown's boy couldn't possibly possibly pos sibly have hate hurt Buster Bear If It he had wanted wante 1 to and he didn't dl want to do anything of ot the kind But when Buster Bear was a very little cub he was taught that man Is not notto notto notto to be trusted an and 1 Is a creature to be feared the only one In fact to be afraid of Buster never had got over that fear tear So the Instant Buster Bear caught tho the faint smell of Farmer Browns Brown's Boy his wits sal said 1 Get away from here as quickly as you can 1 I This Is no place for you I That Is the dreadful dread ful man Get ashore at the nearest place and run 1 Buster didn't stop to think He turned an and 1 made for the shore right where Pa Paddy the Beaver and the Quack family were hiding among the rushes Now they knew perfectly perfect perfect- ly well that Buster Bear wasn't comIng coming coming com com- ing on purpose to hurt them They knew he didn't know that they were there But that wouldn't help any if one of or his big feet landed on quo of ot them Buster Bear was frightened frightened fright fright- ened arid and now they in their turn were frightened Busters Buster's fright was waa needless ss and foolish but theirs was not You see they knew bythe by bythe bythe the way nay he was coming that he wasn't going to be polite and ask them to get out of his way Nosir Nosir No Nosir sir Buster was too frightened to be polite and ask them to get out of his We way ay No sir Buster was too frightened to be polite he was In too much of ot a hurry The wits wIls of Paddy the tho Beaver worked quickly They always do He dI didn't have to stop to think to dive He Just dived without thinking thinking think think- ing and by the time he could do any thinking he was safely out of the way of Buster Bear At the first splash Buster made as he headed for the tho shore the Quack family started to swim out of the way But Buster Bear was coming too fast for them to get out of his way in that manner Mr Quacks Quack's wits Just op opened ned his wings and sent him up Into the air like a rocket He didn't stop to think to fly he simply simply sim sima ply flew Mrs Quack did the same thing and the ten young yoting Quacks now almost as big as their parents like dutiful children followed It all nIl happened in just a little minute it seemed to Farmer Browns Brown's Boy One minute everything every thing was as ns quiet and peaceful as could be and the next nest Buster Bear was splashing through th the rushes on the other sI side of ot the pond and the Jie air nIl was filled with with ducks flying in D all directions and quacking with fright It was a very exciting mInute minute min mIn- ute and Just to add to the excite excite- Ancient Shipping Record An ox oz bone raised by a n dredge on the Deser river bore what experts believe is the oldest record of Ocr Ger German man shipping Carved on It were several Saxon letters and the outline outline out out- line of ot a Fourth century freight vessel |