ear: "Who are you?"
The boy turned quickly, and, in the confusion of the moment, he thoughthe was facing a huge rock, covered with brownish moss. Then he noticedthat the rock had broad paws to walk with, a head, two eyes, and agrowling mouth.
He could not pull himself together to answer, nor did the big beastappear to expect it of him, for it knocked him down, rolled him back andforth with its paws, and nosed him. It seemed just about ready toswallow him, when it changed its mind and called:
"Brumme and Mulle, come here, you cubs, and you shall have somethinggood to eat!"
A pair of frowzy cubs, as uncertain on their feet and as woolly aspuppies, came tumbling along.
"What have you got, Mamma Bear? May we see, oh, may we see?" shriekedthe cubs excitedly.
"Oho! so I've fallen in with bears," thought the boy to himself. "NowSmirre Fox won't have to trouble himself further to chase after me!"
The mother bear pushed the boy along to the cubs. One of them nabbed himquickly and ran off with him; but he did not bite hard. He was playfuland wanted to amuse himself awhile with Thumbietot before eating him.The other cub was after the first one to snatch the boy for himself, andas he lumbered along he managed to tumble straight down on the head ofthe one that carried the boy. So the two cubs rolled over each other,biting, clawing, and snarling.
During the tussle the boy got loose, ran over to the wall, and startedto scale it. Then both cubs scurried after him, and, nimbly scaling thecliff, they caught up with him and tossed him down on the moss, like aball.
"Now I know how a poor little mousie fares when it falls into the cat'sclaws," thought the boy.
He made several attempts to get away. He ran deep down into the oldtunnel and hid behind the rocks and climbed the birches, but the cubshunted him out, go where he would. The instant they caught him they lethim go, so that he could run away again and they should have the fun ofrecapturing him.
At last the boy got so sick and tired of it all that he threw himselfdown on the ground.
"Run away," growled the cubs, "or we'll eat you up!"
"You'll have to eat me then," said the boy, "for I can't run any more."
Immediately both cubs rushed over to the mother bear and complained:
"Mamma Bear, oh, Mamma Bear, he won't play any more."
"Then you must divide him evenly between you," said Mother Bear.
When the boy heard this he was so scared that he jumped up instantly andbegan playing again.
As it was bedtime, Mother Bear called to the cubs that they must comenow and cuddle up to her and go to sleep. They had been having such agood time that they wished to continue their play next day; so they tookthe boy between them and laid their paws over him. They did not want himto move without waking them. They went to sleep immediately. The boythought that after a while he would try to steal away. But never in allhis life had he been so tumbled and tossed and hunted and rolled! And hewas so tired out that he too fell asleep.
By and by Father Bear came clambering down the mountain wall. The boywas wakened by his tearing away stone and gravel as he swung himselfinto the old mine. The boy was afraid to move much; but he managed tostretch himself and turn over, so that he could see the big bear. He wasa frightfully coarse, huge old beast, with great paws, large, glisteningtusks, and wicked little eyes! The boy could not help shuddering as helooked at this old monarch of the forest.
"It smells like a human being around here," said Father Bear the instanthe came up to Mother Bear, and his growl was as the rolling of thunder.
"How can you imagine anything so absurd?" said Mother Bear withoutdisturbing herself. "It has been settled for good and all that we arenot to harm mankind any more; but if one of them were to put in anappearance here, where the cubs and I have our quarters, there wouldn'tbe enough left of him for you to catch even a scent of him!"
Father Bear lay down beside Mother Bear. "You ought to know me wellenough to understand that I don't allow anything dangerous to come nearthe cubs. Talk, instead, of what you have been doing. I haven't seen youfor a whole week!"
"I've been looking about for a new residence," said Father Bear. "FirstI went over to Vermland, to learn from our kinsmen at Ekshaerad how theyfared in that country; but I had my trouble for nothing. There wasn't abear's den left in the whole forest."
"I believe the humans want the whole earth to themselves," said MotherBear. "Even if we leave people and cattle in peace and live solely uponlignon and insects and green things, we cannot remain unmolested in theforest! I wonder where we could move to in order to live in peace?"
"We've lived comfortably for many years in this pit," observed FatherBear. "But I can't be content here now since the big noise-shop has beenbuilt right in our neighbourhood. Lately I have been taking a look atthe land east of Dal River, over by Garpen Mountain. Old mine pits areplentiful there, too, and other fine retreats. I thought it looked as ifone might be fairly protected against men--"
The instant Father Bear said this he sat up and began to sniff.
"It's extraordinary that whenever I speak of human beings I catch thatqueer scent again," he remarked.
"Go and see for yourself if you don't believe me!" challenged MotherBear. "I should just like to know where a human being could manage tohide down here?"
The bear walked all around the cave, and nosed. Finally he went back andlay down without a word.
"What did I tell you?" said Mother Bear. "But of course you think thatno one but yourself has any nose or ears!"
"One can't be too careful, with such neighbours as we have," said FatherBear gently. Then he leaped up with a roar. As luck would have it, oneof the cubs had moved a paw over to Nils Holgersson's face and the poorlittle wretch could not breathe, but began to sneeze. It was impossiblefor Mother Bear to keep Father Bear back any longer. He pushed the youngones to right and left and caught sight of the boy before he had time tosit up.
He would have swallowed him instantly if Mother Bear had not castherself between them.
"Don't touch him! He belongs to the cubs," she said. "They have hadsuch fun with him the whole evening that they couldn't bear to eat himup, but wanted to save him until morning."
Father Bear pushed Mother Bear aside.
"Don't meddle with what you don't understand!" he roared. "Can't youscent that human odour about him from afar? I shall eat him at once, orhe will play us some mean trick."
He opened his jaws again; but meanwhile the boy had had time to think,and, quick as a flash, he dug into his knapsack and brought forth somematches--his sole weapon of defence--struck one on his leather breeches,and stuck the burning match into the bear's open mouth.
Father Bear snorted when he smelled the sulphur, and with that the flamewent out. The boy was ready with another match, but, curiously enough,Father Bear did not repeat his attack.
"Can you light many of those little blue roses?" asked Father Bear.
"I can light enough to put an end to the whole forest," replied the boy,for he thought that in this way he might be able to scare Father Bear.
"Oh, that would be no trick for me!" boasted the boy, hoping that thiswould make the bear respect him.
"Good!" exclaimed the bear. "You shall render me a service. Now I'm veryglad that I did not eat you!"
Father Bear carefully took the boy between his tusks and climbed up fromthe pit. He did this with remarkable ease and agility, considering thathe was so big and heavy. As soon as he was up, he speedily made for thewoods. It was evident that Father Bear was created to squeeze throughdense forests. The heavy body pushed through the brushwood as a boatdoes through the water.
Father Bear ran along till he came to a hill at the skirt of the forest,where he could see the big noise-shop. Here he lay down and placed theboy in front of him, holding him securely between his forepaws.
"Now look down at that big noise-shop!" he commanded. The greatironworks, with many tall buildings, stood at the edge of a waterfall.High chimneys sent forth dark clouds of smoke, bla
sting furnaces were infull blaze, and light shone from all the windows and apertures. Withinhammers and rolling mills were going with such force that the air rangwith their clatter and boom. All around the workshops proper wereimmense coal sheds, great slag heaps, warehouses, wood piles, and toolsheds. Just beyond were long rows of workingmen's homes, pretty villas,schoolhouses, assembly halls, and shops. But there all was quiet andapparently everybody was asleep. The boy did not glance in thatdirection, but gazed intently at the ironworks. The earth around themwas black; the sky above them was like a great fiery dome; the rapids,white with foam, rushed by; while the buildings themselves were sendingout light and smoke, fire and sparks. It
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa. English Page 53