Once there was a foolish man, who was always afraid of bears. He was always afraid there were bears in the woods around him, and that they would come and eat him up.

One day he thought he would take his gun and go out and shoot a bear. So he took down his gun, and put in some powder to load it, and then he put in some paper to keep the powder in, and then he put in a bullet over that. The bullet was a round, heavy thing, like a round stone. He put another piece of paper in next, to keep the bullet down. How do you suppose he got the paper down to the bottom of his gun? Why, he had a long, slender iron, which he called his ramrod, and he pushed the paper down with his long, slender ramrod. Then he pulled the ramrod out, and slid it into its proper place by the side of his gun.

Did you ever see any gunpowder? When you set it on fire, it flashes up very quick. There is a picture of some boys burning gunpowder in Rollo Learning to Talk. If the gunpowder is in a close place when it is set on fire, it bursts out violently, and makes a noise. This man’s gun was a close place, and he expected that when he should see the bear, he should point his gun at the bear, and then set fire to the powder down in the bottom of his gun, and that the powder would flash and burst out, and drive out the round, heavy bullet, and make it whiz through the air very swiftly, and go into the bear and kill him.

But how do you think he was going to set fire to the powder which was away down in the bottom of his gun, under the paper and the bullet? I will tell you how. There was a little hole, a very little one, in the side of his gun, opposite where the powder was, and he put a little powder into that hole. The name of the hole is the touch-hole. Close by that hole there were some things fixed which would strike together and make sparks. They would strike together when he pulled a little thing. The little thing he pulled was the trigger. So that when he should be all ready, and should have the gun pointing at the bear, he would only pull the trigger, and that would make the flint and steel strike together, and that would make sparks which would fall upon the powder in the little touch-hole, and it would burn in, quick, with a flash, and set the powder in the gun on fire, and that would drive the bullet out, and make it whiz through the air and kill the bear. That is the way the man expected to shoot. That is the way they always shoot.

Just before he was ready to shoot, he always had to pull back the flint, so as to get the flint and the trigger in the right place, and when he did this it would say click. This would be cocking his gun. Then it would be ready to fire.

When the gun was all ready excepting being cocked, the man put it on his shoulder, and went off into the woods. He looked all about him, but for a long time he could not see any bear. At last he saw a strange looking thing up in a tree, among the leaves.“I wonder,” said he, “if that is not a bear.”

It looked rather strangely, and he could not tell what it was if it was not a bear. So he thought he might as well shoot it. He accordingly took down his gun from his shoulder, and pulled back the flint, and heard it say click. Then he pointed the gun up towards the strange looking thing in the tree, and he pulled the trigger. Crackle went the sparks, flash went the powder in the touch-hole, pop went the gun, whiz went the bullet through the air, and the man looked, expecting to see the bear fall down dead from the tree.

Instead of that he could see, when the smoke cleared away a little, that the strange looking thing appeared exactly as it did before. He went round a little to see it better, and what do you think it was? Why, it was only a crooked branch of the tree.“Ah,” said he, “I made a mistake. I ought to have waited until I saw whether it moved. Bears move. Next time I will not fire at any thing unless it moves.”

So he went along a little farther, looking around on all the trees. At last he saw something upon a tree, moving; he thought that must be a bear. So he took his gun down quick off of his shoulder, and he pulled back the flint, and it said click, and he pointed the gun up into the tree, and then he pulled the trigger. Crackle went the sparks, flash went the powder in the little touch-hole, pop went the gun, whiz went the bullet through the air, puff went the smoke, and the man looked, expecting to see the bear fall down dead from the tree.

Instead of that, what do you think he saw? Why, it was nothing but a little squirrel, with a long, bushy tail, running away on a limb of the tree, as fast as he could go. What the man saw moving was only the tip of his tail; the rest of him was round behind the tree, and he thought it was a bear round there.

“Ah,” said the man, “I made another little mistake. Bears are black. This squirrel’s tail is gray. I must not fire at any thing again unless it is black.”

So he walked along, looking about him carefully, and up into all the trees. By and by he saw something moving. He looked up and saw that it was black. It was the little tip of a black thing; he could only see a little of it. The rest was round behind the tree.

“Now,” says the man, “I know I have found a bear; for it is black, and bears are black.”

So he loaded his gun, and got it all ready. Click, said the lock when he cocked it. He pointed up towards the tree. In a minute he pulled the trigger,—flash went the powder in the touch-hole, pop went the gun, whiz went the bullet through the air, and the man looked, expecting to see the bear fall down dead from the tree.

Instead of that, what do you think he saw? Why, it was only a little blackbird, flying off through the branches as fast as he could go. The black thing which the man saw moving was only the blackbird’s tail, projecting out from behind the tree, and he thought it was a black bear round there.

“Ah,” said the man, “I made a mistake again. Bears are large, as well as black. This was very little. I must not fire at any thing again unless it is large as well as black.”

So he walked along, looking about him carefully, and up into all the trees. By and by he saw something very strange. It was a little way up a tree, clinging to a branch. It was partly hid by the leaves, so that he could not see it very well, but he knew that it was black, and it was large, and it was moving.

“Now,” says the man, “I am certain I have found a bear, for it is large and black, and bears are large and black. Besides, it moves.”

So he loaded his gun, and rammed down the bullet with his ramrod, and pulled back the flint. It said click. Then he knew that all was ready. He was sure of his bear this time, and he determined to drag him home by the ears.

He pointed his gun up at the large, black thing, and pulled the trigger. Flash, went the powder in the touch-hole, pop went the gun, whiz went the bullet through the air, and the man looked, expecting to see the bear fall down dead from the tree.

Instead of that, a man came rushing out of the bushes, calling out,

“Halloa there,—what are you shooting my coat for?”

The man was at first so astonished that he could hardly speak. Presently he said,

“Who are you, sir?”

“I am a wood-cutter. I came out here to cut wood, and I hung my coat on the tree; now you have shot a hole through it!!”

“Is that your coat?”

“Yes.”

“I thought it was a bear.”

“A bear!!” said the wood-cutter with astonishment.

“Yes, I thought there were bears in the woods, and that they would come out and eat me up; so I came to shoot one.”