Three Boys in the Wild North Land

by Egerton Ryerson Young

“Then, after we had travelled some time, we came out of the dark forest among some, O, such big rocks, bigger than houses. Among them we had to go, until we came to a dark opening like a big door, and into this we had to go. It must have been the home of the bears.

“Roddy cried out, with fear, but the bears growled again and showed their great teeth, and so we had to go in.”

“I didn’t want to go in,” said the poor boy, as he put his arms around the neck of his mother; “it was worse than a cellar, it looked so dark. But the old bear behind just kept pushing me along with his nose, so I had to go.”

“It was not such a bad place after all,” said Wenonah, “when we once got into it. It seemed dark at first as we went in out of the sunshine; but when we were in it, and looked back, there was a good deal of light. In it were big piles of leaves and dry grass, and on them the bears soon lay down. One of the big bears lay down between us and the door, so we could not get out. We sat down by the little bears, and I whispered to Roddy to be brave, for God would take care of us and our friends would surely find us. Then we lay down on the dry grass and, being very weary, soon went to sleep, with our arms around each other.

“How long we slept we knew not, but were suddenly roused up by the little bears playing and tumbling over and around us. So we got up, and the bears made us go back again across the sands into the berry-bushes, and there we all ate berries, as there was nothing else to eat. The little ones kept poking their noses into our hands, and thus begged us to pick berries for them.”

“The lazy little fellows,” said Roderick, now smiling as he thought of them; “little greedy piggies that never had enough.”

“There we stayed in the bushes,” said Wenonah, “until nearly night, and then they made us go back again with them in the same way to the same place. It seemed so dreadful to have to spend the night in that place with those wild bears; but we whispered, ‘We will be brave,’ and so we lay down between the little bears, for in some way or other we felt the little ones were our best friends, and it was because of them the old ones did not kill us.

“I thought we could never spend the night in such a place, but we did. We just whispered our prayers as there we lay, and ended with, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep.’ And sleep we did until the little bears woke us up again the next morning.

“The old bears were now so friendly that they let us pat them, and so I thought that perhaps they would let us go; and so, when we came to the sand, I whispered to Roddy, ‘Let us try and get away.’ But those wicked bears would not let us go; for when we tried to go along the sand in one direction one of the big bears got in our way and made us go back; then we tried to go the other way, and they stopped us there. I now felt that we were like prisoners, and that we had to go with them. They led us again into the berry-bushes, and Roddy and I ate a good many, for we were very hungry, and the little bears teased us so much we had to pick a lot for them. It was when I was feeling the worst, and fearing that perhaps they would never let us leave them, that I heard the bird note. O, how sweet it sounded! For I knew it was from Mustagan, and that it meant we would soon be free. But I saw that the bears had heard it, and were very uneasy, as they had been at all sounds. For a time they stopped eating berries and stood up and listened. However, when it came again and again, so bird-like, they lost their fear and again began eating the berries.”

Said Wenonah: “I was afraid to answer, for the bears had always been so angry at us when we made any noise; but I knew that sweet call meant rescue and home, and must be answered, and so, while putting a big handful of berries in the mouth of the fiercest old bear, I gave the answering call. Then came the reply.