At first the bear just fidgeted a little and then he made a dab with his paw at the supposed fly that was worrying him.
But the turban continued to tickle him, and at last he woke up with a start. When he saw the turban hanging before him he made a snap at it, and then the man jerked it away.
THE BEAR GAVE THE TURBAN A VIGOROUS PULL.
Up jumped the bear, just like a cat after a handkerchief. He made a bound after the turban and seized it with his paws and teeth.
He jumped so suddenly and gave the turban such a vigorous pull that the man came very near being jerked out of the tree, which might have been bad for him, but our Colonel, who was ready with his rifle, fired and killed the bear instantly. He was a big fellow and had a splendid skin.
When the Colonel sailed for home he carried with him half a dozen bear and tiger skins. They were all fine ones, but the best of them, a magnificent skin that had once belonged to a very large and savage Bengal tiger, was a particular favorite with him, and he now has it on his library floor, just before the big grate where he sits and reads on winter evenings.
And yet he did not kill the tiger to which the skin belonged. He cannot point to it as an evidence of his bravery and skill in the jungles of India.
It is the skin of the tiger that the elephant killed with his knee.