Remain on that horse impressed.
“But what do the bears eat, when they can’t get cattle?”
“Grass, and berries, and ants (myren).”
“But don’t the ants sting him?”
“Oh! no; no such thing. A friend of mine saw a bear come to one of those great ant-hills you have passed in the woods. He put out his tongue, and laid it on the ant-hill till it was covered with ants, and then slipped it back into his mouth. They can’t hurt him, his tongue is too thick-skinned for that.”
“Does the bear eat anything in winter?”
“Nothing, I believe. I have seen one or two that were killed then; their stomach was as empty as empty—wanted no cleaning at all. I think that’s the reason they are such cowards then. I have always more pluck when my stomach is full. Hav’n’t you?”
It struck me that there are many others besides the artless Norwegian who, if they chose, must confess to a similar weakness.
“But the wolves (ulven) don’t go to sleep in winter; what do they eat?”
“Ulven?—what’s that?”