“‘I shall jump far higher than any of you. I shall get to the top,’ said the bear.
“He gave a tremendous leap, but he, too, failed.
“Last of all came the lion. ‘It is not strange that you have all failed. You are not lions. But I am the king of beasts. I shall bring the little boys down,’ said he.
“He stepped back from the wall, then he ran and jumped with all his might. He jumped higher than any of the others, but the top of the rock was still far above him, so he fell back and tumbled flat on his back.
“Without saying anything, a tiny little measuring-worm began to creep up the rock. It was so tiny that none of the animals noticed it. Little by little, it crept slowly upward. Presently it was above the bear’s jump, then it was far above the lion’s jump, then it was out of sight.”
“Please hurry up, father,” said Alachu. “I can scarcely wait to see if it got the little boys.”
Massea only smiled and went on. “So it crawled up, and up, and up, through many winters, and at last it reached the top.”
“Goody!” cried Alachu, clapping her hands. “Then what did it do?”
“Then the measuring-worm took the little boys and brought them down the way it went up.”