“Now let me see you do it, Mr. Loup!” he cried. “Here comes mother! She won’t let you hurt me!”
The way Loup jumped and growled showed that his courage wasn’t so very great after all. He had no desire to meet Mother Bear, and the thought he had lost a delicious dinner by talking so long to Buster made him hungry. For a moment he hesitated. If he jumped on Buster and ran away with him, Mother Bear would be on his tracks immediately, and if he stayed he would be cornered in the cave. He decided to take the safest course.
“Well, if your mother’s coming, Buster,” he said in a changed voice, “it won’t be necessary for me to stay here with you any longer. You might tell her I kept guard over the cave while she was away.”
Buster was so surprised by these words that he turned to look at the Lynx. Loup smiled at him, and added: “Of course, you know this was all a joke. I didn’t intend to hurt you. I love little bear cubs. That’s why I came here to protect you. We’ll always be great friends, and when you grow up I’ll show you the ways of the woods.”
Buster in his innocence believed these soft words, and his feelings toward Loup took a sudden change. He wasn’t wise enough to follow up his advantage and let Loup go. Instead he said:
“Don’t go yet, Mr. Loup. I’m not sure mother is coming after all. The noise in the bushes was just a bird scratching for worms.”
Loup raised his ugly head and glanced around him. His ears were cocked up so that he could catch the faintest sound in the distance. Then a smile of satisfaction spread over his face. Turning to Buster he let out a roar that sounded like distant thunder rumbling in the sky. It made Buster jump nearly two feet in the air.
“So you were trying to deceive me!” he growled. “You lied to me! You said your mother was coming when she wasn’t. Then for that I’ll kill you and eat you up!”
Buster started to protest. “No, no, Mr. Loup, I didn’t lie to you,” he stammered.
But he couldn’t get any further. Loup had crouched for a spring. Buster saw his big, dark body coming through the air at him, and very naturally he ran away crying with fright. Loup seeing that he had missed him in his spring struck viciously with one paw, and just grazed Buster’s head. It was only a graze, but it drew blood, and made Buster whimper with pain.