Instead of that, what do you think he saw? Why, it was nothing but a little squirrel, with a long, bushy tail, running away on a limb of the tree, as fast as he could go. What the man saw moving was only the tip of his tail; the rest of him was round behind the tree, and he thought it was a bear round there.
“Ah,” said the man, “I made another little mistake. Bears are black. This squirrel’s tail is gray. I must not fire at any thing again unless it is black.”
So he walked along, looking about him carefully, and up into all the trees. By and by he saw something moving. He looked up and saw that it was black. It was the little tip of a black thing; he could only see a little of it. The rest was round behind the tree.
“Now,” says the man, “I know I have found a bear; for it is black, and bears are black.”
So he loaded his gun, and got it all ready. Click, said the lock when he cocked it. He pointed up towards the tree. In a minute he pulled the trigger,—flash went the powder in the touch-hole, pop went the gun, whiz went the bullet through the air, and the man looked, expecting to see the bear fall down dead from the tree.
Instead of that, what do you think he saw? Why, it was only a little blackbird, flying off through the branches as fast as he could go. The black thing which the man saw moving was only the blackbird’s tail, projecting out from behind the tree, and he thought it was a black bear round there.
“Ah,” said the man, “I made a mistake again. Bears are large, as well as black. This was very little. I must not fire at any thing again unless it is large as well as black.”
So he walked along, looking about him carefully, and up into all the trees. By and by he saw something very strange. It was a little way up a tree, clinging to a branch. It was partly hid by the leaves, so that he could not see it very well, but he knew that it was black, and it was large, and it was moving.
“Now,” says the man, “I am certain I have found a bear, for it is large and black, and bears are large and black. Besides, it moves.”
So he loaded his gun, and rammed down the bullet with his ramrod, and pulled back the flint. It said click. Then he knew that all was ready. He was sure of his bear this time, and he determined to drag him home by the ears.