Her faith in him was so great that he would not have had the heart to shake it even if he had wished to do so. Therefore he nodded kindly, and Bethany proceeded:
“The dear ghost lion took us on his back—Ellen and Susie and me—and we hadn’t gone far before we met a bear.”
“A-a-a bear!” said Titus, in pretended surprise.
“Yes, a bad, bad bear. Said the bad, bad bear, ‘I am looking for little girls.’
“Said the dear ghost lion, with a sweet roar, ‘What kind bf little girls?’
“Said the big black bear, ‘Little girls who haven’t any home. I eat them up, or I take them to my cubs in my den.’
“Said the good ghost lion, ‘Why don’t you eat little girls that have good homes?’
“‘’Cause,’ he said, ‘’cause the fathers and mothers would be so, so angry. They would come and hunt me and kill my dear baby cubs. I’m only looking for little orphan girls. Answer my question quick: Have those little girls on your back got any parents?’
“‘No,’ said the dear lion, ‘but they have the next best thing—they have a Daddy Grandpa. He’ll kill you and eat your cubs if you dare to touch them. Stand aside, wretch!’”
Titus, at this quietly dramatic command of the lion, became so convulsed with amusement that Bethany, in confusion, stopped, and would not go on.