He stood one afternoon lazily hanging on to a split rail fence, gazing idly over the fields at a distant wood. "Well," he muttered, "I reckon I've got to gather some of those 'ere nuts, after all. Let me see. 'Holly eve' comes to-morrow, and the boys won't let me in on the games unless I do, so here goes."
Heaving a sigh, he climbed over the fence and made for the woods. He penetrated deeper among the trees than usual, and after going some distance he found himself on higher ground and in a new spot. A large chestnut-tree thick with burs stood near the centre of a small knoll. It was the work of a few minutes, and he was safely perched in a fork of the branches, breaking open the burs with his knife and filling his pockets with the nuts. He had filled two of those capacious maws, when he was startled by a deep growl. There beneath him, nosing around among the empty burs, was a good-sized bear. It frightened him so that he nearly lost his seat.
Tod could always find the humorous side of things, however, and it seemed that one of the burs he had thrown down had lighted on the bear's nose and stuck there, tickling him.
It made the bear snort and growl in the most ludicrous fashion. This was a short-lived matter, for through an incautious giggle on Tod's part the animal discovered him, and started for the foot of the tree. Now a bear can climb a tree about as good as any one, and Tod knew it, but lazy as Tod was, he had a mind for emergencies, and seizing a handful of chestnuts, he threw them at the bear. This second interruption attracted the animal's attention, and he began devouring the nuts, evidently something he was exceedingly fond of. After that to keep the bear out of the tree Tod was obliged to throw down handful after handful of chestnuts, the meanwhile despairing of his situation. He searched his pockets, and, lucky thought, there among the trash were two small rifle cartridges.
Selecting two of the largest nuts, he bored a hole in them and inserted the cartridges. Waiting until the bear had finished his last handful and stood greedily eying him, he gently threw the loaded nuts to the ground. Anxiously he watched as the bear nosed around in search of them. In a few moments one of them was found, but before the greedy animal munched on it he secured the other. Now it was funny, but the bear seemingly wanted to tantalize Tod, and lifting his head, stood looking at him without attempting to chew the loaded chestnuts. Tod was scared, and tears came into his eyes. The bear made one or two steps towards the tree, and then hesitating, sat back on his haunches, with his eyes on Tod, and commenced chewing.
Suddenly a very comical look of surprise came over that bear's face, and almost instantly an explosion took place. Tod claims that the bear jumped six feet into the air, and when he fell back on the ground again he never waited an instant to learn what happened him, but scampered off in the funniest lumbering fashion. Tod waited till he thought it was safe, and climbing down, made tracks for home. The boys let him in at the games on Halloween to hear him tell his story again, as they had by that time substantiated it by the blood tracks of the bear.
Hubert Earl.