34
TOM AND THE TIGER.

 

\ = | WOULDN'T be afraid of a tiger,”

4 said Tom Charlton boldly. “Id
~ take this stick and whack him, crack!
crack!” and Tom brought the stick
down so fiercely on the garden gate
that the top bar broke. “ You’ve done
it now,” said Jimmy Blake. “Yes,
haven't I!” said Tom gloomily. “I
suppose I ought to tell dad, but I can’t. Let’s spend the
afternoon in the wood. I'll tell father to-night;” and Tom »
walked off, leaving Jim to follow. —

The wood was full of beauty, but Tom was too miserable
to notice it. Something was telling him he was a coward.
What a long time Jim was! How quiet the wood seemed!
_ Hark! what was that? Tom could here soft footsteps. They
came nearer; pit, pat—they were here! Tom started back
with a shriek of terror, for there before him stood a TIGER!
With a cry of despair he took to his heels. On he ran,
through the wood and down to the river, where he leaped into
a boat. The tiny craft spun round with his weight, and drifted
from the -bank just as the tiger reached the water’s edge. 2A
moment later Tom lost consciousness. When next he opened
his eyes he was in his own room at home; and a day or two
later he heard all about it—the tiger’s escape from a menagerie,
the keepers’ search for it, their arrival just as Tom jumped
into the boat, and how they had caught the animal and brought
Tom home. “ Father,” said Tom, “I know I was a coward
about meeting that tiger, but at any rate I can be brave about
owning up when I’ve done wrong—and I will.” And he did!