Aesthetical Essays of Frederich Schiller | Page 7

not spare time to look after the children, one of us agreed to marry. Stephen therefore fixed upon your Aunt Hannah, who was, he had discovered, likely to prove a good housewife, and was kind-hearted and gentle-mannered. A true mother, too, she has ever proved to our Lily."
Uncle Mark only spoke the truth when he praised Aunt Hannah; for she had been like an affectionate mother to me, as well as to Lily, and much I owed her for the care she had bestowed upon me.
I need not describe my own early days; indeed, several years passed without the occurrence of any incidents which would be especially interesting to others. Gradually the border-village grew into a town, although even then the country continued in almost its original wild state within a mile or two of us. Both Lily and I got a fair amount of schooling; and in the holidays I was able to indulge my taste, by rambling into the forest and increasing my knowledge of the habits of its denizens. Occasionally I got leave for Lily to accompany me, although Aunt Hannah did not much approve of her going so far from home.
One day I had persuaded our aunt to let her accompany me--Lily herself was always ready to go--for the sake of collecting some baskets of berries. "I promise to come back with as many as I can carry, to fill your jam-pots," said I. There were whortleberries, and thimble-berries, blue-berries, raspberries, and strawberries, and many others which, I reminded her, were now in season. "If we do not get them now, the time will pass. Lily's fingers, too, will pick them quicker than mine, so that we shall get double as many as I should get by myself," I observed.
My arguments prevailed, and Lily and I set out, happy as the red-birds we saw flying in and out among the trees around us.
We had nearly filled our baskets, and I was on my knees picking some strawberries which grew on the bank of a small stream running through an open part of the forest, when Lily, who was at a little distance from me, shrieked out. I was about to spring to my feet and hurry to her assistance--supposing that she had been frightened by some animal--when what was my horror to see, close to me, a huge wolf, with open jaws, ready to seize me! My stick, the only weapon I carried, lay just within my reach; so I put out my hand and instinctively grasped it, determined to fight for my own life and Lily's too--knowing how, if the wolf killed me, it would next attack her.
As I moved the creature snarled, but did not advance any nearer. So, grasping the stick, I sprang to my feet and swung the weapon round with all my might, despair giving energy to my muscles. The savage creature retreated a few paces, astonished at the unexpected blow, snarling, and eyeing me, as if about to make another attack.
Again Lily shrieked.
"Run, run!" I cried; "I will tackle the wolf."
But she did not move; indeed, she saw that the creature was more likely to come off victor than I was.
I stood ready to receive the animal, doubtful whether I ought to make the attack; Lily, in the meantime, continuing to cry aloud for help. The wolf at length seemed to get tired of waiting for his expected prey, and giving a fierce howl, he was on the point of springing at me, when a bullet fired by an unseen hand laid him dead at my feet.
Lily sprang towards me, exclaiming, "You are safe! you are safe, Roger!" and then burst into tears. She scarcely seemed to consider how I had been saved. All she saw was the dead wolf, and that I was unhurt.
On looking round, I observed an Indian advancing towards us from among the trees.
"That must be the man who killed the wolf," I exclaimed. "We must thank him, Lily."
Lily had ever a great dread of Indians. "We must run! we must run, Roger!" she cried. "He may kill us as easily as he did the wolf, or carry us away prisoners."
"We cannot escape him, Lily; and I do not think he will hurt us," I answered in an encouraging tone. "I will go forward and thank him for saving my life. It will not do to show any fear; and if he is disposed to be friendly, he would think it ungrateful if we were to run off without thanking him."
I took Lily's hand as I spoke, and led her towards the Indian. He was dressed in skins, with an axe hanging from his belt, and had long black hair streaming over his shoulders,--unlike most of the Indians I had seen, who wear it tied up