Bowser the Hound | Page 4

get up on the bank. It was in the midst of
deep woods and a very, very lonely place. Hard crusted snow covered
the ground, but it was better than walking on the ice and for this
Bowser was thankful.
Which way should he turn? Where should he go? Night was coming on;
he was wet, cold and hungry, and as utterly lost as ever a dog was. Poor
Bowser! For a minute or two he sat down and howled from sheer
lonesomeness and discouragement. How he did wish he had left Old
Man Coyote alone! How he did long for his snug, warm, little house in
Farmer Brown's dooryard, and for the good meal he knew was awaiting
him there. Now that the excitement of the hunt was over, he realized
how very, very hungry he was, and he began to wonder where he would
be able to get anything to eat. Do you wonder that he howled?
Old Man Coyote, trotting along on his way home, heard that howl and
understood it. Again he grinned that wicked grin of his, and stopped to
listen. "I don't think he'll hunt me again in a hurry," he muttered, then
trotted on. Poor Bowser! Hunting for anything but his home was
farthest from his thoughts.
CHAPTER V
BOWSER SPENDS A BAD NIGHT
There's nothing like just sticking to The thing you undertake to do.
There'll be no cause then, though you fail, To hang your head or drop
your tail.
_Bowser the Hound._
Bowser was lost, utterly lost. He hadn't the least idea in which direction
Farmer Brown's house was. In fact he hadn't the least idea which way
to turn to find any house. It was the most lonely kind of a lonely place
to which Old Man Coyote had led him and there played the trick on
him which had caused him to tumble into the strange river.

But Bowser couldn't stand still for long. Already jolly, round, red Mr.
Sun was going to bed behind the Purple Hills, and Bowser knew that
cold as had been the day, the night would be still colder. He must keep
moving until he found a shelter. If he didn't he would freeze. So
whimpering and whining, Bowser limped along.
Bowser was not afraid to be out at night as some folks are. Goodness,
no! In fact, on many a moonlight night Bowser had hunted Reddy Fox
or Granny Fox all night long. Never once had he felt lonesome then.
But now it was very, very different. You see, on those nights when he
had hunted he always had known where he was. He had known that at
any time he could go straight home if he wanted to. That made all the
difference in the world.
It would have been bad enough, being lost this way, had he been
feeling at his best. Being lost always makes one feel terribly lonesome.
Lonesomeness is one of the worst parts of the feeling of being lost. But
added to this was the fact that Bowser was really not in fit condition to
be out at all. He was wet, tired, lame and hungry. Do you wonder that
he whimpered and whined as he limped along over the hard snow, and
hadn't the least idea whether he was headed towards home or deeper
into the great woods?
For a long time he kept on until it seemed to him he couldn't drag one
foot after another. Then quite suddenly something big and dark loomed
up in front of him. It really wasn't as big as it seemed. It was a little
house, a sugar camp, just such a one as Farmer Brown has near his
home. Bowser crept to the door. It was closed. Bowser sniffed and
sniffed and his heart sank, for there was no scent of human beings.
Then he knew that that little house was deserted and empty. Still he
whined and scratched at the door. By and by the door opened ever so
little, for it had not been locked.
Bowser crept in. In one corner he found some hay, and in this he curled
up. It was cold, very cold, but not nearly as cold as outside that little
house. So Bowser curled up in the hay and shivered and shook and
slept a little and wished with all his might that he never had found the
tracks of Old Man Coyote.

CHAPTER VI
THE SURPRISE OF BLACKY THE CROW
The harder it is to follow a trail The greater the reason you should not
fail.
_Bowser the Hound._
At all seasons of the year Blacky the Crow is something of a traveler.
But in winter he is much more of a traveler than in summer. You see, in
winter it