baby, and had told him never to part with it, for as long as
he kept it no harm could ever come near him.

In general the wild cat did not need to use his ball, for the lion was
fond of hunting, and could kill all the food that they needed; but now
and then his life would have been in danger had it not been for the
golden ball.

One day the two brothers started to hunt at daybreak, but as the cat
could not run nearly as fast as the lion, he had quite a long start. At
least he THOUGHT it was a long one, but in a very few bounds and springs
the lion reached his side.

'There is a bear sitting on that tree,' he whispered softly. 'He is only
waiting for us to pass, to drop down on my back.'

'Ah, you are so big that he does not see I am behind you,' answered the
wild cat. And, touching the ball, he just said: 'Bear, die!' And the
bear tumbled dead out of the tree, and rolled over just in front of
them.

For some time they trotted on without any adventures, till just as they
were about to cross a strip of long grass on the edge of the forest, the
lion's quick ears detected a faint rustling noise.

'That is a snake,' he cried, stopping short, for he was much more afraid
of snakes than of bears.

'Oh, it is all right,' answered the cat. 'Snake, die!' And the snake
died, and the two brothers skinned it. They then folded the skin up into
a very small parcel, and the cat tucked it into his mane, for snakes'
skins can do all sorts of wonderful things, if you are lucky enough to
have one of them.

All this time they had had no dinner, for the snake's flesh was not
nice, and the lion did not like eating bear--perhaps because he never
felt sure that the bear was REALLY dead, and would not jump up alive
when his enemy went near him. Most people are afraid of SOME thing, and
bears and serpents were the only creatures that caused the lion's heart
to tremble. So the two brothers set off again and soon reached the side
of a hill where some fine deer were grazing.

'Kill one of those deer for your own dinner,' said the boy-brother, 'but
catch me another alive. I want him.'

The lion at once sprang towards them with a loud roar, but the deer
bounded away, and they were all three soon lost to sight. The cat waited
for a long while, but finding that the lion did not return, went back to
the house where they lived.

It was quite dark when the lion came home, where his brother was sitting
curled up in one corner.

'Did you catch