s sole weapon of defence--struck one on his leather breeches,
and stuck the burning match into the bear's open mouth.

Father Bear snorted when he smelled the sulphur, and with that the flame
went out. The boy was ready with another match, but, curiously enough,
Father Bear did not repeat his attack.

"Can you light many of those little blue roses?" asked Father Bear.

"I can light enough to put an end to the whole forest," replied the boy,
for he thought that in this way he might be able to scare Father Bear.

"Oh, that would be no trick for me!" boasted the boy, hoping that this
would make the bear respect him.

"Good!" exclaimed the bear. "You shall render me a service. Now I'm very
glad that I did not eat you!"

Father Bear carefully took the boy between his tusks and climbed up from
the pit. He did this with remarkable ease and agility, considering that
he was so big and heavy. As soon as he was up, he speedily made for the
woods. It was evident that Father Bear was created to squeeze through
dense forests. The heavy body pushed through the brushwood as a boat
does through the water.

Father Bear ran along till he came to a hill at the skirt of the forest,
where he could see the big noise-shop. Here he lay down and placed the
boy in front of him, holding him securely between his forepaws.

"Now look down at that big noise-shop!" he commanded. The great
ironworks, with many tall buildings, stood at the edge of a waterfall.
High chimneys sent forth dark clouds of smoke, blasting furnaces were in
full blaze, and light shone from all the windows and apertures. Within
hammers and rolling mills were going with such force that the air rang
with their clatter and boom. All around the workshops proper were
immense coal sheds, great slag heaps, warehouses, wood piles, and tool
sheds. Just beyond were long rows of workingmen's homes, pretty villas,
schoolhouses, assembly halls, and shops. But there all was quiet and
apparently everybody was asleep. The boy did not glance in that
direction, but gazed intently at the ironworks. The earth around them
was black; the sky above them was like a great fiery dome; the rapids,
white with foam, rushed by; while the buildings themselves were sending
out light and smoke, fire and sparks. It was the grandest sight the boy
had ever seen!

"Surely you don't mean to say you can set fire to a place like that?"
remarked the bear doubtingly.

The boy stood wedged between the beast's p