well as bad ones, and they tell us to do what is right, to be kind and
generous and loving and true.

I am sorry to say that Neddy, who was not only angry with his
grandmother and the schoolmaster, but on account of his wrong-doings
and disobedience afraid of them, listened to this voice, and as he
listened the bad spirit made the voice seem so like his own thoughts
that he knew not but that all came from himself.

So under this wrong influence he planned an escape from the house,
which was to be made as soon as his grandmother went out. For an hour
or two he heard her moving around. At last all was still. Then he
stole from his hiding-place and listened at the head of the stairs.
Not the slightest sound broke the deep silence. Grandmother had gone
away. Then he took a loaf of bread, a large slice of cake and some
apples, which he tied up in a handkerchief; and stealing out of the
back door, he ran through the garden and out of a gate that opened
into a lane. At the end of this lane was a piece of woods, and beyond
this wood a deep hollow, along which it was easy to go without danger
of being seen by any one.

How strangely the little boy's heart beat as he hurried along, going
he knew not whither! It was not long before he reached the hollow
beyond the woods. After crossing this hollow, he entered another wood
by a narrow path made by the cattle. The trees in this wood were very
tall and close together, and the underbrush grew so thick that he
could see before him only for a short distance.

The silence and darkness of this heavy forest caused a lonely feeling
to come over Neddy. All at once the thought of bears and wolves came
into his mind, and with the thought fear crept into his heart. A
weakness fell upon him, and he stood still with drops of cold sweat
on his forehead. Then he turned and ran back, but in doing so missed
the way and took a path that, instead of taking him out of the forest,
led him farther into it. He ran and ran, panting for breath, until he
was so tired that he had to sit down to rest.

"What if I am lost?" he said to himself, a cold chill running over him
at the thought. Lost! How wildly the poor little boy's heart began to
beat! As he sat there, feeling too weak from weariness and fear to
arise, he heard not far off the sound of feet cracking the dry sticks
and rustling the leaves that lay upon the ground. He held his breath
in terror, for he was sure it was a bear or wolf. Nearer and ne