arer
the animal came, passing only a few rods from where he sat motionless.

"Oh, oh!" exclaimed Neddy, in tones of relief, starting to his feet as
he saw a young heifer which was astray in the woods.

At sight of the boy the heifer, scared by his sudden appearance,
started off at a run and was soon out of sight, leaving Neddy again
alone. He tried to follow her, but was not able to get on her track.
Oh how he did wish himself at home! How sorry he was that he had
played truant on the day before!

In trying to follow the heifer, Neddy left the narrow path along which
he had been going, and now he was among the thick undergrowth of the
forest, his hands and face scratched with briars. The trees stood so
close together that no sunshine came down through their thick
branches. All was dim and shadowy.

Poor Neddy! A great fear and loneliness fell on him again; and sitting
down on the limb of a fallen tree, he began to cry bitterly. But
crying was of no use. It wouldn't get him out of the woods and safely
home again. So he dried his tears and started on again, hoping to find
the path he had left. But he tried in vain. All at once he noticed
that the light was fading rapidly and the air growing cold. The sun
had gone down, and night was falling. Neddy's heart began to beat
wildly; he could feel the throbs all over him; there was a great
pressure as if a hand were laid on his breast; he could scarcely
breathe, so strong was the feeling of suffocation that oppressed him.
He tried to run, but his foot caught in a vine, and he fell upon the
ground, where he lay for a long time before he had strength enough to
arise.

In his weakness and exhaustion the poor boy found strength and
courage. How! Think, my little reader. What would you have done if
lost in the woods as Neddy was lost? Where would you have looked for
help? You would have done, I am very sure, just as he did. And what
did he do? Why, he put his little hands together, and lifting his
tearful eyes upward prayed that God would take care of him, and not
let any wild beasts eat him up.

As soon as he had done this the dreadful fear from which he was
suffering went out of his heart. Just a little way beyond the spot
where Neddy had fallen was a small clear place in the forest, where
grew a bed of soft green moss. A few rays of light came down through
an opening in the trees and showed him this cosy nook. Once in it,
there seemed to grow all about him a wall of darkne