An Heroic Russian Girl.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 38, 13 July 1885, Page 3

An Heroic Russian Girl.

It was a hard winter all over Europe, hut especially hard was it away iv the eastern foresta of Russia The white snow lay ik>ep over roads, and field*, and, forests, and it lay «6 long, and it froze so hard, that all springs were solid as rock* In the forest was a hut, and close l»y the hut new baked bread was filling the air with its sweet smell, and round about in'the siueli there prowled about a \gauritshc~ wolf and her two famished cubs. Two young children lived m the hut, one a little baby of a few months old and one a girl of ten. Sho was ; a little housewife, arid took care of her; father aud the bal>y. -AHei father was i a woodman, andher mother was dead. She liad just laid baby down*on her ; little lied ;in the corner of the room, asleep, and she isidoinghei' brave little best to l>ake some bread. . In the corner alx>ve fithe bed, is a little cornercuportrd; m the middle of the room a' lonj> brick oven which is made hot by ■ putting- fire into it;, npt^jidej-^pjil "the other side a larger, bed 'w.here, the ; nian slept; and before' the -oven a i little table and a couple of stool^; * And! tliiHiWw the only 'hut for miles arditnci. -j "BehiVicl; the' hut wa» a great pile, of N>vood for the winter fuel. \Clie girl j .thought the oven wanted tnore wood '• to make it hot enough to bake the bread; it had cooled while slie was getting 'baby, to sleepy so she went \ pver^ the snovfsrouiid the corner of the \ hut, unfler, the snowy boughs of the ' trees, and picked put a nice long piece J of wood. When she w«nt she lftft the . door of the hut just pulled to, and^s : she, turned the corner, the hungry ; iw.olf.saw her;, dhunce and '.\, took it. ; She trotted up to the doot, thrust iii her; n?»se, and then entered^ her cubsfol-| lowing. rWheni the girl came back; vwitii h^r clump] 6f Wood ;over he'ij 'shouldej:, as slio was about to go into thejiutj there she saw the wolf* with ! . .teeth set. ready t.o fly at -her. ' ' t She had all the tenor of a ten year- • 7 61 d child at such a sight, and would, have turned and run away, bntone ; ,thought suddenly struck her -the baby! and m that thought she forgot, herself ;u tterlv,. she only remembered ' the baby;* 'and' the lerrible savage 3 •nature of ihii wolf. She forgot . she ■had nothing to protect either herself fir • the baby with but that clump of wood. She kept ht:r eve-s, those eyes. <6f desperate lpye fixed on tbe wolf, she 'struck ;jt j she belabouredUl with: 11" her little might with her club, and ; was actually' driving ie through the' -doorvyay^ii i to th e. forest again , when : she caught sight of the cubs by the_ bed sniffing at the bundle with the baby" m it. 'two! she had ho idea of ; them befofe, : for ber back had b§ou; .itui'ned on them. "Oh, the baby! „ she cried ik her heart, and tnrned ;upon cubs and began to belabor ..them; and the wolf followed her; the whole three wera now at the child, one at he r wri«itsj another at her, Bhoulder, r ariothtir leaping at her; 1 throat. " She knew then that to save -*■ herself was hopeless, and a desperate i resolution took .possession of- l.erV s c]nbf« 11ll ll from her hands, and with 'fell the wild stren}»!h of; her love for the \vojvea almost off v"Ji'ejr/-iifte|.,«'p the jmndle, stood on the!: toed l aud tjirust the baby inti^the corner cupboard; bhut too.the |poirj and amid aNhef agony of excitement and: horror nad; but onethoughtv that she' -flhould fasten the button' safely. It ;"was done, but , n pt ptie secorid too soon;: ...while Ivei; , bleeding fingers were -"fastening the doOr the wolves were at L her again She was dragged bacwards', and fell to the^ ground. \ : v Vr ' When tii^wbodsmari came liome he found the wolves on the body of his „ heroic child. vHetdrpye them pfl^ tpok^ ]lis axe ,;mii4 killed them. She had; .just breath left to tell him how it !i and point to thej;iipboav«l th^s bjaby wa^s safii . , Death ;Jwas I tyery "ear, but even, m lieiv, terrible ) •.pain she saw him 'tike i the l»kby ont all safe. She nibtioilled ' : - to hinvto lofrher kiss it, arid shei<i<sed it audiJitid. So yon we, even a litsle girl may stand side -by .side wi£h the herpes of all tinie, through her entire self lbrgetfulni'ss.. ,