Sagacious Bruin
The captain of a Greenland whaler being anxious to procure a bear, without
wounding the skin, made trial of the stratagem of laying the noose of a
rope in the snow, and placing a piece of meat within it. A bear ranging
the neighbouring ice was soon enticed to the spot by the smell of the
dainty morsel. He perceived the bait, approached, and seized it in his
mouth; but his foot at the same time, by a jerk of the rope, being
retired. After having eaten the piece he had carried away with him, he
returned. The noose, with another piece of meat, being replaced, he pushed
the rope aside, and again walked triumphantly off with his capture. A
third time the noose was laid; but excited to caution by the evident
observations of the bear, the sailors buried the rope beneath the snow,
and laid the bait in a deep hole dug in the centre. The bear once more
approached, and the sailors were assured of their success. But bruin, more
sagacious than they expected, after snuffing about the place for a few
moments, scraped the snow away with his paw, threw the rope aside, and
again escaped unhurt with his prize.
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