It looked so dreadful . ' I wonder what the ram thought when they ate him up , ' thought Walter to himself ; and just then a cold shiver ran through him from his collar right down to his boots . ` It is better for me to beat the drum , ' he thought to himself again , and so he began to beat it . But it sounded horrid , and an echo came out from the kiln that seemed almost like the howl of a wolf . The drumsticks stiffened in Walter 's hands , and he thought now they are coming ... ! Yes , sure enough , just then a shaggy , reddish-brown wolf 's head looked out from under the kiln ! What did Walter do now ? Yes , the brave Walter who alone could manage four , threw his drum far away , took to his heels and ran , and ran as fast as he could back to the mill . But , alas ! the wolf ran after him . Walter looked back ; the wolf was quicker than he and only a few steps behind him . Then Walter ran faster . But fear got the better of him , he neither heard nor saw anything more . He ran over sticks , stones and ditches ; he lost drum-sticks , sabre , bow , and air-pistol , and in his terrible hurry he tripped over a tuft of grass . There he lay , and the wolf jumped on to him ... It was a gruesome tale ! Now you may well believe that it was all over with Walter and all his adventures . That would have been a pity . But do not be surprised if it was not quite so bad as that , for the wolf was quite a friendly one . He certainly jumped on to Walter , but he only shook his coat and rubbed his nose against his face ; and Walter shrieked . Yes , he shrieked terribly !
Happily Jonas heard his cry XXXXX distress , for Walter was quite near the mill now , and he ran and helped him up .
after as from in like of over than that through