My cousins urged, scolded, pleaded, and laughed at me by turns, but I was obdurate.

I would not go where I could see the fearsome thing again, even though it was, as they said, 'nothing but a dead old rug!' "Finally, one day, my uncle took a hand in the matter.

By sheer will-power he forced me to go with him straight up to the dreaded creature, and stand by its side.

He laid one of my shrinking hands on the beast's smooth head, and thrust the other one quite into the open red mouth with its gleaming teeth.
"'You see,' he said, 'there's absolutely nothing to fear.

He can't possibly hurt you.