The Bear and the Gardener in this case keeping the flies off a friend, and the ultimate good of safeguarding his welfare. The story gained currency in England from the 18th century on through translations or imitations of La Fontaine. One of its earliest appearances was in Robert Dodsley's "Select fables of Esop and other fabulists" (1764), where it is given the title "The Hermit and the Bear" and a milder ending. In this version a hermit has done the bear a good turn; later still this was identified with taking a thorn from its paw, drawing on the story of Androcles and the Lion.
Paw Paw Railroad Paw Paw, the line passed through Lawton, some four miles (6 km) to the south. A group of local businessmen incorporated the Paw Paw Railroad on April 25, 1857, to construct a railway line from Paw Paw to Lawton, where it would join the Michigan Central. An initial attempt, which aimed east of Lawton, resulted in the partial creation of a grade but no track was laid. The so-called "calico grade" was later developed, briefly, by the Kalamazoo, Lake Shore & Chicago. A second attempt, in 1867, led to the completion in September of that year of a line between