Storytime: A Beary Scary Adventure

For two bored buddies, a foolish prank ends in “foul” play

Sneaking into a bears’ den to rob their berries was one way for these two pals to overcome their boredom…it just wasn’t the smartest way.

Once upon a time, I had a friend, Fox, and he and I were always up to something. It was usually some sort of friendly competition that would wind up with both of us losing.

One time, Fox and I had become very bored. Old Man Winter was angry and had blown in a storm that lasted for days. The Dancing Ones said someone had stolen Old Man Winter’s favourite pot and that’s why he was furious—but that’s a story for another time.

Anyway, Fox and I were bored. “We need to do something,” said Fox. “I’ll go crazy if we just sit here and wait for this storm to be over.” “Well,” I said, “what do you want to do?” “Let’s go to the place where the bears sleep underground,” Fox said with a grin. “We will see who can steal the most berries from them. The one that does, gets to eat them all.” I agreed and accepted the challenge.

We slowly made our way to where the bears slept. It was a long, cold journey. I wanted to turn around but I did not want to be the one to quit first. I saw Fox shaking from the cold, but I knew he wouldn’t quit either. We walked in silence. Finally, we arrived at the underground den. “Be very quiet, we don’t want to wake the bears,” said Fox. “They wouldn’t be happy to find us stealing from them.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I boasted. “I’ll be long gone with my arms full of berries before the bears even know I was there.”

We entered. Eventually, we came to the heart of the den. The bears all slept in a circle. Only a tiny fire in the middle of the den lit the otherwise dark space. We spotted the berries. Beside each bear sat a pile they’d collected for themselves to last through the winter.

Fox and I split up and began collecting the berries. Except for the odd, terrifying yawns from the bears, we remained undetected. We met up in the centre of the den, our arms full of berries, and began to make our way out.

That’s when it happened. I stepped on a bear. With a scream, the bear was awake. We froze. Startled, the rest of the den awoke. “What is all the noise?” asked the bears. The bear I’d stepped on looked down at Fox and me standing there with our arms full of berries. “Thieves! There are thieves in our den!” the bear yelled.

Immediately, others blocked the entrance. There was no escape. We were terrified. “Let’s kill them!” yelled one bear. “Let’s eat them!” yelled another. The bears came closer. “Wait,” said a voice from the back. It was an old, old bear. “Let’s teach them a lesson,” the old bear continued. “They want berries? Let’s give them berries.” The rest smiled and agreed.

They made us drop the berries we were carrying and told us to follow them. They walked us to another part of den, a part they used when they “needed” to. “There are your berries. You will carry as much as you can and leave,” said the old bear. “Do not return; we will not be so forgiving next time.”

We got down on hands and knees, and gathered as many “berries” as we could carry, and walked out, followed by laughter. We threw the “berries” away and went home, ashamed. We didn’t say anything all day. That evening, Fox finally spoke. “So, I think I carried more berries than you. I would say I won,” he said with a smile. I just shook my head and said nothing. n