Tale of the Old Bear

Journal entry

 * A long, long time ago, in a place far, far away there lived an old bear. One day the bear went into the woods to look for honey. He found an old birch with a hole in it, and peered inside. Wild bees had made a hive there, but they were gone, and there wasn't any honey, either. The bear scratched his fuzzy head, paced around a few times, then set off to a nearby village.


 * The sun stood high in the sky and most of the villagers were out working in the fields, harvesting their crops. When the bear entered the village, a group of children playing hopscotch ran away in fear. The old bear shambled over to the larder. With one swipe of his heavy paw he knocked off the latch and walked inside, scaring off a fat ginger cat whose whiskers were covered in cream.


 * When they heard the noises coming from the larder, the children crept out of their hiding places and peeked inside. Soon enough, out came the bear. And what a sight that was! The bear walked on his two hind legs and had a great sack slung over his back as he strolled towards the freshly-harvested fields. Soon all the village was staring as the furry creature walked the furrows, sowing seeds from his sack. When the bear finished, he tossed the sack on the ground and returned to his cave.


 * Weeks passed. Fall came, and then the frosts of winter, until finally spring melted the snows. The seeds the bear had planted sprouted and covered all the fields with golden flowers. Soon bees were hovering above the flowers, gathering nectar in the hot sun.


 * There was honey enough for the both the bees and the villages, with plenty left over afterwards for the very happy old bear.

Märchen vom alten Bären Conte du vieil ours La storia del vecchio orso Bajka o starym niedźwiedziu