Madeline
“Bruce Bear! Bruce Bear!” The tiny voice echoed through the black bear’s den.
Bruce Bear rolled over and checked his calendar alarm. He had been pushing the snooze button on his alarm for the past few days. His hibernation was technically over but he was not ready to face the new season. He sat up and stretched, raising his arms above his head and then scratching the back of his neck.
“Molly mouse? What are you doing here?” Bruce yawned looking at the tiny mouse standing in front of him.
“Fantastic! You are awake! I have been trying to wake you all winter.” Molly mouse squeaked.
“What is the big deal? Why are you so desperately trying to wake me up?” Bruce rubbed his temples with his paws. His claws have grown out from lack of use over the winter and he nearly poked himself in the eye.
“The Smiths!”
“The what?”
“The Smiths. I need you to help me get rid of the Smiths.”
“Who are the Smiths? I have been asleep for months, remember?” Bruce was not interested in any of Molly Mouse’s games and wanted her to get to the point.
“Oh yes! The Smith family is a human family moved into the abandoned house just over there” Molly pointed behind her. Bruce had no clue what direction that was. But Bruce was not interested in location, just in what Molly wanted with this human family.
“And why do we want to get rid of this human family? What did they do to you?”
Molly’s eyes got big and then she said, “The cheese.”
“The cheese?” This did not amuse Bruce.
“Yes, the cheese! I have never seen so much cheese in my life. There is Havarti, Swiss, Cheddar, Blue, Creamed, Mozzarella, Parmesian and Provolone.” Molly counted the cheeses on her tiny paws, “They have truffle cheese. It smells so good. If you want a piece of cheese, they’ve got it.”
“We are getting rid of the Smiths for cheese?” Bruce asked, staring at Molly. Then he laid back down and turned his back to her.
“But there is more! I want the cheese, but do you know what else they have?” Molly asked.
“What?” Bruce asked over his shoulder at Molly.
“Honey.”
“Honey?” Bruce was now intrigued.
“Yes, honey.” Bruce sat back up and looked at Molly. “They have bee hives and collect lots of honey.”
“So, why do you need my help? What do you need from me?” Bruce gave Molly a puzzled look.
“I want you to scare them! I tried doing it myself but all they did was set mouse traps and now I’m too afraid to go near the house. I need you to work your scary bear magic and scare them”
“Scare them? How will that help with the honey? And the cheese for you?” Bruce added.
“See, if we scare them bad enough, they will leave for good, and then we can eat all the honey and all the cheese we want whenever we want.”
“But I see a hole in your plan. What happens when we eat all the honey? And the cheese for you?”
Molly mouse thought for a second. Bruce Bear did have a good point. As it was right now, Molly could sneak in, grab a small piece of cheese, and then leave. Just to return later. But then she remembered the mouse traps. It was too risky. But Bruce would not buy that. She needed to come up with another explanation.
“The bees will still be there,” was her response. “They will continue to make honey for you. And if the Smiths are gone, there are no humans to tell you ‘no’.”
“And your cheese?”
“Haven’t you heard of aged cheddar? It will be fine for years. Besides, have you seen me? I’m tiny. I can’t possibly eat all the cheese they have by myself. It will take me years to finish it.”
Bruce Bear pondered this for a moment. “I’ll do it!”
Molly led Bruce out of his den and through the woods until they reached a clearing. Molly stopped and Bruce Bear almost stepped on her not realizing she halted.
“There!” Molly Mouse said, pointing to a cabin about a hundred yards from where the two animals were standing.
“Now what?” Bruce Bear asked.
“Go scare them?”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Just go be your scary bear self.”
“But I don’t want to scare them. They seem like nice people.”
“Nice people? Do you even know them?”
Bruce Bear sat back, “Well, no. But I feel like I do. I see their bikes. Two big ones and two little ones. And the smallest is pink. And I see their vegetable garden, ripe with tomatoes and look! It looks like they have strawberries coming in. And I see the national flag. And I see the stained glass in the window with a picture of an oak tree. And look! A dog house. These people seem like good people.”
“Honey!” Molly Mouse reminded Bruce Bear.
“Right!” And at that Bruce Bear took a step forward and then another. And before he knew it, he was directly in front of the biggest window of the house. Not too close, but close enough. He peered in and saw the family gathered around a big table, playing a game of some sort.
Bruce Bear stood on his hind legs and gave the biggest roar he could muster. His voice was still a little horse from all the sleeping and so he tried again and this one came out much louder.
The family looked up from the table. All four of them had big eyes and wide mouths. And Bruce Bear felt content with his attempt and dropped back down to all four legs. But the family didn’t move. They just stared.
Bruce Bear took another step forward and tried again. The family still didn’t move. Bruce Bear took one more step. He was so close now that he could reach out and touch the glass and so he did. He took one of his sharp claws and tapped on the glass. The whole Smith family screamed.
As Bruce Bear continued to peer through the window, he could see the larger humans of the family both stood up and disappear. Then he heard a noise to his left. The two Smith humans stood, each with a rifle in their hands.
This was enough for Bruce Bear. He liked honey but not enough to give his life for it. He will just need to find it in the wild. He galloped back to Molly, picked her up, and threw her on his back. He continued to gallop through the woods and didn’t stop until they reached his den.
“Where is my cheese?” Molly Mouse asked with the corners of her tiny mouth turned down.
“You will need to do without,” Bruce Bear explained. He told her about how he scared the Smith family and made the whole family screaming. But his scare tactics were no match for their rifles. “You will just need to live without cheese.”
“That’s it!” Molly Mouse screamed at Bruce Bear “I bet Carey Cougar will do it.” And at that Molly left the den.
Bruce sat back and contemplated the honey he lost. His stomach grumbled and he thought about the last time he ate. But in the end, when he heard gunshots, he was happy with his decision to let the honey be.
