The Old Bear and the Young Bear

Once up on a time, in a forest on a hill lived an old bear and a young bear. The young bear loved to play in the forest, to chase the squirrels and to bask in the sun. The old bear, on the other hand, like nothing better than to spend most of his time sleeping in his favourite cave. One day, the young bear, lonely and looking for a playmate, ran into the cave and tried to persuade the old bear to wake up.

‘Wake up, wake up, old bear’, he said. ‘Please come and play with me in the forest. Come and chase the squirrels, and bask in the sun’.

‘Go away, little bear, and let me sleep,’ the old bear said. ‘It is not yet time to get wake up.’

‘But when will you get up?’ asked the young bear, tugging at the other’s furry back.

‘Only when the spring has arrived,’ said the old bear.

‘But how will you know when spring has arrived?’ asked his young companion.

‘When the sun is high in the sky, and I can feel the gentle warm breeze on my fur,’ replied the old bear. ‘Then I’ll know that the spring is truly here.’

The young bear, desperate to playmate, painted a huge sun on the roof of the cave where the old bear was sleeping and, using branches from their fir trees, wafted air in through the mouth of the cave.

‘Wake up, wake up, old bear!’ he said. ‘See, the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing. The spring is here.’

But the old bear remained just where he was

‘Go away, little bear, and let me sleep. I know that you are trying to trick me. It’s not yet time to get up.’

‘But when will you get up?’ ask the young bear anxiously.

‘Only when I know that spring has arrived,’ said the old bear.

‘But how will you know when spring has arrived?’ ask his young companion.

‘When the birds are singing their special song,’ said the old bear. ‘Then I know that spring is truly here.’

The young bear ran into the forest and, as quickly as he could, laid a trail of breadcrumbs to the entrance of the cave that the birds could follow. And sure enough, before too long, a huge flock of birds were flapping and fluttering outside the cave, pecking at the food and singing loudly.

‘Wake up, wake up old bear!’ said the young bear. ‘Listen – the birds are singing for you. The spring is here.’

But the old bear remained just where he was.

‘Go away, little bear, and let me sleep. I know that you are trying to trick me. It’s not yet time to get up.’

‘But when will you get up?’ ask the young bear, growing impatience.

‘Only when I’m convinced that spring has truly arrived,’ said the old bear.

The young bear left the cave and started to walk dejectedly towards the forest, but no sooner had he got outside then suddenly he heard in the distance the sound of men shouting, dogs barking and guns firing. He ran back to the cave in alarm.

‘Please, please wake up, old bear!’ he cried. ‘Listen – the hunters are coming for us. We must leave our cave before they find us!’

With one great movement, the old bear raised himself up.

‘Very well, little bear,’ he said. ‘I know that this is not a trick. Now i know that the spring is truly here.’

(Ditulis oleh Margareth Parkin selepas mengisi sebuah pelatihan dan konsultasi di sebuah organisasi di Hague, Netherland. Diterbitkan dalam buku Tales for Change)