Native American Short Stories

by Fox, Jim Red

• ISBN13: 9781477201954
• ISBN10: 1477201955
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-30
• Publisher: Textstream

Excerpts

Becky Bear was born in a cave, deep in the forest, in the coldest part of winter. She was a very wee-little bear. When the weather got warmer, Mama Bear took her baby bear out into the big world. It was wonderful to be able to follow Mama Bear. It was fun, but Becky got tired too. She was so little. The little Bear was beautiful with soft brown hair and tiny flecks of copper thru it. Her black bear nose tipped up a little. Her eyes were gorgeous, bright, and brown. Also, she had long lashes, because she was a little girl bear. As Becky grew bigger each day, she found lots of fun things to do. She would run, chase butterflies, and even tried to climb trees. Her little friends and Becky had lots of happy days. The little bear always remembered that Mama Bear had said to never go too far from the bear cave. It wasn't easy to stay close at home, when all her friends could run and play anywhere they wished. Becky knew her Mama was right. She was a wonderful Mama, who just wanted her little cub bear to be safe. So, Becky Bear always tried to do just as Mama wanted. She didn't wander or get into things that could harm her. The little girl cubs were really good friends. They had lots of fun together. When the blackberries were ripe, they ate lots and enjoyed every bite. They had to be careful not to eat too many at once. So, everyday they all went berry picking. The little boy cubs were more interested in climbing honey trees and trying to catch fish. They had all been told not to go fishing without a parent bear with them. After chasing butterflies and eating blackberries, and even trying to find a bee tree, it seemed to the boy cubs that the next best thing to do would be fishing. One day, the boy cubs all decided to go fishing. No daddy bear could go with them, so they went without a parent. Even though they had been told not to go fishing without a Mama or Papa Bear. Each little bear thought he was the best fisher, so what could go wrong? There was no reason not to go and catch fish. The water was deeper because it had rained really hard the day before. It was also rough. It actually bounced and splashed over the rocks. The boy cubs were so excited, that they got careless. They went too far onto the rocks. The water wrapped around their little bear legs. It was so strong and the little cubs slipped and fell into it. They were so frightened and knew they were in bad trouble. Little bear cubs were slipping and falling into deeper water. The girl cubs were blackberry picking when they heard the boy cubs growling and making lots of noise, calling for help. Becky got all the little girl cubs together and got a big branch off of an old tree. Then, the little boy cubs walked to shore on the branch that the girl cubs had placed across the rocks and water. It was Becky's quick thinking that saved the little cubs from a terrible fate. They could have drowned or been swept away down the stream. Maybe, never to see their Mama's and Papa's again. All the little boy cubs were glad Becky lived in their part of the woods.