Bo Bear, The Bad King

Bo the Bear, the king of Mountain Forrest proclaims the most outrageous rules but never ends up following them himself. Will he ever learn his lesson?

                             Practice what you preach.

Once upon a time in a huge forest in the mountains lived a bear named Bo. He was the king of the mountain forest. He was strict and had many rules. But to him, since he was the king, he didn’t have to follow those rules. So he mostly did the opposite of what he wanted the animals of the forest to do, and over the years the animals considered him to be one of the worst forest kings in history. But, of course, they still subjected to his rules, since they knew rebels would get harsh punishment.

Bo wasn’t the only leader though. There was the kind and good-hearted mountain lion queen, Mari. She lived high in the mountains, so she could watch and control all the happenings of the forest. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make rules. Her job was to watch the forest’s productivity and to protect it, while Bo’s job was to make rules and watch over the animals.

So one day, Bo announced his new rule for the Mountain Forest. He stood upon a large tree trunk and read from a paper made from leaves:

“I, Bo Bear, the 2nd leader of the animals of the forest, declare a new rule. The new rule is that all animals of the Mountain Forest should not steal from the elderly animals, including grandparents.”

After he was finished, the animals slightly groaned then applauded. A chorus of mumbles preceded after.

Later that day though, Bo went for a walk through the woods. While he was walking he started smell something delicious....blueberry pie! Bo looked around for where the delightful smell was coming from and his nose lead him to the window of Mrs. Deeringer's small cottage. She was one of the oldest deer in the whole forest and she lived alone in the little cottage. Mrs. Deeringer always baked the best pies and gave them to her grandchildren to deliver all across the forest.

Bo snuck closer to the hot treat and gave it a big whiff. He couldn't resist taking a slight bite. Then another. Then another. And then another one which was the last bite of pie left. After the hungry bear realized he had eaten the whole pie in a series of “bites” he thought. He had stolen from the elderly! Immediately he left a note where the pie once laid with the seal of the king on it that said:

“This pie has been consumed by the great and wonderful king Bo. Do not consider it a loss, consider it a privilege that the king has found your pie enjoyable!”

Then he ran off, proud of himself.

The next day, Bo decided to introduce a new rule. He had thought of it in his sleep. Once again on his tree stump platform, he read nobly from the paper:

“Your king, Bo Bear, has thought of, with all his excellency, a new rule that all living in Mountain Forest must abide by. It is to never, ever, by any means necessary, swim or bathe in the Divine Duck River, for it is solely for water and fishing purposes only. Again, no one, not even the king or queen, is permitted to swim in the Divine Duck River.”

Bo exited the tree stump, and the groans and mumbles processed.

Dani Duck yelled, “Where shall the ducks swim? It is called Divine Duck for a reason!”

Miles Mole mumbled, “It’s the middle of summer! Where shall my children cool off?”

“This is an outrage! There are few other ponds and rivers in this forest!” Donna Deer screamed through the crowd.

The king ignored the crowd of angry animals and went out for his walk. It was unusually hot today and the large, furry bear got winded and sweaty within a few minutes. He looked around for a nice tree for him to rest under. But suddenly he realized he was near Divine Duck River! Bo was beginning to get thirsty so he decided to get a drink at the deserted river. There he slowly dipped his snout in the water and began to drink. It felt good but it wasn’t enough. He was still sweaty.

So he leaned in deeper, and deeper, and deeper until he “fell” into the coolness of the river.

“Ahhh.” the now cool bear said, as he began to take a long swim in the river. He stayed until the afternoon and eventually sneaked back to luxurious cave.

The next morning, King Bo came up another rule! He announced:

“King Bo Bear, that is I, has come up with a new law. It is especially for bears. It is this; a bear, of any age, height or reputation, including me, must not venture to Honey-Buzz honey farms and eat any of it’s honey. Honey must be only purchased and never, ever, eaten fresh from hives.”

Once he was done, the mumbles begun.

“We have to pay for all honey??”one bear yelled.

A bear named Benny shouted, “When will the injustice end?”

Beatrice, a mother bear, screamed, "That isn't fair, King Bo!"

Bo skipped away from the then even angrier crowd, to begin his daily walk. Today, he had walked a little faster. So faster and faster he walked. He walked so fast that he got very far from his cave and the middle of the forest. Then he got lost.

Bo used his strong sense of smell and hearing to figure out where he was. He began to smell what seemed like honey and hear what seemed like buzzing. As he stepped forward through some bushes he realized where he was: At Honey-Buzz farms!! On the trees there were hives everywhere. Every bee in the forest lived here, and they made the honey that was sold to the animals (mostly bears) in the market stands.

The king thought about leaving. “But then again,” he thought, “I am supposed to be checking on every resident of the forest...”

So he went into the farms. There were many trees filled with hives. Bo noticed one huge one that was dripping honey. He couldn’t resist walking over to it, just to have a closer look. But the closer he got, the more appealing the golden honey got. It smelt so tasty, he just had to have a tiny little taste. He was the king anyway!

So he stuck out his paw and let a little come into it. Then he licked his paw till all the honey was off it. He thought the honey was some of the best he ever had so he decided to get more. And more. And more. And more until he had at lease a large jar-full of honey in his tummy.

“Gahh.... i think i had a little too much. But it was good...” the bear said as he walked home. Deep inside he knew he had broken a rule, but he didn’t care, since he was the king.

Fortunately, the next day, the king couldn’t think of any new rules. So he decided to stay inside his cave home, all day.

While the king slept that day, there was someone outside his home, waiting for him to get up.

That little person was Pippo, a chipmunk. But wasn’t one of the kings obsessed admirers, he was a spy. He knew the king didn’t follow his own rules and was a bad king over all. So he had followed the king everyday to get solid evidence to show Mari and so she would thus stop him from being king. And today was the day he decided to show her the evidence.

Though being a little chipmunk, Pippo was a strong climber and he was good at carrying things as he climbed the mountains to the very top where the queen lived with her servants and other helpers. And he did just that, climbed up as fast as he could. When he got to the big gate with bear guards that protected the queen’s cave and throne, he gave them a long speech on why they should let him through. After consideration, the huge bears said yes and let him through.

Pippo ran as fast as he could, occasionally stopping to explain with honesty and cuteness to the servants and others why they should let him through to he queen. When he finally got to the very top, which was a flat place where the queen’s throne rested and there was a shade to protect the queen from the beaming sun and a small table with a ice box underneath where the queen to get drinks and food and the table to put any other things.

The little chipmunk approached her slowly. He was very nervous. The attendant alerted the queen of his visit, so she knew he was coming. When she caught sight of Pippo she smiled and stood up.

“Hello there, Mr., um, Pippo, is it?” the Queen Mari asked.

Pippo humbly replied, “Ah, yes, Mr. Pippo Chippers, your Majesty.”

“No, heh heh, call me Mari or Queen Mari!” the mountain lion giggly replied.

“Okay....Mari. Anyway, I'm here with an important message for you.” Pippo smiled and replied.

“Oh, yes, what is it? I believe it has to do with my co-ruler, King Bo, right, little guy?”

“Uh, yes, Queen Mari, it does. See, as you may know, King Bo makes a lot of rules and i mean a lot of rules. But for some reason he doesn’t seem to follow his own rules, even the ones including him to follow.”

The queen looked perplexed. “Huh? Whatever do you mean? I believed Bo to be a good king!”

“Yes, he once was but over the years, everything went to his head. I have clear evidence.”

“Okay, please show them to me.”

Pippo grabbed his bag, which was about 2 times bigger than him, and hoped in. He rustled through the bag and climbed out with a large photograph and some papers.

“Alrighty,’ he said, a little out of breath. “here are just a few examples of his injustices.”

The chipmunk cleared his throat and began his presentation.

“Just 3 days ago, the king introduced a new law. It was to not steal from the elderly. But, as i have been recently doing, i followed him secretly on his daily walk. And this is what i saw.”

He held up the photos of the fat bear eating a pie near Mrs. Deeringer’s window.

“Oh my! That’s the house of poor old Mrs. D! She has some quality pies, y’know. i love the apple pie. So delicious!” the queen exclaimed then explained.

“Uh-huh, yeah. Anyways, just for eating the pie, he left a royal note! That is all! Now, here is my next example. 2 days ago, his new law was to not swim or bathe in the Divine Duck River, not even the ducks! But look!”

Again he showed pictures to the queen. They were of Bo swimming in the river.

The queen gasped and said “Oh my! How dare he? Breaking his own rule? Wait, you said the Divine Duck right? Oh, that is a beautiful vacation spot, i went there last summer and it was heavenly!”

“Oh, yes, My Queen, i bet it was. Next, i have my last example. Just yesterday, the king made a law that prevents bears, including him, from going to Honey-Buzz honey farms and eating it’s honey without charge. But guess what he did that afternoon!”

Pippo whipped out his pictures again and displayed them for the queen.

“That is enough! I know i may not have seemed so serious, but Bo must be dethroned, immediately! But first, Honey-Buzz farms??? They have the absolute best honey ever!”

Pippo sighed. “Yes, my queen, it is truly great honey. But now, we must stop the king ASAP!”

So immediately the angry chipmunk and mountain lion ran as fast as they could to the bottom of the mountain. Mari let Pippo ride on her back as she transitioned to running on all fours. Finally they got to the bottom of the mountain where the king’s cave rested.

Fortunately, the queen’s huge black bear body guards were right behind them. So she ordered them to pound on the door of the huge cave.

Bo was sound asleep when he heard the “BANG BANG BANG” sound on his door. He lazily ordered one of his servants to answer it.

The afraid little rabbit servant slowly opened the door.

“Um, King’s residence, h-how may i help y-you?” His little voice sounded shaky.

The queen moved her way through the giant bodyguards. “Ah, yes, your one of Bo’s servants. Your, um, Robbit Rabbit right? Rob for short?”

Rob loosened up, but he was still nervous. “Yes, i am, Your Majesty, the honorable Queen Mari Cougar of Mountain Forest.” he said quickly. Then he bowed.

“Oh no, not with the full address. No need for that. Just call me Mari. Now, my friends and I are here to speak with Bo. Is he available?”

“Uh, i afraid he’s asleep now, can you come at a later time? I’m sure -”

“No, we need to speak to him now. He needs to be woken up. Lemme in, I’ll do it.”

Mari marched in to Bo’s bed room. Pippo and the guards followed and sat in the main room. A few minutes later she showed up in the main room with a groggy Bo.

“Now, Bo, is it true or not rue that you have been breaking your own rules?” Mari asked.

Bo’s eyes widened. “Huh? W-what do you mean?”

“You exactly know what we mean!” Pippo shouted.

“Who are you? And how dare you yell at the king!” Bo shot back.

“No, Bo. You are no longer the king. I’m sorry to tell you that I’ve decided to remove your kingly duties and give them to someone else, since you obviously cannot follow your own rules and are oppressing the poor animals.”

“Wh-wha? Noooo!!!!” Bo said just as he was about to be dragged out by the bodyguards to the dungeon which was in a swampy cold area in the forest that only criminals lived, watched by huge mountain lion and bear guards.

As Pippo and Mari marched out of Bo’s cave, along with the set-free servants and assistants, they talked about who would be the new king.

“Who shall be the king now?” Pippo asked.

“Hm...lemme see...how about you?” The queen slyly asked.

A shocked Pippo responded, “What, me?”

“Yes, you. I have already arranged the ceremony tonight. You’ll make a great king.”

**********

That night Pippo was made the new king of Mountain Forest. And over the years he proved to be very smart, kind and considering of the people. The animals were happy with their new king who had erased all the harsh rules and only had necessary and fair ones. Mari went back to her mountain post after a while but regular visited to check progress and to visit her favorite places in the forest.

Afterwards, everyone in the forest lived happily ever after.

Author's Note

I wrote this for school a year ago so it's not the best. I know there's some problems with it.... but hey! The moral of the fable is put at the top as I was taught in school to do this so it's not the title.