The Little Bear Cub

Photo cred: https://www.binalonan.gov.ph/project/binalonan-public-market/

               The market was well underway, and the sun high in the sky, when the cutest little black bear cub you ever saw peered out from behind the oak trees, insatiably curious.  The intruder had short, fuzzy black fur, eyes like a chocolate fondue, and a bright pink tongue that barely peeked out of his mouth as he gaped at the cornucopia of human delights.  Dozens of stands offered hundreds of goods, from antiques to fresh corn to pungent spices.  He wanted to see and smell them all, but he knew it could be dangerous.  Mama always warned him to be cautious of humans.  But the sight of bright red tomatoes and shiny clocks and glittering necklaces wore down his fear.  Slowly, the little bear cub left his hiding place and entered the crowd.  Instantly he regretted it.  So many bodies to crash into, table legs and carts to avoid that he couldn’t help bumping into some people.  Whenever he did, he looked up to see if the humans had been disturbed or hurt.  Many were surprised at the small creature, a few steered well clear, but no one stopped the little bear cub from his adventure.

Suddenly he caught a scent with his little bear nose.  The scent that every little bear loves most.  He looked to the other end of the market, and through khaki pants and leggings he caught a glimpse of a hexagonal sign.  He knew what that was.  He was off as fast as his little bear legs would carry him.  Several handbags were dropped, several knees were scraped as the little bear cub rushed through the crowds, but soon he stood at the object of his desire.  The honey stand.  Jars upon jars of the beautiful golden ambrosia from the gods hovered on a shelf, waist high for humans, just a few inches out of the bear’s reach.  The little bear cub stood on his tiptoes, but his claws just scraped the bottom of the counter.  The despair of the little bear cub was, for one instant, complete.  Tears formed in his innocent eyes.  Then he saw a perky little birch tree next to the stand, casting bits of shade on the customers waiting in line.  Hope burned his insides and pulled his muscles to the base of the tree, to climb. 

Black bears, of course, are very good at climbing, but the little bear cub was a very inexperienced bear.  His first attempts only produced a few minor scrapes.  He then tried a run-up and reached the first low branch, panting.  From there he was very cautious, testing each branch before committing his full body weight.  At last, he reached the height of the counter, and could look at his precious prize.  Two bespectacled eyes glared back at the little bear cub.  The owner of the stand was named Roberta and glaring at him like a naughty child.  She had been retired for fifteen years, but her money had run out, and she was now running the stand for profit.  She needed the money to keep her bees happy, and she wasn’t about to give jars away to wild animals.  Menacingly, she grabbed a broom and started lightly tapping the little bear cub, trying to loosen his grip.  The little bear claws were no match, and gently slid off the branch, back to the packed earth.  Despair gripped his little bear heart for the second time that afternoon.

For the next few minutes, the little bear cub tried to catch the old woman off guard, but she was ceaselessly vigilant.  Even when customers were buying honey, she kept one eye on the little bear cub, like a dragon protecting her hoard.  He tried knocking the jars down with a nearby stick, he punched the shelf with his little bear fists, he even gave the old woman his best puppy dog eyes.  But the old woman had bigger problems than a hungry bear cub, even if he was very little.  Exhausted from his attempts, the little bear bottom hit the pavement, resigned to sit forever alone and honey-less, until either the market went away or his mama came and comforted him.  He sat for a moment, thinking of nothing, but one has to think of something sometime.  So, he looked around.  He saw the bustle of the market, sausage links nearly cooking in the sun, umbrellas poking people’s eyes, apologies.  Soon he heard a loud crash, and most of the conversation died away quickly.  A grandfather clock had been knocked over by a customer, who was profusely apologizing to the owner, an old man in a black walrus mustache.  The young man was so sorry that he gave a few paper leaves to the mustache man.  Now why did he do that?  Once the bear saw the paper leaves, he noticed them everywhere.  And now he noticed why the old lady gave the jars away to the humans.  He had thought he was too small and too hairy to receive such a present, but he now observed the customers handing little paper sheets to the old woman, who gave them a honey jar and a smile.  If he found one of those little green papers, could he finally get a jar of honey?  He searched around, and quickly saw one paper hanging out of a black bag in the stand next to the honey stand.  He walked over to inspect it.

The little green sheet had all sorts of funny shapes and symbols on it, and in the middle was a picture of a man with dark eyebrows.  He looked old, and smart.  The little bear cub stole the green paper and returned to the honey stand.  The old woman looked down with disdain, and then bewilderment, as she saw the clever young cub with a five-dollar bill in his hand.  The thought of where the cub got the money left her mind quickly, left only with the greed of a woman on the edge of poverty.  She took the money and handed the cub a honey jar.  With eyes bigger than the lid of the jar, the little bear cub squealed with delight and ran to the big oak trees to enjoy his spoils.

Reviews

[Marztothemoon]

I really liked this story! Your vocabulary choices give your writing an air of professionalism. The only thing I would say is at the end of your first paragraph, it seems as if it cuts off suddenly. It seems as if we get the image of the bear's concern for humans, but no image for the other side of the interaction. I was expecting maybe a description of how the humans were reacting to a bear cub in their mist.

[Moose The Lesser]

Hi! I'm glad you liked it! That first paragraph is a little jarring, let me see if I can fix it. Thanks for the review!