Green Center Fiction

This is a story about a Bear who lived in a forest not far from here. This Bear is our ancestor because he drank from the same lakes and rivers that we drink from. He hunted for food among the same trees. For these reasons he is our ancestor. This Bear is dead now, but he dances every night among the stars. Sometimes he dances close enough to us that we can see his menacing form. Often he dances in the distant reaches of the galaxy and we do not see his dance.

The Bear was powerful and all of the animals in the forest fled when he came near. The Bear was also fast and he would often catch moose and lynx and cook them on his campfire. The forest was his and he slept and ate wherever he pleased. While the Bear was fierce he was also respected. Once he had eaten he would often share his kill with a pack of wolves or fox,and the Bear would gladly share his winter den with any weary traveler, but they had to remember to wake up before the Bear!

There came a point when the Bear had grown very old. He knew he would soon die. He only had one son who lived in another forest. Bears do not spend time with their children after they leave to start their own family. While we all enjoy spending time with our family we should remember that Bears are not men. They need to be alone. But even bears get lonely and that’s why the Bear wanted to see his son. He knew he would die soon and he did not want to die lonely. He may have been fierce and powerful, but the mere thought of death brought fear into his heart. This beast that had brought death to so many animals was scared to die! He began to see death lurking behind every tree and under ever leaf. He couldn’t sleep because he was afraid he would never wake up. Here was this once mighty bear that used to be able to hibernate from the first October snows until the green grass returned in May, and now he couldn’t sleep! He knew he must find his only son. He knew that if he found his son he would not die alone. He would be able to fall asleep once he found his son, and he needed to sleep.

The Bear’s journey would prove to be quite perilous. A mighty demon was determined to possess the soul of the Bear. This demon knew that if the Bear’s soul ascended to the heavens the other animals would no longer fear death. The other animals would see this powerful bear living and dancing among the stars. The demon conjured a snowstorm to prevent the Bear from finding his son. The Bear was already very tired and hungry, and the storm was too much for him. He fell into a snow bank and he felt himself begin to die. He knew that if he died here alone he would die in fear. The fear would weaken his soul and soon the demon would be able to possess it. He would live forever as a slave of this evil spirit.

But this powerful Bear was not dead yet. He may have been old, but his nose had the strength of twenty dogs! As he lay there in the snow bank this Bear noticed the smell of cooking meat! This was long before the days of man and the Bear knew that only another bear would be cooking with fire. The Bear brought himself to his feet and began to stagger through the storm. The fury of the demon blew a wrathful wind straight into the Bear’s face, but still he moved forward. Deep through the blowing snow his old eyes focused on a form hunched beside a fire. It was another bear, it was his son. His son invited the Bear to sit by his fire to eat and smoke a little tobacco. The Bear told his son that he only wanted to rest and he curled up for a nap beside the fire. There by the fire that powerful Bear died, but he did not die alone, he did not die in fear. The demon stayed far away. When the Bear died by the fire his soul ascended to heaven and he began his infinite dance among the stars. Tonight, we can see this dance of the Bear. When we see this dance we should remember not to fear death.