Short Story / A Bear Story (Analysis)
So you want to know about Bear Stories? Well, Bear Stories can be very violent indeed, much like Tiger Stories. They can also be very nice and gentle. Bear’s life revolves around things like family, raising good strong children, the strength in your claws, overwhelming your prey with immense strength, charging forward without hesitation and with intent, knowing how to maul, protecting what is yours at all costs—things like that. Some Bear Stories are good for children to hear but other are not good. That’s how it is when you’re dealing with the ways of the wild. Some things—certain details—can be left out, depending on the audience. To quote another author in a way: there is the tale, and the rest is detail.
However, Bear likes her stories to be told raw. Told with every detail. She would have me include things like the sound of her jaws crushing bone, the taste of the meat, the feel of warm blood on her fur. Why? Because these things are Bear’s life. Things not always appropriate for our human children. After all, Bears can be very kind too—and I wouldn’t want to give out the wrong impression of them. They just like to intimidate people, for fun. This bear story is a very old one, one of the oldest.
This story I will call:
Bear Heart, Human Mind
It happened, once upon a time, that Momma Bear found and took as her own a human son whom she’d found in the woods one day. At first sight she was ready to devour the young boy, but her mothering nature got the best of her. Instead of eating the child or feeding him to her cubs, she adopted him. She took the human in. He was weak and sickly so she nursed him, warmed him at night in her thick coat and allowed him to drink the milk of her breast. The milk of the bears.
Momma Bear, she decided to name him Restless Soul—because the boy’s energy was always so high, even as a little youngling. So the boy, he grew up large and strong, as physically fit for the forest as his bear siblings. His limbs were long and muscular, his hands and feet were large and powerful, his skin was as tough as tree bark. Momma bear taught him how to run, how to climb, how to kill, and how to tear apart rough meat. She made sure he grew up strong enough and fearless enough to keep up with her kind. The boy picked up quickly, he was a natural.
There must have been something in that bear-milk, because Restless Soul’s body knew no sickness or disease ever in the forest. He was stronger, fiercer and more agile than any human being.
“I have given you my strength,” said Bear to her son, “use it wisely and honorable to serve your land and your kind.”
Restless Soul, a strapping young man, replied dutifully: “Yes mother.”
His brother and sister had grown up beside him, but much faster than he and the two of them soon left to go off on their own. Restless Soul, however, stayed beside Momma Bear because now she was with new cubs, raising and teaching them the ways of the forest and he helped his mother care for them and bring them food. He was also their protector in a way. Why, one time he’d even chased away a hunter he caught in the woods. The hunter, shocked and amazed by this human with a bear’s strength who leapt from the trees and roared, did not come back.
One morning, Momma Bear awoke early to go out in search of food to bring back to Restless Soul and the cubs.
“I wont be too long,” said Bear. “Son, please keep an eye on your younger siblings while I am away.”
“Of course mother.” Said Restless Soul, and swiftly he took his place in the treetop.
“The hunters seem to be coming around often these past months,” said Bear, “they’re learning to track us. Humans aren’t meant to hunt bears. If you see a hunter, chase it away but do not kill it. Humans and bears should not be in conflict.”
“What do they want from us?” said Restless Soul.
“Humans are becoming greedy, son.” Said Bear. “For what they call wealth, they will kill bears and sell our fur.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. The human race is changing.”
Restless Soul nodded. Bear turned and disappeared behind the trees. Her two cubs were still lying fast asleep beneath the roots of an elderly tree, half-covered in fallen autumn leaves. Restless Soul sighed. He hoped his mother wouldn’t be gone very long. Sitting in the treetop till she returned could be rather uneventful, which made him feel very… restless. He would much rather be out with his mother—running, chasing, tackling, killing… or with his older brother and sister, just like when he was young.
In form, he knew he was a human. Momma Bear and he had discussed it before. How she found him, a sick child, alone. But in heart, he was a bear. That was how he felt. Only in his mind did he find confusion. Bear-like thoughts mixed with human-like thoughts often and he struggled at times to decide which thoughts ought to be his. Which was the true voice of who he really was?
Human form.
Bear heart.
--Whose mind?
--Restless Soul startled awake. He’d heard a sound that woke him. Panicked, he sprang to his feet, nearly slipping and falling, and looked around. The cubs were nowhere in sight. He leapt from the top of the tree, making the ground tremble where he landed. A group of birds startled and fled into the bushes.
“Sparrows!” cried Restless Soul, breathless. “Have you seen my brother and sister? My mother?”
“No brother!” said the sparrows. “We have not. We only just arrived.”
Restless Soul then bent low to the ground, sniffing and crawling. It wasn’t long before he caught the scent of the cubs… they had moved from their spot and wandered off…. Then he smelt something that made his heart jump—humans. Hunters, most likely. He stayed low to the ground and followed their scent. He followed it for several yards to where it blended with the scent of the cubs. He detected signs of struggle in the disturbed ground and leaves. It must have been quick….
He felt afraid at first, then angry. Angry that he had to keep an eye on the little runts in the first place. He’d grown tired of it. Nonetheless, Restless Soul ran in the direction he could best guess the hunters had gone. Sprinting and leaping through trees, he followed the faint scent as best as he could. Less than a mile away, Momma Bear was fishing by the side of a rushing ford. She was nearly finished and would be heading back to her cubs soon.
When the scent grew stronger Restless Soul knew he was catching up to them. He also wondered when his mother was going to return to their den. He pressed on, mentally calling upon the sharpness of his bear eyes and ears to find the hunters. Then, about thirty yards away, he spotted them: two white-skinned men carrying two large sacks. The cubs were sedated inside. These men wore animal skins on their shoulders, around their waists and on their heavy, clumsy looking boots. Quietly, Restless Soul advanced toward them, staying low to the ground. As he came closer he could see the men had golden hair and beards and brightly colored eyes.
His bear heart told him to chase, told him to charge, to take down and pound into the ground. Do not pause, it said, just charge.
But his human mind told him something else: to instead follow, to stalk secretly. Curiosity told him. Learn more about these men, it said. See where they go; see what you can take from them. Restless Soul could not have pushed it out of his mind, even if he had tried that day. It was already in his head.
And so follow he did, fighting against his other impulse to pounce upon them. Forgetting about where Momma Bear might be and unaware that she was already on her way back to their den, he secretly tracked the humans with fascination. The way they spoke to each other (a language he could not understand), the way they looked and smelled. They moved very slowly, he thought, heavily.
Then something began to move inside one of the sacks and one of the men panicked and dropped the sack and drew a knife. In that instant, instinct took control of Restless Soul and he jumped out from the trees. With a loud and mighty roar, he landed on the man and tackled him to the ground. In a futile scramble the man tried to get to his feet, but Restless Soul with such agility was on him. He grabbed the man by the head and smashed his head against a tree.
In fear, the second man fell to the ground, raising his hands and pleading for his life. The cubs scrambled out of the sacks, drowsy and disoriented.
“Wait!” cried the man. “Don’t hurt me, please!”
But Restless Soul, he only stared and the fury of his attack melted away from his expression.
“Go,” he told the cubs. “You can smell your way back home, go now. Mother will be looking for you.” The cubs obeyed.
Although much lighter in skin, hair and eyes—this man he seemed much like him. Or so looked. Although he’d always known he was human, Restless Soul never encountered one so closely and it bewildered him.
This, his first experience with another human would change him forever. Wide eyed, with one man dead and the other quivering with fear for his life, Restless Soul slowly backed away. One last glance—then he ran off. He bumped into Momma Bear halfway back. Seeing the blood on his hands, she knew what he had done.
He never felt guilt over killing before. To him, it was just something you did to survive. Bear was not cruel. Neither was he. Killing was just life. Just as being killed is part of the deer’s life. The feeling of guilt was very new to Restless Soul, and the feeling was strong.
But why? Was it because he killed another human? Was it because perhaps, for a moment, he ignored his instincts? He wondered if he was becoming more human, somehow.
Well, in the coming days the hunter that survived returned to his village raving and ranting of a man he saw with incredible strength who could speak to bears. There’d been one another witness, a hunter who was chased away by the bear-man. Word spread about the village like wild-fire and the man who survived began to evolve a plan.
“The bear-man spared me.” he told others. “I don’t think that he had seen another human up close, he seemed astounded. We must show him the wonders and riches of human civilization; show him that he belongs with us. A man like that can serve as a powerful ally to us. And a man who can speak to bears can reveal their secrets to us!” Others shouted their approvals. All that would be left to figure out was how they would get the bear-man to show himself again, without getting killed. They figured the bear-man was some kind of guardian of the woods, appointed no doubt by the very spirits of the woods themselves. They thought of him as a sort of Demi-God. But not one that could not be tricked and they thought of a way they might lure him out… for even Gods can be fooled, they thought.
When Momma Bear found out that Restless Soul had killed a hunter, she was a little disappointed in him. She had told him not to. She feared now that the humans would want to strike back.
Well, strike they did. Not but a few days later, smoke and the smell of burning trees filled the air. Bear went and asked Brother Hawk to find out where the fire was. He flew off and a few minutes later when he came back, told her that it was at the southern border of the forest. There was a human village there too, not too far away. Momma Bear had not been aware of a human settlement that close to her woods.
Bear then once again left her son in charge of her children. He did not appreciate this charge, nor did he intend to obey it. He had to see the humans again. So after she was gone, he told the cubs to stay, and then left. The children waited in the lowest branch of a tree, watching fearfully. They felt in their hearts that their brother did not like them very much.
Careful not to run into his mother, Restless Soul made his way to the edge of the woods. As he came closer to the fire, the smoke in the air became thicker and blacker. He sprinted forward. The fire wasn’t too large, but he could feel its heat strongly on his face. Then suddenly he caught a glimpse of Momma Bear to his right. He froze. She turned in his directions and quickly he hid behind a tree. Then, peeking out the side he could see that she was gathering creatures of the woods to her and leading them away from the blaze, shouting commands. They all followed her lead. The birds, foxes, deer, squirrels, and everything in between.
When Bear was out of sight, he came back out. The fire was growing quickly but that was not Restless Soul’s main concern. He wanted to find the humans again. He needed to see them. Cautiously, he took a few steps forward then suddenly—WHAM.
His head rang loudly, unbearably. Pain came from behind him. Stumbling, he tried to turn. There was a dark figure before him, blurry. Then another blow struck him, on the side of the head this time. And this time he collapsed. After that he wasn’t sure if he was hit again or if he just imagined the last blow. Everything went black….
When Restless Soul came around, he found himself lying on his back in a small tent next to a calm little fire. It was night. His head ached, but he quickly realized he wasn’t tied down or bound anywhere. Dizzy and wobbly legged, he tried to stand. He couldn’t. Warm blood oozed down the side of his head.
A few minutes later, a golden-bearded man with white skin who wore animal hide on his back entered the tent. He raised his hands peacefully when he saw Restless Soul awake.
“Please brother,” he pleaded, “I want no trouble.” Restless Soul first bared his teeth and growled at the man but then he settled down. The man did not seem threatening. His body language, too, was very submissive.
“We found you….” said the man. “My comrades and I found you lying on the ground. Perhaps a falling branch hit you.”
Restless Soul frowned. He tried, but failed to make sense of the words. The man saw that he could not understand. He merely gestured to Restless Soul to lie down again and rest his head. He did, and the pain in his head carried him again into sleep.
He dreamt strange dreams of men with the heads of bears; Momma Bear walking through a burning forest—then seeing him, her eyes become lit with fire and fire sprays out from her mouth and engulfs him. Then he dreamt that a bear and a man were speaking with each other— great big beings whose heads reached the stars. The man was asking the bear to give him its fur. The bear refused, told the man that it was not his. The man insisted and threatened to take it. The bear bit out the man’s throat. His blood spilled onto the earth, forming lakes and rivers and crashing waterfalls….
When he woke up the next day, the man who spoke to him the night before, the same man he let live spent the entire day with him. He treated Restless Soul’s wounds and walked him through the village, showing him the ways of human life.
In the many days that were to come, Restless Soul did not leave the village, even in the moments when he thought that he should. No, he stayed. The people were fascinated by him. His size, his strength and his wildness. Although he felt awkward and out-of-place at first, his intense desire to learn about them held him to that place. Tied him down. Tamed him. He spent weeks learning about their language and their ways. He eventually learned the name of the man who he spared that day in the woods—Luther. Luther became like a brother to him during that time.
It wasn’t long before Luther began asking Restless Soul questions about the bears and how they lived. He was very curious as to their language and the story of how Restless Soul came to live among them. Then, Luther showed him the riches of his village. The gold, the shiny jewels, the things that could buy homes, buy comfort, buy security and luxury. Luther explained that those things were true wealth. And that that’s what Restless Soul himself was destined for.
“This is your real home.” Luther explained. “These, your true people. There are no people as advanced as ours, nor as rich.” It took Restless Soul a while to understand the meaning of wealth as Luther explained. But then he thought he understood, and he liked it.
As Restless Soul learned to speak Luther’s language better, he confronted him about the fire that was started weeks back. He knew that it was not a natural fire. He knew that it was man-made. Luther merely assured him that he had nothing to do with the burning of the trees, but that he’d caught the men who did and had them imprisoned. Luther had that kind of authority. He also explained that he had to fight to keep others from imprisoning Restless Soul, as well.
“You killed one of our kind, brother.” he said. “But now we are all prepared to forgive you. I told our people not to worry, that you would redeem yourself. I told them that you would find your true place with us. I am right, aren’t I brother?”
Restless Soul only nodded, a little uncertain of himself.
“I know, brother.” said Luther. “You still feel the heart of a bear beating inside your chest. You were raised by them, yes. But look at yourself, you are just as much a man as I am. Do not worry, you will see. I will show you.”
And Restless Soul believed him. So he stayed for a couple weeks more.
Luther kept his word. He taught Restless Soul as much as he could absorb. Restless Soul learned very quickly, the memory of his Bear mother slipping further and further into the back of his head.
One night (the last night that Restless Soul would ever live in that village), Luther brought him a woman. For the first time, he experienced the intimate warmth of a woman and became a new man, and the steady process of his humanization was complete.
The very next day, Luther explained, very sympathetically, that one of the sources of his village’s wealth was the trading and selling of—“Yes brother, bear skins.” He explained it was all that he knew how to do. This was how he made his living, fed his family, survived. Restless Soul recoiled at this.
“Brother, please.” said Luther. “You are not one of them. Thankfully for you, you are one of us. Someday our kind will inhabit every corner of this earth. You have the chance to be wealthier than what you could formerly imagine!”
More wealth, women and wine. That is what Luther promised him. It may credit Restless Soul somewhat to say that he did not give in immediately—but he did.
“You know the language of the bears,” Luther said, while lighting his tobacco pipe and looking very serious, “you know their ways. I ask only this one thing of you: bring us the mother’s children. In exchange for their fur, I can offer you a great sum of wealth. The winter months are approaching and during that time fur is in high demand, my friend.”
“What about my—what about the mother?” Restless Soul asked him.
“Go in the dead of night. Tonight. Leave the mother, she is too dangerous. Take only the cubs. You must be cunning.”
Restless Soul made up his mind. His new mind—one of ambition, of insatiable desire. He agreed. Bears were nothing more than a disowned family to him now. In his mind, he had a new family, a new home and a new future to grasp. A future of power and riches, so close he could nearly snatch it from the air.
That night, Restless Soul, cloaked in black, went back into the woods he’d known so well for the first time in months. Awkwardly, he bent down and sniffed the ground to try and determine where he was but his old sense of smell did not work. Still, he went onward into the forest.
It took him a few hours before he regained his old sense of direction in the forest, and it was even more painstaking in the cool dead of night. The half-moon provided a little light. The creatures of the night all fled when Restless Soul came by. Wolves howled, owls hooted and ravens cawed so that he became unsettled, wondering if they weren’t giving away his location (or perhaps, his intentions). He didn’t know for sure. He wondered how he would find the cubs. Restless Soul spent several more hours that night and early morning wandering the woods, calling back his lost senses to find his way to them.
It wasn’t until the morning sun highlighted the horizon with gold, that he was able to smell his way around again, relying less on his sight. The sky itself was still dark, but it was then that he caught the scent of his quarry. They were close.
He followed the scent for only a few minutes and then he found them—fast asleep. Momma Bear was not in sight. Restless Soul sniffed around. She’d gone not long ago, probably to hunt.
She won’t be back for some time, he thought….
Wealth, women and wine, he thought…. And he thought how much he enjoyed being a human. He drew his knife. He could kill them now, and then drag them back to the village. He still had not lost his bear strength in the past few months, so they wouldn’t be difficult to carry.
The twist in the story, as it is quite apparent there would be one, is this:
While most creatures slept, Brother Owl, he was awake. It just so happened he had stayed up late that night, hunting small prey, unsuccessfully. And then Restless Soul came along (who was believed dead by the creatures of the woods) looking very suspicious, not to mention a bit lost. So wise Brother Owl decided to follow him. In his great wisdom, Owl knew that he was up to something treacherous. Then he went deep into Restless Soul’s mind and saw the foul deed he was ready to commit. Owl’s wide eyes and piercing stare can see more than just small nocturnal creatures. They see thoughts and feelings too. They see murderous and traitorous intentions.
Alarmed, Owl flew off at once to find Bear. When he found her he flew in circles above her, crying: “Mother Bear, your children are in danger! Return to them at once!” It was so very early and Bear’s head may still have been cloudy, but she did not hesitate. She abandoned her hunt and sprinted back to her camp, as fast as her legs could carry her.
Restless Soul stepped forward, blade ready. He knelt down beside one of the sleeping cubs. His former sibling. The knife trembled slightly in his hand.
He paused.
Something in that moment that may have been the heart of a bear made him pause. Then suddenly, something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. There stood Momma Bear, furious and panting, clouds of cold breath blowing out of her nose and mouth. Her eyes were like flames. She growled deep, from the back of her throat. Restless Soul dropped the knife and took a few steps back.
Neither of them said anything. Between them they both knew what was happening. What had happened. Restless Soul could see in Momma Bear’s eyes that she knew everything in that moment—even why he was there. At a loss for that to do, he did what any normal human would want to do in that situation: he ran.
This, however, was a sorry mistake. For if anything ever runs, Bear will chase. And chase she did. She caught up to Restless Soul within seconds and she was upon him with all of her overwhelming strength, her raw power. She did not stop to think twice, she did not think at all.
She mauled him there in the woods, in plain view for all. As she did, she saw that there may have been some regret in her adopted son’s eyes. Still, she crushed his bones and tore out his throat. There was no fight. In the woods and everywhere else, Restless Soul was forgotten.
Bear remains forever grateful to Brother Owl, who stays up every night now, all night, to keep a watchful eye on the woods, as a favor to Bear and others.
To this day, Momma Bear won’t ever allow humans near her cubs again, nor does she like them in her woods. And whenever they run from her, she always chases. Without guilt or regret, she runs them all down.
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
So far, it’s capturing my interest. I’ve had dreams of bears and know that if a spirit guide existed in animal form, it would be mine.
I read the whole story and was enthralled to the end, however the end didn’t seem as deep as I thought it would end up. It was a bit flat. “she runs them all down.” I think leaving that out would make it more powerful. Good overall story.
- add/view comments (0)
This 580 word review has not been unlocked.
- 3/4 into story: ”..credit Restless Soul somewhat to say that he did not give in immediately—but he did.” Reads a little awkwardly. Try: “-but, eventually/finally/in the end, he did.”
- “While most creatures slept, Brother Owl, he was awake.” Reads as if the narrator is addressing the reader as Brother Owl. Lose the “he”; i.e., ”..slept, Brother Owl was awake.” ((Side note: Might be an interesting idea, though: to pull the reader in even more, consider referring directly to the reader as if he/she were a creature of the woods…? Just a thought.))
- “At a loss for -that- what to do,”
- Great story! Very unique -- I’ve read nothing like this on Urbis. Carefully written -- other than the few suggestions above, I see no mistakes. Your narration is appropriately distanced, creating a very “once upon a time” feel. Visually satisfying—like a Disney fairy-tale in my mind. Nicely done!
I’m not sure what age group this is aimed at. The intro certainly hints at the very young reader. Yet you also talk as though to an adult.
This first part is more a prologue – and best separated out as such.
“Bear’s life” -> “Bears lives”
“Bear’s life..your claws” Change of perspective – either “you” or “bear”. Later you use “she”. Be consistent. e.g. -> “Bears lives..in their claws”
Main Story:
This is a good story, though the linking of your story as a forebear to current animal behaviour does not quite come off. Things like why did the owl owe the bear a favor – owl had saved the cubs.
I’d drop that element and keep the story as a straight tale.
A few other points:
Your bears seem to know too many non-bear things, e.g. “what they call wealth”, this is hard to align with the story. They also use very human language at time e.g. “Siblings”. Try to avoid doing this to help suspend belief.
Some of your phrasing is very strange. e.g. “this man he seemed much like him. Or so looked. ” Is this a language problem you have, or a deliberate attempt at making your story sound ‘folksie”? This gradually occurs more often as the story progresses. It doesn’t work for me.
I won’t go through this pointing them all out.
Overall a good story.
Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Review item
Add to faves
GENERAL
REVIEW QUEUE
Ratings & Rankings
