Bear Growing Up Part 3

When Bear was a cub and still lived in the woods Bear loved to smell things, and after smelling, Bear would normally eat things. Sometimes they tasted bad, sometimes good, sometimes they came back up Bear's mouth, sometimes they made Bear's bum hurt when he pooped.

Once Bear was smelling around and he discovered a funny new animal with spiky fur-- but not a fury bear. Bear smelled him and started chasing him, but then he shot Bear in the snout with his fur. It hurt lots. He looked like this on the side.

Bear couldn't get the spiky fur out of his snout -- again problems with the lack of opposable thumbs. So Bear made friends with some other little furry animals that didn't have spiky fur to shoot into Bear's snout. They called themselves the squirrels. They had tiny little digits for opening the nuts that they ate. They were little and furry with bushy tails. Bear liked them. Bear made an agreement with them that he wouldn't eat them or steal any of the nuts they hid in trees and they would take the spiky fur out of Bear's snout.

The squirrels took the spiky fur out of his snout and Bear made friends with them. And Bear learned the smell of the spiky fur animals and learned to stay away from them. Mamma told Bear that they are just nervous and shy and only do that cause bears are big and scare them. Since they are only little its the only way they can stop other animals from eating them. Bear understands now.

Bear still talks to the squirrels when he goes in the woods. The squirrels can even run around in the city without the humans shooting them. Humans seem to like squirrels more than bears for some reason. Bear doesn't like speciesism.

The squirrels have a good network cause there are so many of them and they're so quick at running and climbing, so they're good at telling Bear things, like where to find campers with beers and where rivers with good fishing are. The squirrels can speak bird too and birds can go anywhere cause they can fly over things. So the squirrels know lots. Bear talks to them lots to get updates, especially when Lynx goes on his adventures far away. He went across the big water once on a boat to try to find the girl when she went on a vacation and he missed her.

Now the squirrels tell Bear that Lynx is close to where Moose is from, in Appalachian. Lynx used to eat the squirrels if he got hungry, but since we got the white box in the house, Lynx only hunts rabbits and sees how they're useful for keeping in touch.

Bear had further problems smelling animals when Bear found the animal with the white stiped down its back that shot its poop at Bear and made Bear stink. Mamma made Bear sleep outside the den for 2 weeks after that cause Bear smelled so bad. Mamma explained that they were just like the spikey fur animals and that was their way of not getting eaten. Bear thought this was funny, why weren't they just be big with claws instead of running around the woods smelling bad?

Bear learned there are lots of funny things in the woods that don't make lots of sense to Bear. Even more in the city with the humans.