Week 1: Friends and a Bear (Storytelling)

There were once two young men who had been friends for years. Their names were John and Marcus. Both spent most of their days together working as blacksmith’s apprentices. While forging swords for the knights, both men had said they would fight for and protect each other, as they were like brothers.

However, those promises never required action, as the men led simple and uninteresting lives. When work was slow, John would practice with the swords, while Marcus would read about the world. He read about life in the deserts of the South, the oceans to the West, and the forests that surrounded their town. “You’re always reading those books,” Said John as he struck the blade into one of the wooden poles in the room.

“Yes, I am,” Marcus laughed. “I want to be a blacksmith who’s as clever as one of the fancy scholars.”

“Well,” said John, “If you want a skill that is actually useful in the world, you should train with me. I’m becoming as brave and strong as a knight. A book won’t save your life.”  But Marcus kept reading, and John kept swinging his sword.

One day the men were working when the blacksmith entered. “Boys,” he grunted, “I need you to go to the next town for some new tools.” The old man instructed them on what they needed and sent the boys on their way. They hadn’t gone on an errand before for the blacksmith, so both were excited for the adventure.

Later, John and Marcus were walking through the woods, on the narrow dirt road. The men were talking and laughing, telling stories from their childhood, and complaining about the old blacksmith. Then they heard something in the trees off to their left. Both froze.

The stood still and listened. They hadn’t seen another person on the road for over an hour and were still well away from the next town. The sound went quiet for a moment before continuing moving closer to them. They backed away and stood on the far side of the road, watching and waiting. After a moment, a huge brown bear came out of the tree line. The bear wasn’t paying the men any mind, at least not until John squealed in fear. The bear looked at the men curiously and began walking toward them.

John shook and began scrambling towards the trees behind him, knocking Marcus out of the way as he rushed away from the bear. When John reached the trees he scrambled up the nearest one, climbing half way to the top.

Marcus seemed calm outwardly, as he was trying not to startle the bear more. However, his mind was racing. He thought, Forests. Bears. Bears in forest., Bears killing people in forests. I must have read something about how to not get killed by bears in the forests. Then he remembered, he had once read that bears wouldn’t mess with the dead. As the bear neared him he dropped to the ground. He lay still, holding his breath, with his eyes closed. 

He could hear the bear moving towards him, and soon he felt the bear’s breath on his face and neck. The bear sniffed him a time or two, and then nudged his neck with a huge black nose. The bear soon became tired and lost interest in Marcus. As the bear lumbered back into the woods, Marcus sighed in relief, with ragged breaths, and slowly sat up.

After the bear had completely disappeared, John jumped down from the tree, still shaking. He collapsed next Marcus. “I thought you were dead for sure,” John said, staring huge eyed at Marcus. “It looked like he whispered to you, he was so close.”

“He did,” Marcus said still trying to catch his breath.

John looked at his friend skeptically, “Bears can’t talk.”

Marcus nodded, “This one did.  He said, ‘find a friend who’s brave like a knight and won’t let you get eaten by a bear.’” John turned red with embarrassment and Marcus laughed, though he was still angry with John. “The bear also said to keep reading books, as I would be dead if I depended on your bravery.” Marcus laughed again stood. John soon joined him and they continued down the road.

While the men worked together and remained friends. They never made any promises to one another again. Both men had seen how fear affected John. The encounter with danger had shown each of their true natures.

By: John and Karen Hollingsworth. "Big Brown Bear Urcus Arctos" Public Domain Image

Author's Note: This is a retelling of Aesop's fable entitled, "Two Travelers and a Bear". The story is of two men who are walking in the forest when they encounter a bear. One man leaves the other and climbs a tree, the other pretends to be dead to fool the bear. The bear leaves and the man on the ground told his friend that the bear said, "It is not at all wise to keep company with a fellow who would desert his friend in a moment of danger." The original fable and many others can be found in the book listed below, which is online for free by The Project Gutenburg. 

Bibliography: "Two Travelers and a Bear" from The Aesop for Children with pictures by Milo Winter (1919) Web Source: The Project Gutenburg