Folk+Tale+Example

Why Bear Sleeps and We Write

It was early spring, and Bear was learning the history of his people from Owl. Owl was old and knew that he would only see a few more winters before the winds took him to the next world. Owl began reciting his knowledge to Bear, all three hundred years worth.

Bear, however, heard none of it. He was too busy thinking of all the sweet berries that were blooming in the bushes nearby. He wanted to eat them so badly.

“Are you listening?” Owl asked.

“Yes.” Bear licked his lips.

“Repeat the first fifty years.”

Bear said, “The fire came from the sea, and the earth came from the sky.”

“No, no. The fire came from the earth, and the sea came from the sky.”

“Same thing.”

“No, it isn’t. Bear, you must remember this. You will be the only one to remember our history when I die! Our people need to know where we came from and what the past looked like so that we can look forward to our future.”

“Of course.” Bear’s stomach growled.

By summer, Bear had only learned the first hundred years or so of his people’s history. Owl was quite infuriated. He had learned the history in one season and spent the others rehearsing for the Winter Telling. What would the people think of him if Bear could not remember it all?

“What happened sixty-five winters ago?” Owl asked.

Bear scratched his belly, his eyes fixated on a bee’s nest in a tall tree. “Spider learned to trap Fly.”

“That happened two hundred and fifty winters ago. Sixty-five winters ago we had the Great Draught that nearly killed our people. We learned to store more food so we can eat in order to survive if another one should hit. Bear, are you paying attention?”

In truth, he wasn’t. He was too focused on the bees buzzing around their hive. He was starting to drool from thinking of how tasty the honey would be.

“Bear, you need to practice the history every day. You will never remember it for the Winter Telling if you do not.” “I will practice, Owl. I promise.” He left Owl then and went to the hive. He knocked it out of the tree, swatted away the bees, and ate the honey.

Owl shook his head and left.



Eagle was flying over the forest one day when he spotted Bear. It was the hottest part of summer, and Bear was lounging under a tree.

“Tell me something from history,” Eagle said as he landed on a branch nearby. “I wish to remember my ancestors.” Bear was annoyed. He was too hot to work. “Come back later.”

“But I wish to remember. You are going to be our new storyteller; you are supposed to remind us whenever we wish. I will give you a fish if you tell me.”

Bear liked that idea. He had been too hot to get food today. “Very well, but it must be a large fish.”

“Okay.”

“Three hundred years ago, the fire came from the sea and the earth came from the sky.”

“Really? How?”

“The sea used to be much hotter than it is now. Sea wanted to get rid of its hotness so it spat Fire out and the people took it. And Earth was too heavy for Sky to carry anymore, so Sky dropped it and then the people populated it. Now, find me a fish.”

“You told me our history, so I will get you your fish.” Eagle took to the sky and returned a few minutes later with a large trout in his talons. He gave it to Bear, who ate it quickly. Eagle thanked Bear for the story once more, but Bear did not thank him for his fish. Annoyed, Eagle left.

Eagle flew far and eventually found Hawk. Hawk stretched her wings and greeted Eagle. “How has your day been, Eagle?” Hawk asked.

“I saw Bear today. He told me part of our history in exchange for a fish.”

“He did? What did he say?”

Eagle told her the story.

“Wow,” Hawk replied when he was done. “Is that really how it was? I wish I knew all the history of our people. Perhaps I should visit Bear too.”

Eagle told her where Bear had been and after a while, he left Hawk. She perched on her branch for some time, all the while thinking of Bear and his knowledge. Finally, she decided to visit him and sought him out in the woods. She found him under a tree just as Eagle said she would.

“Hello Bear,” she said.

Bear looked up and grumbled a hello.

“Eagle told me you told him a piece of our history. Can you tell me some too? I will bring you a fish even larger than Eagle’s.”

“Luckily for you, I am still hungry. Fifty winters ago there was a great draught that nearly destroyed our people.”

“How did we survive?”

“We begged Moon and Ocean to help us, so Moon made Ocean’s tides greater and filled the rivers.”

“But wasn’t it salt water?”

“No, Earth took the salt from the water so that we could live. Eagle found a trout. It was this big.” He held out his paws but spread them farther apart so that Hawk would bring back a fish at least twice the size of Eagle’s.

“I will find you a fish twice that!” Hawk promised, and she did.

And thus Bear learned how to get his meals that summer without ever moving from the tree’s shade.



By late fall, Bear had grown fat from all the gifts people had brought him in exchange for tales about their ancestors. The first snow fell, and as tradition dictated, the people gathered for the Winter Telling. Owl wondered if he should let Bear tell the people their history. He had been very sick, so he hadn’t been able to test Bear’s knowledge in some time. Owl flew towards the gathering, resting often in branches because he was so exhausted.

Wolf saw him flying and offered him a ride. Owl flew down onto her back and was grateful for her offer. By the time they reached the gathering, everyone else was there. Owl was amazed at how fat Bear had grown.

Owl decided it would be better to do the Winter Telling himself this year simply because he hadn’t tested Bear. He was too worried Bear would say the wrong thing and confuse everyone.

“Three hundred years ago,” Owl began in his loud and soothing storytelling voice, “the world began. Earth grew tired of holding on so tightly to Fire, so it began to crack in places. Fire sprang forth and began consuming all of Earth. There was neither grass nor tree to be found because Fire destroyed it all. Sky saw this and was sad because he loved Earth. He wanted to help her. Up until then, the clouds had always been dark because that was how Sky carried Sea. Sky wished to share Sea with Earth to stop Fire from destroying her. So Sky dropped Sea, and Fire stopped spreading so rapidly. With this, Earth was able to recover. There were places were deep scars were left in Earth though, so Sea filled them up to help sooth her wounds. This is why the rivers and oceans are where they are. That is where Fire hurt Earth the most.”

Eagle raised his wing.

“Yes Eagle?” Owl asked.

“That isn’t what Bear said.”

“What? When did Bear say anything?”

Eagle told him about what had happened over the summer.

Owl glared at Bear. “And what else has Bear told you?”

One by one, all the people told stories of what Bear had said, each one of them more wrong and exaggerated than the next. Owl was furious. “You!” he snapped at Bear. “You have nearly destroyed our history! You were supposed to be listening so that you could carry on the Winter Telling when I am gone, and yet here you are //lying// to the people because you are too lazy and too hungry to pay attention and practice!”

“But it was hot,” Bear said. “I was close to being right in the stories I told!”

“No you were not! I will have to retell everyone the right stories and pray to the winds that they will not take me until everyone knows the truth! You are no longer Storyteller.”

“What? But Owl, I-”

“You used it selfishly! You nearly destroyed our history. I will not tolerate it. In fact, from now on you will no longer be allowed to come to the Winter Telling!”

The people gasped. No one had been banished before.

“Why?” Bear growled. “Where am I to go?”

“You have gorged yourself all year. Every year from now on, you will do the same and when winter comes, you will go to the darkest places of Earth and sleep there so that we will not have to think of you!”

“But-”

“And every spring, you will wake up from your winter long sleep and see that the rest of us have been productive and have lived while you have simply slept away the days like the lazy one you are! You will only get to live half your intended life because the other half will be spent sleeping!”

“But-”

“Now go!”

Bear tried to protest, but the others, respecting Owl because he was so wise and old, made Bear leave. Owl told the people what their real history was, and then went home exhausted. He was concerned at how sick and tired he felt. How was he to teach someone the history of the people in such short time?

Owl slept fretfully that night.

The next morning, Owl went to the stream to drink and bathe. As he was about to turn to head home, Raven flew in.

“How are you today, Owl?” Raven asked.

“Terrible,” Owl said honestly. “I am worried. I don’t have the time to teach a new Storyteller.”

Raven shook her head. “There must be something we can do.”

Her brother Crow, who had heard the conversation from his perch in the tree above, flew down to them. “Yes, Owl,” he agreed. “There must be something we can do.”

Owl shook his head and sat down. “I think we are going to lose it all. The winds will be coming for me soon.”

They sat and thought together for a long time. Crow became hungry and started eating some of the berries that hadn’t been killed yet from the first frost. Raven shook her head when she saw his red stained lips.

“That’s it!” she cried and jumped to her feet.

Owl and Crow stared at her.

“We can use berry juice to write down the history on something. Your new Storyteller can read it over and over and tell the people that way!”

“That’s a great idea sister!” Crow said. “And no one can tell it wrong that way. We can always look to see that it is right!”

“Hmm,” Owl said. “What do we write it on?”

Crow tapped his head with a wing tip. “I know! I’ll be right back!” He flew away and returned with something large in his talons.

“What is that?” Owl asked.

“I had Deer peel off a piece of tree bark. You can write it on here.”

“But what does he write with?” Raven asked.

Owl was smiling now. He plucked out a feather. “I will write with this. Let’s gather some berries.”

They worked hard together, gathering berries and squishing out the juice. Owl created symbols, which he taught to Crow and Raven so that they could read it. By the end, all three hundred winters of history had been accounted for.

“Thank you, my friends,” Owl said to Crow and Raven. “For all your help I will call both of you Storytellers. You will tell the people their history at the next Winter Telling, and you will choose whom to pass these pieces of bark off too. Do not lose them. These are the tales of our ancestors.”

“We will tell the people and we will not lose them, Wise Owl,” the two said together.

They stayed with Owl all evening, reading the words to him to ensure that they knew the symbols he had made. And then, when he was satisfied, he let the winds take him home.

The next Winter Telling, Raven and Crow read from the tree bark, and the animals were so impressed with the symbols; they all wished to learn how to read too. Raven and Crow taught them all, but they did not teach Bear because he wasn’t there. He was sleeping in a cave just as Owl had told him to. And so it was in this way that Bear began to hibernate and that writing came to the people so that everyone would remember the //true// stories of their ancestors.