Nut in the Nose
"Mr. Bear, if I could inquire, where are you off to today?"
"Why, little one, I'm off for my daily hike," said Mr. Bear. "I am going to the river way down in the valley to catch some fish and to drink some water."
And with just a nod to each other, the bear then lumbered ahead while the squirrel scurried in the other direction. The next day, the two of them met once again in the woods. The bear was met with a pinecone to the snout and so once again, he stopped to talk to the squirrel.
"Mr. Bear," said the squirrel, "Do you come this way every day?"
"But of course, little one," said the bear. "I have been coming down this path my entire life. My poppa bear did this before me, and his poppa did it before him." Another nod, and then both of them went on their way.
On the third day, the bear was looking out for flying nuts and pinecones, and while he was looking up he stepped on a thistle and it poked his paw. He stopped to suck out the thorn and here was the squirrel again, sitting on a low branch in the tree just in front of him.
"Mr. Bear, I have another question for you. Do you always come this way by yourself, each and every day?"
"Yes, I am very proud to say that I do. I have been doing this for a long time. I do not have many friends because I am so big and I scare them all off. I used to think that it was lonely but now I enjoy these long walks every day. I guess I will see you tomorrow, little one."
The next day came and the bear repeated his journey but this time he did not see the little squirrel. On his way back from the river, the bear was a little sad when he realized that he missed the sudden surprises of his new friend the squirrel. The bear got all of the way back to his cave up in the mountain when he heard an odd noise coming from somewhere. He looked around and saw no one. Then he spun around quickly but he still seemed to be alone.
"Mr. Bear, Mr. Bear, it's your friend the squirrel and I am on top of your head. Please stop turning around, I am becoming quite dizzy." The squirrel then leapt off the bear's head and onto the ground in front, though the squirrel was a little off-balance as he landed.
"You really need to check your hearing, Mr. Bear. I was calling to you earlier and you did not notice me at all. That's why I had to throw things at you on the other days just to get you to stop. Today I decided to jump on your back and join you for a little ride, but you are so large that you did not even feel me."
"So tell me, Mr. Bear, is this cave your home?"
"Well, yes, it is, little one. All of my family once lived in this cave, and one day I will have cubs of my own that will use this as their home, too."
"I do not understand, Mr. Bear. Every day, you have to walk a very long way to get to the river so that you can have fish and water. There are hills that are much closer to the river, and they have much bigger caves that you could use. Why do you live all the way out here by yourself instead?"
"Well, the answer is clear, little one. I live here because I grew up here. My poppa used to live here, and his poppa lived here before that. I'm sure that there was a good reason for my grandpoppa to move in here, and that is good enough for me. Besides, I like living here and it always feels like home to me. This cave may not be as large or as warm as others but I am happy."
"I see, Mr. Bear," said the squirrel. "Thank you for talking to me and showing me your nice little cave. I cannot live all the way out here like you do, though. I need to get to the river every day, too, and I am not as big as you so I cannot live so far away. I need to hurry home now just to get there before nightfall. Have a good day!"
And with a jump and a bound, the squirrel disappeared into the tree tops and the bear was left all alone.
3 comments:
Ok so I'll try and interepret your story. Here goes:
So the bear goes to the river everyday ever since he was a cub cuz his daddy did...that's like people who go to church all their lives cuz daddy did.
The bear doesn't know why he goes everyday, he just does cuz "that's what your supposed to do" (religion/legalism).
One day he gets a rude awakening from someone outside the "box" who asks the bear the questions he should be asking himself. The squirrel would represent someone who wants more than just "religion". SOmeone who has "relationship" with God and wonders where the logic is in "doing" things just cuz dad did. The squirrel kind of annoys the bear cuz he is interfeering with his "routine" but after the squirrel isn't there he kinda misses him cuz he realized the squirrel actually has something that he doesn't.
When people are shown just a little bit of what is outside their box...when people are shown life...it's kinda hard to go back.
Then the squirrel befriends the bear. And suggests that perhaps he could move a little closer because it is more practical...oh also the river represents Christ and the bear is perfectly content having to live so far away from God but having to work really hard to get closer. The squirrel is humble and can admit that he cannot live so far away from God because he just isn't strong enough. So basically squirrel invites bear to come closer to God but bear is fine where he is...then he is left alone...if the bear had dug up his roots and left behind all he had ever known to move closer to the "River" then he would have found that he would have been really happy!
Moral of the story is "wake up sleepers, rise from the dead and Christ will give you light!"
Now i will go and see what was REALLY the moral of the story! :)
You said think of this as an English assignment. Although the comparison to Christianity, religion, etc. is quite obvious, as a college student, I would not use this analogy for a school paper. So, here is my secular one …
The bear lives where he has always lived, where is parents/grandparents lived before him. He makes his daily journey to the river – sauntering (slow, unhurried pace) to the river. Everything is as it always has been – no change, safe, comfortable. Or is it comfortable?
The bear has admitted to loneliness, but why is he lonely in a familiar environment? Surely, he is not alone at the river. There must be other bears as well as beavers, otters, raccoons who frequent the river too. He must see them, talk to them, laugh with them and call them friends. Yet, he admits to loneliness. Why? Perhaps its because he is searching for someone to make that journey with him … someone to be more than just a friend to fish with.
But he only looks for that special person in the familiar river. The squirrel sees him and wants to get his attention, but poor bear isn’t paying attention to what is on his path. He only sees his empty home, the river and his resignation to loneliness. So, the squirrel does what is needed to get his attention – bopps him on the nose. He begins to look for the squirrel, so the squirrel doesn’t need to hit him, but he is looking where he thinks the squirrel is located. Stupid bear. Squirrel is on the lower branch looking right at him, but he is looking all around instead of looking right in front of his own face.
Finally, bear is getting smart and searches for the squirrel. Squirrel notices and joins willingly, but bear is so caught up in being big and scary – in being bear that he doesn’t see that squirrel has joined him. Without realizing it, bear has brought that squirrel right back to his home -- the place where he holds his heart and his dreams.
But squirrel can’t keep up with bear without his help. She can’t make such a long daily journey so, frightened, she scampers away. Stupid bear. He had her heart – why else would she take the risk to leap on his head. He lets her leave when all he had to do was carry her on his head.
I wonder … will bear continue to look for squirrel on his daily journeys? Will squirrel continue to try to get his attention or will she give up? Will bear and squirrel just end up meeting at the river … pleasant acquaintances?
JAG: I've been thinking ... about the bear ... I called him stupid ... sorry ... he ain't stupid ... he's lost.
Sherry
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