Try and Try Again

The little bear stood at the bottom of a tree, looking up to the top. "That’s the tallest tree I’ve ever seen," Bruce said. "Is that a beehive dangling from one of the branches?" Bruce was feeling very hungry. His tummy was rumbling. "I think I’ll climb up there and knock the beehive down. It’s big and must be filled with delicious, sweet honey."

Using his large paws and sharp claws, he started to climb the tree. "Whew, this trunk is higher than I thought," he sighed. He was only a few feet off the ground and already he was tired. "The bark is sharp and hurts my soft paws," he groaned. "I can’t hold on any longer." He let go of the tree and fell backwards, landing on his back in a pile of leaves that had gathered around the bottom of the trunk. "Ouch!"

Bonnie Beaver was on her way to chop down a small tree with her sharp teeth and spotted Bruce lying on the ground. "What happened?" she asked.

Bruce rolled over onto his paws and stood up. "Do you see that beehive up there? It’s full of golden honey. I was trying to climb the tree but I fell down. It’s very tall!"

Bonnie looked at the top of the tree. "Wow! That is a tall tree. You can do it though. You’re a bear. Bears are experts at climbing trees. Try again," she said and ran off to chop down a tree for her lodge.

Bruce tried again. He put his paws and claws on the tree trunk and started to climb up. He scooted his furry body higher and higher. "I’m higher than I was last time, but I just don’t think I can go any further." He let go of the trunk and fell backwards, landing on his back in the leaves. "Ouch!"

Ronald Raccoon had just raided Mr. MacDonald’s trashcans and was heading back home with an armful of leftover chicken legs when he spotted Bruce lying on his back in the pile of leaves. "What happened?" he asked.

Bruce rolled over onto his paws and stood up. "I’m trying to climb this tall tree to get that beehive. Do you see it? It’s dangling from that branch way up there. It’s filled with tasty honey and I’m very hungry." He brushed the leaves from his fur.

"Wow! That is a tall tree! You’re a bear, and bears know how to climb trees. Keep trying, Bruce. I’m heading home with my chicken legs," Ronald said and ran off into the woods.

Bruce looked up at the beehive. There were hundreds of bees buzzing around it. "I’m sure there’s lots and lots of honey in there. I’m so hungry. I’ll try again. After all, I am a bear." He wrapped his paws and claws around the tree and started to climb up. He climbed and climbed and climbed. He passed the place he first fell from, and then he past the place he fell from the second time. "I’m doing it! I’m climbing the tree! I’m halfway up." He went a little further, but was getting very tired. "I can’t go much further. This tree is too tall. Maybe I can go just a little bit more," he sighed, but couldn’t hold on. He let go and fell to the ground, landing on his back in the pile of leaves. They flew into the air and fell on top of him. "Ouch!"

Shonna Squirrel was running about, gathering acorns that fell from the oak tree. She saw Bruce’s paws sticking out of the orange, red, yellow, and rust colored leaves. "Is that you in there?" she asked.

Bruce rolled over onto his four paws and stood up. "It’s me." He brushed the pieces of twigs and crushed leaves off his fur.

"What happened?" Shonna asked.

"I climbed halfway up that tall tree. I’m trying to reach the beehive because it has honey in it and I’m hungry, but I fell. I was too tired. How will I ever climb that high?" he sighed.

"Bruce, you’re a bear. Bears can climb any tree. You can do it. Just start climbing and don’t let go," Shonna said and then ran back to the oak tree with her cheeks filled with acorns.

Bruce looked at the beehive. "I’m going to do it this time. I’m going to climb all the way to the top and get the honey. I’m a bear and bears are the best tree climbers in the forest." He used his paws and claws and started to climb the tree. He climbed and climbed and climbed and didn’t look down. Finally, after having to stop to rest several times, he reached the beehive. "I did it! I’m at the beehive!" He felt so happy and so proud.

Bees were buzzing all around him. They didn’t want him to knock their beehive down and take all the honey. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. He stuck his paw into the beehive and took a big scoop of honey out. He started to lick his paw. "This is delicious honey." He licked and licked and licked.

The bees came flying out of the beehive and started to sting Bruce. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He swatted at them, but there were too many. He fell to the ground from the very top of the tree and landed on his back in the pile of leaves. "Ouch!"

This time the bees came after him. They started to sting him through the leaves. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He rolled over onto his paws and ran into the forest. The bees chased him.

He ran past Bonnie Beaver. She was gnawing a tree. "I see you climbed to the top," she said, as he whizzed by with the bees chasing him.

He ran past Ronald Raccoon. He was nibbling away on his chicken bones. "I see you made it to the top of the tree," he said, as Bruce and the bees zipped by.

He ran past Shonna Squirrel, who was putting all her acorns into a hole in the tree trunk. "I see you made it to the top," she said, as Bruce and the bees flew past her.

Bruce ran and ran and ran. When he got to the pond, he jumped into the water. The bees flew all around looking for him. He held his breath and stayed under the water until they gave up and flew back to their beehive. Bruce came up and took a deep breath.

Bonnie Beaver ran along the side of the pond carrying a log and saw Bruce climbing out of the water. "I think you’d better practice climbing trees in another part of the woods," she advised and went into her lodge.

Bruce went back to his cave for the night. His tummy rumbled with hunger. He was happy that he learned to climb the tall tree, but knew that from then on, he’d stick to eating fish. No more honey for him. He let out a big yawn and then curled up in a ball and went to sleep.

Reaching For the Sky

Two bunnies, two bears, two chicks, a cow, a cat and a mouse all lived together in a field next to an apple orchard. Every spring when the apple trees blossomed, the animals danced around with excitement knowing that in a few months, lots of big, red, juicy apples would hang from branches over the fence. Some would even fall to the ground in the field.

Before the first blossom, Mr. Winesap walked over to the fence. He looked at the animals in the field and then at the apples trees. The animals watched in horror as he cut all the lower branches off, gathered them in a pile and carried them away.

“Oh no,” cried the cow. “Now we'll never get to eat the apples.”

As spring passed the flowers blossomed and in the summer the leaves grew large and green and tiny apples appeared. By autumn the apples were huge and red and looked oh so juicy.

The cat, being the wisest of all the animals in the field had an idea. “Let's make a pyramid. If some of us climb on each other's backs or stand on each other's shoulders, we could reach some of those apples.”

The cow moved as close to the fence as he could. One of the bears climbed on its back. The other bear climbed up and then one of the rabbits and the mouse. “I can reach!” The mouse plucked an apple and handed it to the rabbit, who passed it to the bear, who passed it to the other bear, who handed it to the other rabbit, who put it in the basket.

They did this over and over again until the basket was full. “That was a good idea,” the mouse said to the cat.

They sat on the grass and gobbled all the apples, wiping the juice from their chins. “I love apples,” said the chicks.

“Me too,” said the others.

A Rose by any other name

From the moment she was born, Rose’s mother had taught her little daughter to be different from all the other skunks that lived in the woods. She bathed her in fragrant rose water, put her to bed on soft rose petals and fed her mashed rose hips sprinkled with fresh rosemary. She didn’t want her to be stinky like all the other skunks, which ate things like skunk cabbage, stink weed and stinkbugs. She wanted her little Rose to be sweet.

When Rose grew up she was still very different from all the other skunks. She still bathed in rosewater, slept on a bed of pink rose petals and ate only the finest rosehips. She drank sparkling rose water from rose-colored glasses. Her furniture was made of rosewood and she had a beautiful rose garden just outside her back door. Everything she did, smelled, and tasted was like roses, even her toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant.

Never would she spray, unless the spray was from a bottle labeled ‘Rose Perfume’. The other skunks were always spraying their foul odor for any old reason, so it seemed to Rose.

One day, Rose went out into her garden to pick some fresh rose hips. She was just about to reach for one when she heard a loud roar. She stopped for a moment to listen, but when she didn’t hear anything else she continued picking. Another loud roar came from somewhere behind her in the distance. What was that? What was making that noise? Rose wondered what it was. Not hearing another roar for a while, she soon stopped thinking about it and picked a few more rose hips, putting them into the basket she’d taken out with her.

Then she heard a noise coming from behind her and slowly turned around. There, before her, stood a big striped hyena. It let out a loud roar that blew Rose’s tail back and forth. She reached into the pocket of her rose-patterned apron and pulled out a bottle of rose-scented perfume. She aimed it at the hyena and sprayed. The hyena sniffed the air and began to laugh at Rose. He laughed and laughed. Rose got very angry and sprayed him again. He only laughed harder.

After a while, the hyena stopped. He hit the bottle of perfume out of Rose’s hand and knocked the basket of rose hips over. Rose began to get scared. The hyena wasn’t laughing anymore. It was angry and growled at her. She didn’t know what to do. The hyena moved closer and closer to her. Rose grabbed her tail and sprayed the hyena. This time he didn’t laugh. He let out a loud scream and ran off into the woods.

Rose could smell the foul odor all around her. She didn’t like it. She grabbed the perfume bottle and sprayed, and sprayed, and sprayed, until the whole bottle of rose perfume was gone. She gathered her basket of rose hips and went home. That night, as she lay in the bathtub, soaking in bubbly rose water, she thought about how much she still loved roses, but maybe from then on she’d eat a stinkbug or two once in a while, just in case!

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