Episode 4: “The Yellow Black Bear”
“I’ve got a new plan!” Finnick the fox announced to his friend Maximus the mouse.
“Good! I just caught one,” said Maximus, holding up a bass fish. “He’s smaller than the trout.”
“That’ll work perfectly,” said Finnick. “I’ve got a small cooler on wheels we can attach to a backpack.”
“We’re not going to take my shortcut?” asked Maximus.
“We’ll take the Eastbay Path.”
“That’s the biggest road there is!” said Maximus. “Bigger even than the Westbay Path. Why would we go that way?”
“I heard the Great Grizzly set a new person in charge of watching the Eastbay Path. He’s a black bear.”
“A black bear? Now that’s a fight!” Maximus whipped out his pointy stick and waved it in the air.
“We’re not fighting him. He’s big,” said Finnick rubbing his paws together. “But I’ve heard…” he looked around nervously.
“What? He wants to help the Independent Otters too?”
“No,” Finnick whispered. “I’ve heard even though he’s bigger, he’s not as clever as the foxes.”
“A-ha!” exclaimed Maximus. “You’ll outsmart him, then I’ll jab him.”
“No jabbing! We’ll just…we’ll see how it goes. Put the bass at the bottom of this cooler. We’ll put ice over it, then some nuts and beetles on top that you’re importing. Hopefully he won’t look under the ice.”
They took Finnick’s raft to the Eastbay path, then walked to the checkpoint at the top of the lake. There were about ten foxes lounging there.
“What do you got there?” One of the foxes called.
“My mouse friend is an importer-exporter,” Finnick explained.
“I provide opportunities…” Maximus began.
“Let me see,” the fox opened the cooler. “Why do you need ice for nuts?”
“Hands off the goods!” Maximus yelled, thwacking the fox around his shoulders and face.
“What’s the matter with you!” the fox jumped back. “I’m going to get Rebo.”
“Who’s Rebo?” Finnick asked, but the fox disappeared. He came back with a yellow-furred bear, who stood just over five feet tall.
“Are you the black bear?” Finnick asked.
“I am,” said Rebo importantly.
“But you’re yellow,” said Maximus. “And small.”
“I was put in charge because of my profane intelligence,” Rebo lifted his chin in the air. “Black bears are many colors. It’s a long history. We developed yellow fur to blend in with the sun.”
Finnick and Maximus exchanged a look, wondering how crazy the bear really was.
“What about this cooler?” asked the fox. “Why would they have ice for nuts?”
Rebo looked inside. “Ah yes. There’s a long history of iced nuts. Quite clever. The ice preserves that satisfying ‘crack’ sound some animals like to hear when they bite them.”
The fox stared at Rebo.
“Not my preference,” said the yellow black bear, standing back. “But you’re free to go.”
On the other side, Finnick and Maximus smiled at each other. They had found a good way to the Otters.
You can find Episode 1 here, as well as the story behind these stories.
Read Episode 2: The Shortcut
Read Episode 3: Finding A Vocation
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