"A THANKSGIVING DAY TALE FROM BROOKS RIVER"
by Sand Bear. 2014
( naturegirl wanted a Thanksgiving Story and here it is)
" Dedicated to Mocha, the first KBK'er to have a "close encounter"
with one of our Brooks River Bears "
Note: No Bears, Rangers, Volunteers, Pilots or Rabbis were injured in the writing of this tale!
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* CHAPTER 1 *
Halloween in 2014 was a bust in Brooks River. All the tricks Backpack, Chunk and their buddies had planned to play on the Big Boys fell by the wayside as all the Bears of the Brooks River Bear Community came down with a bad case of the Bear Flu !
But we the devoted Bear Fans are about to see them awaken from their restless slumber by the newly ordained Rabbi Bear of Brooks River, our very own Ted. Ted is about to arrive at the entrance to Otis' Den and wake him up after Otis has finally fallen into a sweet sleep after two days of making constant bear scat flu runs.! Otis is not going to be a Happy Bear!
Ted however is in a very good mood and has donned his new Rabbi garb as he wants to impress upon the Bear Community his new status as the Religious Leader of Brooks River. He put on his new Tallit and Kippah in early morning and said his morning prayers just as the sun rose over the mountains surrounding Becharof Lake. He ate a hasty breakfast of dried berries he had found stashed in the Becharof Lake Seminary kitchen and then set out on a fast run toward Brooks River. Ted is eager to begin his moral teaching to the community. He has written a list of some basic rules that he is going to insist the entire community must follow. No one is to be excused from obeying these rules.
Ted had previously sent Otis a resignation as High Sheriff and suggested that Popeye be sworn in as the new High Sheriff of Brooks River with Otis to appoint a new Deputy since Otis decided he could not handle all the stress of that job.
Otis and Four-Ton had talked it over and they both agreed it was the right decision as they were both getting up there in years and just wanted to enjoy their last salmon days in peace.
Otis asked 747 to be the new Deputy and he agreed thinking it a great honor to be asked. When word get around the community though, as it surly will soon enough, we may see a few jealous bears and at Thanksgiving of all times to be in a snit over such a little thing as not being asked to be Deputy Sheriff !
And the new Sheriff and new Deputy have both agreed they will support Ted as the new moral leader of the community. I don't think all of the new rules will go over too well with some of the bears in the community.!
Ted is all set to unveil his new rules in his first sermon at the Thanksgiving Fast even now being prepared by the Bear Fans around the world and the Staff at the National Park Headquarters in King Salmon, Alaska.
This is a Thanksgiving feast for the Bears at Brooks River in thanks for all the joy they have given us by allowing us a peek into their actual daily lives via the live web cams. of explore.org and donated by the Annenberg Foundation. We, the cam viewers, give many Thanks for their generosity !
Peg from Pieces of Heaven has sent 50 huge boxes of her special delicious chocolates from California. Grannj has sent in 50 homemade Pineapple pies for the Feast. Juergen and Marlina have sent in their favorite treats from Germany for the Feast.
The Bearsthemselves are preparing a Thanksgiving Play for us. They will dress as
Pilgrims and Native Americans and give us a peek at the first Thanksgiving Day
Feast.
Of course there will be a big arguments as to who plays the Pilgrims and who plays
the Native Americans !
Ted has finally made it to Otis's den and is shouting now for him to get up !
* CHAPTER 2 *
When we last left them, ted was trying to awaken Otis.
"Otis, get up ! Come one Bear, there's lots to do today!
"Ahhh, come on Ted, I'm just getting over this dangbabbit awful bear flu. I been running to the bushes dang near every every minute for two days now. I finally get to sleep and here you barge in and wake me up ! My guts are all in a knot now. Don't think I can eat any thing, let alone any goodies ".
"Otis, you know we have the Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. The Rangers from King Salmon will be bringing in some food for us! Isn't that nice of them . And I hear some bear fans from around the world are sending all kinds of yummy food for us! And we've got to get the Thanksgiving Play organized.
We need to go wake up Beadnose and Four-Ton so they can round up the bears who are going to play the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Has Beadnose picked who is going to play who? I heard there was a lot of arguing going on about that!"
"Listen Ted, replied Otis somewhat angrily, "The entire bear Community here has been sick with the bear flu. It's a new kind of bear flu from over in the Kamchatka area of Russia. We all thought we were going to die for sure. Those Russian bears must be a tough bunch is all I gotta say! And I am not abut to go wake up those two sows! They might chew my good ear off! I don't care if we have a Thanksgiving Feast or not. All I wanna do is go back to my den and sleep until springtime! "
"Ah Otis - I'll go make you some salmon tea from some dried salmonberries I have here in my rucksack and that will help your stomach. You know I have my sermon prepared and my rules to give the community."
"Ted, I don't mean to disrespect you but you some religious fanatic here all of a sudden - Just last summer you was seen in the bushes with some unknown sow - not even a Brooks River sow from what I heard. Who are you to be giving the rest of us bears your rules? Take my advise and let well enough alone or we gonna have us a Bear War right here in Brooks River! "
"Listen Otis, I know I been called to be the Bear Rabbi of this community. And that's what I'm going to do whatever happens" Ted replied haughtily.
"What's going to happen , said Otis, is that you are going to be run out of the community by some angry boars and maybe even some sows although I think you're leaning to the sows side of the rules. Have you maybe been hearing from Tundra's ghost?"
"Well, we'll just see Otis." Maybe the community will appreciate what I'm trying to do for this place!"
After Otis had some salmonberry tea for his still tender stomach problems, they both departed for departed for Four-Ton's den, Otis grumbling with every step.
After they had gotten four-Ton awake, they all three then went on to Beadnose's den.
Waking her, Ted asked about the play and what was happening with it. Beadnose informed Ted that Backpack and his buddies Chunk, Tatonka, Digger Jr, Wayne Jr. all wanted only to be the Native Americans and no one wanted to be a Pilgrim! They liked the feathered headdresses Beadnose and the other sows had made for them. No one liked those silly pilgrim hats as Backpack had told her.
"Sounds just like a bunch of humans", is what Ted replied at that statement. "That's exactly why I am here--- to put my rules to work so we won't become more like the humans. Although there are some nice ones, like the Rangers and the Bear fans who are giving us this feast!"
Finally, in desperation, Beadnose had bribed some of the sub-adults to play Pilgrims. She promised them all an eagle feather headdress after the play. Grazer agreed to play a pilgrim sow after a bribe of some beads Beadnose had found during the summer visitor season at Brooks Camp.
- 500 would be a Pilgrim boy.
Holly has agreed to be a pilgrim sow and her two cubs will be pilgrim kids. 856 wanted to be the native American Chief but after a talk with Holly sullenly agreed to be a pilgrim dad. But he plans on messing up the play somehow. Patches has agreed to be a pilgrim dad. He decided he needed plenty of good food before he went into his long sleep time and he didn't let 856 talk him into anything devious this time!
While they are discussing the play, food has been steadily arriving at King Salmon for the feast. Every refrigerator, freezer, and pantry in King Salmon is being called upon to store the food until tomorrow when the National Park Service, as well as Katmai Air, Penn Air, as well as Pilot Tami's new business, the "Leprechaun Air Service". They have all very generously offered their time, gas and planes for this project and will fly in all the food and some folding tables and lawn chairs and will serve as hosts and hostesses for the feast.
They will even clean up after the feast and observe the policy of "leave no trace". They love bears as well as the bear fans.
Gilliam from Australia has sent in 100 huge boxes of fresh cherries and "Garlic Butter Moreton Bay Bugs".
RJ from Oz wanted to send Ginger beer and Iced Vodka but the Domestic Engineer wouldn't allow him to do so. She watched as he packed the 20 jars of vegemite and even sealed the package herself and mailed it! She made sure there would be no boozed-up bears at this Thanksgiving feast!
Buckeye sent in 50 bags of the Ohio Buckeye Nuts. KBK sent in 20 bags of pecan pralines and 300 pounds of spiced mud bugs from Louisiana. mm616 from Wisconsin sent in 500 lbs of fresh cranberries.
Juergen sent in "Original Shwachbisch Maultuscheri " from Germany.
It's going to be one big bash of a feast, especially when Ted unveils his "rules' for the Community!
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* CHAPTER 3 *
It's now Thanksgiving Day In Brooks River, Alaska and it is already a busy day in both Brooks River and King Salmon. It's a bright and sunny day in the Katmai National Park, just perfect for a Feast !.
King Salmon was all hustle and bustle beginning at 7 am.
The Rangers, Staff, Volunteers as well as Pilots and other workers connected to the national park service have been busy the past 2 hours ( its now 9am) collecting and delivering food gifts for the Brooks River Thanksgiving Feast from Naknek homes and businesses as well as from the King Salmon Homes and businesses. It seems that both towns are excited to be able to help in this project. Naknek Fisheries sent over 1/2 ton of dried fish for the feast .
Pilot Tami and Pilot Paddy McGaughey have already loaded the 20 folding tables and 20 folding chairs (for the Rangers and Volunteers- not the bears) although by the end of the Feast, some of the chairs may never be found.
Planes are lined up at all the dock in King Salmon. Katmai Air and Penn Air are both standing by waiting for food items to be loaded on board. Katmai National Park Service planes are revving their engines now ready for take-off, having been loaded with food supplies and Rangers.
Poor Ranger Jane has to stay and take care of all the office work at headquarters while most of the other Rangers are going to the Thanksgiving Feast. She is trying to be thankful that she will be warm inside while the others will be serving and cleaning outdoors in 36 degree weather but its still ticks her off a bit that she can't be there.
Meanwhile at Brooks River Ted has managed to rouse Otis (still grumbling and giving Ted a piece of his mind), Four-Ton and Beadnose for an early start on the day. They have to round up all the bears who will play a role in the First Thanksgiving Day Play. 856 is already awake in his den and trying to think of ways he can mess everything up. He is still mad because he wasn't elected High Sheriff and also because Holly talked him into playing a Pilgrim dad in the play! He didn't want to be no stinking human! And he sure doesn't want to hear any of Ted's new rules for the community. He's already decided he will break all of them and in one day if he can!
In the meantime, Ted can't wait to put his rules into law! He has 5 rules memorized now:
#1. Do not ever kill another bear, whether it be a Brooks River bear or a strange bear. #2. Do not ever eat another bear, even if you find it already dead. #3. Do not mate with more than one sow in a mating season. #4. Do not mess with another bear's sow he has chosen for his mate. #5. Any sow who has given birth after the season you mate with her, you must catch salmon for them and feed them while they are spring cubs and yearlings. After that, they are on their own.
When adding Rule #5, Ted got a bit nervous and thought, "How can I feed spring cubs and yearlings?" What if some sow comes up now and claims her cubs are mine. That's gonna mess up my Rabbi work big-time! That will be two seasons of salmon fishing. I barely catch enough to feed myself. Let the sows feed their own cubs and yearlings. He got a bit angry thinking of all that extra work. "And besides," he thought, " I need all the salmon I can catch to make it through the long sleep time alive!
Maybe I should just have the 4 rules and leave #5 out." But that little prickly inner urge just wouldn't let him do that.
So he let Rule #5 stay and wondered if maybe it was Tundra's Ghost urging him on with this Rabbi thing. "She was all into that sow-liberation thing," he thought, "and most of these rules do seem to favor the sows and not the boars!" "And I just know I will have big trouble from 856, Lurch and Patches over these rules !" "What have I gotten myself into now, " he moaned. He decided then and there he would just never mate again with any sow, not even Beadnose!
Ted might be a Rabbi Bear now but he's still a boar bear so lets see if this decision will last! Wonder what the other boars in the community will think about these rules, especially #3 , #4 and #5? Otis may be right. There may well be a Bear War within the Brooks River Bear Community.
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* CHAPTER 4 *
All the food and other items arrived safely at Brooks River by 11am and the Rangers and Volunteers have all been busy setting up the 20 tables end to end and the folding lawn chairs on the porch for the humans to sit and monitor all the Bear Activity at the Thanksgiving Feast.
They have opened up Brooks Lodge to be available in case they need to beat a hasty retreat to safety if any bears get a bad attitude and wanna fight each other or even challenge one of the humans! All of the humans are carrying on their hips Bear Spray and some of the Rangers even have rifles. As one volunteer remarked, " I love all these bears but it's better to be prepared than to be a Thanksgiving Dish!"
Meanwhile Beadnose and Half-Ton are busy trying to get all the bears who are in the First Thanksgiving Play together.
856 is still mad about letting Holly talk him into being nice and playing that stupid human Pilgrim whatever that is. He is now in a whispered conversation with Backpack and Chunk trying to persuade them to help him mess up the Play. "Ahh, come on Little Bears, don't be such sissy sows, help me make this play fun and not boring ! " he said begging Backpack and Chunk. Now Backpack and Chunk were mighty tempted to help him, because even though they were wearing those cool eagle feathered headdresses, they were bored with this play about humans, why couldn't it be about bears?
Backpack was sure there must have been some bears at that first thanksgiving. They were here before those humans even came over that big water! But still, they were too afraid they might get banished from the feast if it worked against them and so they both turned 856 down which made him even more mad at them.
856 was hopping mad now as he was putting on that stupid silly ugly human hat as he called it! He had already been mad at Beadnose and Half-Ton for even thinking up this dumb idea of a human play as well as Holly for talking him into participating in it and now he added Backpack and Chunk to his growing list of bears to be mad at. Being very hungry wasn't helping his attitude to get any better. But just now a great plan had come to him how to ruin the play and still get plenty to eat !
The tables are now set up and loaded with delicious foods from all around the world and 1/2 of the humans are set to watch the play and the feast while the others are sipping coffee and hot chocolates and munching on Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's sent in by various bear cam fans just for the Rangers and Volunteers.
A few humans have even smuggled in some more frisky drinks such as champagne/cranberry cocktails and ice cold beer! But we won't rat them out here. Afterwards, they'll probably be the only humans at the feast to appreciate 856 and his plans! The others will be in therapy with the Katmai National Park Service psychologists!
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* CHAPTER 5 *
The First Thanksgiving Day Play has begun amid grumblings of discontent at having to be in the play and not at the table feasting. The area for the Thanksgiving Play was on the grassy spot near the bridge but bears have a keen sense of smell and with all the fresh mud bugs from Louisiana and other smelly dishes the aromas have reached to the grassy spot and the snouts of the bears.
The play may not have been a good idea. How can you expect a slueth of bears to be calm when such wonderful food smells are wafting their way? The smells are even affecting the Rangers and other Volunteers. Some have even snitched some food from the bears feast table and lots of it! But we won't rat them out. But Patches happened to be passing by on his way to the play area and saw them snitch some food. He could hardly contain himself before getting to Lurch and passing on this information.
"Pssst, Lurch, I just saw some of the humans taking our food off the table and eating it!"
"Are you kidding me, Patches? " Did they really steal our food for our Thanksgiving feast? " Lurch asked.
"Saw it with my own two keen bear eyes, I did ! ", Patches answered and adding, "Looks like we might not have any food left by the time this play thing is over!"
"That's just not fair, I'm going to announce that to the entire group here before that stupid play starts. I'm not leaving here without any food today ! No human is gonna steal all my food and here I am putting up with this human play thing just to get to eat good food before the long sleep time! "
By now Lurch had worked himself up into a good mad and he wasn't going to let It go to waste so he asked to speak to the group assembled for the Thanksgiving Play and told Otis and Ted he had a very important and urgent message for the bears !
Ted had his sermon all prepared and he wasn't about to let it be delayed while Lurch rambled on about something probably not important anyway, so he replied ,"No way, not yet Lurch, my sermon and rules come first here even before the play starts because I know these bears and soon as the play ends, they'll all rush for the food and never hear my rules! ".
With Otis and Popeye and 747 backing him up, Ted got his way and proceeded to speak to the Brooks Bear Community.
"As you all know by now, I have been attending a Rabbi Training Seminary over on Becharof Lake and now I am a fully ordained Rabbi Bear assigned to this community!"
"I have prepared some new rules for this community in order that we do not become more like humans. We already have many of their bad habits and inappropriate behavior now ! That is going to stop beginning today!
High Sheriff Popeye and Deputy Sheriff 747 have agreed to back up these rules and will arrest any one who breaks these rules and there will be a just punishment! "
There was silence among the bears , most of whom didn't know what Ted was talking about anyway.
New rules? What was this?
Ted began to list his rules.
"The Number 1 Rule he said, " No bear will kill another bear, even a strange bear."
"What? exclaimed Lurch and 856? "
"Just shut up and Listen", Ted said loudly, losing some of the saintly character he had acquired while in Seminary, "There 4 more rules yet"
856 responded angrily, "Well if they like this one, I ain't gonna listen to no more of your stupid rules! " You like 'em, you obey 'em Ted. You the Rabbi, now us!"
"You got that right, 856 ! " Lurch agreed .
Now some of the sows spoke up and agreed with Ted on rule #1. H Holly and Brooke especially since they had lost cubs to 856 and maybe to Lurch.
Ted asked for a show of paws for the rule, to be fair about it, even though he was going to make sure all the rules were allowed into the Law of the Brooks Bear Community. All the sows raised their paws and raised the paws of their offspring as well for added emphasis. A few of the boars raised theirs as well and received menacing looks from 856, Lurch and Patches. More paws were up than down. Not so with Lurch nor 856 nor Patches as well as the other boars. Otis was happy enough with Four-ton so he wasn't worried about any other sow enticing him.
Ted was sorta happy with Beadnose - but he had been dumb enough to make a vow while he was under the influence of the seminary (as he was now thinking) to never mate again so long as he remained a Rabbi bear. Otherwise the powers that be in the Seminary would come and take away his Kippah and his Tallit! And he really, really liked wearing those. Now he was wondering what would happen if he just mated with one sow only -- each season.
Backpack was not going to raise his but Dancer was next to him and (playing a beautiful Native American Maiden in the play) reached over and raised his paw for him and he obeyed.
Same thing with Chunk, he just got the giggles when Grazer reached and raised his paws for him! Her touch alone made Chunk all giddy and giggly.
Lurch and 856 gave them both an evil stare. letting them know, we'll deal with you two later.
Meanwhile, more food swiping has been going on over at Brooks Lodge. Especially among the beer drinking and cocktail crowd.
Mud Bugs and Beer go so well together as one remarked to Ranger Ray who had admonished him.
Another swore to Ranger Mack she couldn't last the day out without tasting some of the chocolates from Pieces of Heaven as they just were so perfect with her champagne/cranberry cocktail. Gave her more energy for working, she claimed. We won't tell who they were.
Back at the grassy spot, Ted continues with his Rules.
"Number 2 : You will not eat another bear, even if you find one already dead. "
More grumbling was heard from the big boars.
"Number 3: You will not mate with more than one sow each season ". "Number 4: You will not mate with any sow not of the Brooks River Community. " "Number 5: You will catch salmon each year for your cubs and yearlings. After the sow mama casts them out, you will be free of that job and they will be on their own then."
"Hip Hip Hurrah loudly shouted every sow and all their offspring just following mama sow! Yay for Ted , our Rabbi Bear! "
"Well this just beats all, said 856 , " Here we all saw Ted last mating season in the bushes with who knows who and how do we know that was the only sow he took into the bushes? What a hypocrite he is, Rabbi Bear or not."
Ted retorted back, " I will from now on follow all these rules myself, I have been given these rules form a divine source I believe who cares for us bears, and wants better behavior for bears! I told you we are getting to be too much like humans. They kill each other and they mate with more than one sow in any season and most any sow who walks upright. Do the bears of Brooks River want to be more like the humans?"
"Sounds good to me," sneered 856, "Do ya smell all that good food they got over there? Its supposed to be for us, for our feast ! While we here listening to some stupid rules Ted made up, the humans are stealing and eating lots of our food! I saw them with my own eyes. "
Patches spoke up then, "He's right, when I walked by the lodge they were grabbing food and eating it. That's our food they are stealing! "
"Are we gonna put up with humans stealing our Thanksgiving Feast? " shouted Lurch ,and urged the other bears to go and put a stop to the thievery!"
"Yeah, said Backpack, why we having this play anyway ? We bears all know we are the first Americans here. We were living here before any Native Americans or Pilgrim humans. Phooey on all the humans I say! Let's go get our thanksgiving Feast food!"
With that statement, a riot broke out among the bears, Lurch yanking off Backpack and Chunk's Eagle Feathered Headdresses and stalking off toward Brooks Lodge and food and shouting as he ran, "I'm going to get my Thanksgiving feast and no human better get in my way! Ted didn't make any rule about not killing any humans! harharharharhar."
Ted was in shock, this rule business had not gone as he had planned. Maybe he had been listening to Tundra's Ghost and not the Great Spirit in the Sky!
Lurch has slowed down as reached the food table area and now is just ambling innocently up to where the food is and where Mocha happened to be standing with her back to him while she is sipping a champagne/cranberry cocktail and reaching for some of Peg's Kahlua Chocolate Truffles when all of a sudden Lurch takes a swipe at her arm knocking it away from the chocolates and Mocha, seeing the huge furry arm and smelling the bear breath right behind her, instantly turns, grabbling her can of Bear Spray and lets Lurch have it full force in his bear snout and eyes! "
Then, forgetting all the Bear Safety Training she has received about backing up slowly ,and not to run, makes a fast dash for the Brooks Lodge Porch and pushing Rangers and anyone else in her way aside to get through the door and into the safety of the lodge!
Behind Lurch are 856 and Patches now reaching for the goodies on the tables and not paying any attention to the humans. Their eyes are only focused on the food!
The Rangers, still frozen in shock at Mocha's fast dash up the porch and it takes a few second it to sink in what has just happened. They all reach for their cans of bear spray and the Rangers from inside the lodge come out with their rifles loaded for bear.
Lurch is now in Brooks River, frantically trying to wash the spray from his snout and eyes. Up and under, he's underwater and back up for a breath of air and then back under again.
Mocha is in the Brooks Lodge at the bar making herself another cocktail and munching on the huge pile of spicy mud bugs she had swiped off the table..
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* CHAPTER 6 *
As the Rangers on the front porch of Brooks Lodge are keeping their eye on Lurch in case he decides a revenge attack on Mocha is a great idea, a sleugh of bears descends upon the tables laden with Thanksgiving Food (what's left after the Rangers and Volunteers have swiped a bunch of it).
First of the group to arrive are Backpack and his Buddies; Chunk, Tatonka, Digger Jr and Wayne Jr. Following behind them are #500 and other sub-adults.
Trailing further behind are the sows, Graser, Beadnose, Divot and her offspring, Holly and family, 171 and her offspring and a few more sows.
Next are Four-Ton and Otis, walking side by side as is usual for the two since Valentines Day.
They are followed by Patches, Popeye and 747 and last of all is Ted, his head hanging in disappointment over his plans for the community.
856 is off in the bushes behind the lodge stuffing himself from pile of food he had grabbed off the tables!
Mocha is still at the lodge bar nursing her Champagne cocktail and plotting revenge on Lurch. She's letting various scenarios run through her head and the more cocktail she sips, the bolder and wilder the plans become! She's still nibbling on the one main food Lurch had set his eyes on , the aromatic and spicy mud-bugs from Louisiana.
Lurch saw her pile a bunch of them on a paper plate and he is furious at this little human sow having the nerve to grab those crispy critters that really smelled tasty.
He is busy also running through his bear brain various scenarios for that little human sow.
" How can I get one of those things she sprayed that painful stuff in his snout with?" he thinks".
He had seen saw her around camp the last dead salmon season and knew she was going to be trouble and here she is back again and stealing my food!
Is she trying to mark my territory as hers, he wonders? "I'll just have to wait for another time to get my revenge on that human sow", he thinks, " when the Rangers with the boom-boom sticks are not here.
At the Thanksgiving table, all is a huge mess now. Bears grabbing food and running off to eat it elsewhere and some even fighting over it. Some of the subadults have even started a food fight, slinging cookies, mud bugs, dried fish and other food at each other. Some even head in the direction of the humans on the porch, now reduced to just 3 rangers with rifles, the rest all huddled inside the safety of the lodge.
The Rangers on the porch finally have had enough of this Thanksgiving Day feast after being hit in the face with various foods and so the 3 Rangers on the porch fire off their rifles into the air over the tables. Bears scatter in every direction, falling over each other in the attempt to get away from the boom-boom sticks.
Mocha sneaks a rifle from Brooks Lodge that one of the Rangers had set against a wall since he was not on porch duty now. She walks out to the lodge porch and seeing Lurch still in the water, fires a couple of shots over his head.
Lurch almost jumps out of his bear skin and leaps from the water to the shore from fright at the loud noise and begins to swim as fast as he can to get far away from the boom-booms.
Mocha is still laughing like a mad-woman when Ranger Ray takes the rifle away from her and sternly admonishes her that she has broken a very serious rule of Brooks Camp and she must be punished.
Mocha begs Ranger Ray not to banish her from Brooks! "Please, oh please", she begs and agrees she will do anything to make up for her crime.
And so as we leave this Happy Thanksgiving Feast scene, we see Mocha busy as a bee, buzzing here and there, cleaning food off tables, and of course bear scat which is now everywhere! After the rifle shots were fired, there was a great output of bear-scat in every direction.
Ranger Mack advises Mocha she needs to put on rubber boots that she can find in the lodge. Otherwise, he says, no pilot is going to allow you on their plane.
Pilot Tami, being a sweet person and also feeling the calming effects of peppermint-mocha hot chocolate says she will help Mocha to fold and stack the tables and the lawn chairs of which about 10 are missing now from the porch and allow her to ride in her plane back to King Salmon after Mocha has taken off the stinky rubber boots, and put back on her hiking boots.
Apparently some sneaky silent bears had swiped the lawn chairs while the camp was in an uproar after the rifle shots. What did they plan to do with them? Mocha wondered.
Four-Ton and Otis are using theirs as hats as a cold drizzle of sleet has now begun to fall over Brooks River. Beadnose and Holly seeing them, did the same.
- 500 and some other sub-adults are using theirs as sleds.
Meanwhile, Ted is walking up the Dumpling Mountain trail to his den, and thinking up some new rules he can add to the 5 he already has and announce to the Brooks River Bear Community at the next meeting he has planned for the spring!
~ THE END ~