The Retreat, part 3, in which Freckles meets a bear

Freckles:

The last morning of the retreat I headed off into the woods in search of this bear all the animals had been talking about. I ran into a lively group of chipmunks who told me they'd seen bear tracks down by the stream. Off I went down the path to the stream, but all I found was a field for volleyball and horseshoes.

Scattered over the field were numerous mole holes. I dug one up and shouted into it, "Anybody down there heard a bear thumping up here lately?"

One of the moles stuck his head up and rubbed his eyes. "He went thataway," the mole said, pointing across the field and into the trees.

So, off I went again into the underbrush and through the dark scary forest. "Yoo hoo, Mr. Bear, are you here?"

No answer.

I hopped and I hopped and I was about to give up when I tried one last time. "Mr. Bear, where are you?"

"I'm over here," a voice said.

I turned and, sure enough, there he was, standing directly in front of me.

"Hello," the bear said, "I'm Baxter."

"Hello," I said, "I'm Freckles."

"You aren't from around here, are you?" he asked.

"Nope," I answered. "I'm visiting with a human friend. She's at the Conference Center."

"Yeah, I try to stay away from there. Can't stand all the screaming and those stupid little bells they wear that are supposed to scare me away."

I nodded. Those bells really hurt my sensitive ears.

We chatted for a bit and then I knew I had to be getting back. We said our goodbyes and I promised I'd come back to see Baxter next year. He wasn't so bad for a bear. And he wasn't scary at all.

bear image http://www.ILoveClipart.com