Big Bears Don't Fly

Lenny longed to fly--to soar over barns, between trees, above valleys and through canyons.  He wanted to feel wind whooshing through his fur and clouds tingling his nose.  He could dance with the birds!

“But I’ll never be able to fly,” he thought. 

Lenny could not fly because he was not a bird, a butterfly or an airplane.  He was a bear cub.  And bears do not fly because they do not have wings.

So Lenny decided to look for wings.  He searched in trees, on roofs and even under rocks.  Every day, from after breakfast until his mother called him in for dinner, he looked for what he needed to fly.  But he could not find any wings.

One day, when he was climbing a tree branch in search of wings, he met a bird. 

"Boo hoo hoo," sobbed the bird.

“What’s wrong?” Lenny asked the bird.

“I want to climb boulders and trees but I have no arms,” said the bird.

“And I want to fly, but I have no wings,” said Lenny.  “What’s your name?”

“My name is Alice,” said the bird.

Side by side on the branch they sat.  Lenny thought about the wings he wanted.  Alice thought about the arms that she wanted.  Then, they began to cry.  

At first, the crying was a little sob, with little tears.  But the drops got bigger and bigger.  After a bit, they cried so loud, the tree shook and the leaves blew.  Squirrels came out of their homes and threw nuts at them to make them be quiet.  A family of rabbits thumped their feet, trying to make them stop.  Coyotes formed a circle under the tree and howled.  The crying only got louder.

Finally, an owl came out of its nest at the top of the tree. Now, owls are known to be wise. But an owl that is woken from his daytime sleep is also cranky.

“What is going on here?!” the owl demanded.

“I want to fly, but I have no wings,” wailed Lenny.

“I want to climb trees, but I have no arms,” cried Alice.

“Hush up your crying and trade your wings and arms with each other,” said the owl.  “Then you, bear, can fly, and you, bird, can climb.”

Lenny looked at Alice.  Alice looked at Lenny.  And they stopped crying.

“That’s a great idea!” They both said at once.

It was decided.

Every day, Lenny spent one hour using the Alice’s wings.  He soared over barns, between trees, above valleys and through canyons.  He felt wind blowing through his fur, and fresh air streaming along his face.  He flew fast then slow, up then down, and even sideways.  

When he came back, he loaned his arms to Alice.  She used them to climb every tree and boulder in the forest. She felt bark grazing her feathers, and the smooth boulders warmed by the sun.  She climbed fast then slow, up then down, and even sideways.  

After they had flown and climbed, they sat on the tree branch and told of their adventures. Out would come the squirrels, rabbits and coyotes to listen to their stories.  Sometimes, when the owl was not too tired, he would come too.

And that is how Lenny was able to fly.