How the Bear Lost His Tail

[Carol Anne Kincaid~Paradis]

How the Bear Lost His Tail
an Ojibwe legend told to Marian, Doreen, and Leonard Belille
by Jerry Smith

Long, long ago there were only creatures on the earth. There were birds, bears, deer, mice, everything but people. In this long ago time, all the animals spoke the same language. And just like some people nowadays, they played tricks on one another and made each other laugh. They also helped each other. So it was with all the animals.

One day in the winter when the lakes had frozen, but before the winter sleep, Bear was walking along the lakeshore. As he was walking, he came upon Otter sitting near a hole on the ice with a pile of fish.

"You've got a mighty big pile of fish there," Bear said. "How did you get them fish?"

Instead of telling how he dove down into the water and caught the fish, Otter decided to trick Bear. You see, back then Bear had a very long bushy tail. He was very proud of his tail, and all the animals knew it.

"The way I catch my fish is by putting my tail in this ice hole," Otter explained. "I wiggle it around once in a while so the fish see it. When a fish bites onto my tail, I quickly pull it up and out of the water."

"That sure is an easy way to catch fish," Bear said. "Do you mind if I use your fishing hole?"

Otter, laughing behind the Bear's back, said, "I have enough fish. Use my fishing hole as long as you like." Then Otter picked up his fish and walked away. Bear carefully poked his tail into the ice hole and waited. He waited and waited. Once in a while he'd wiggle his tail so the fish could see it. Bear waited until the sun began to set, but not one fish even nibbled at his tail. At last, he decided to go home, but when he tried to stand up, his tail had frozen into the ice! He couldn't move! He pulled and pulled at his tail, but it was stuck tight. Finally, he pulled with all of his strength and ripped off half his tail!

Now you know why the Bear has a short tail, and remember . . . don't always believe what people tell you.

HAPPY TRAILS