Tale of the Good Bear
by J. W. Cassandra
Tale of the Good Bear: the tale was the first one I wrote down of the ones I found out. Originally, there were several versions of it, but they have been lost in the meantime. This is my favorite fairy tale, because I found it for my children once in the past, and I told it to them first.
A little girl is blubbering at the bottom of the bushes when Bluebell Pixie gets there on her wanderings. The little girl has lost his teddy bear, and is looking for it. As a consolation, Bluebell Pixie tells her a tale about the good bear, and even turns it out of the enchanting bag - maybe in the meantime, the loitering teddy bear will also be found! What a good bear, namely Daddy Bear, is like that will be revealed in the tale. As well as who actually sleeps winter-sleep, and what it is like to play with little cubs. And if you get in the mood for strawberry pudding during the fairy tale, your mom will surely cook it for you!
Have a good time with the story!
Bluebell Pixie was singing chirpily on the road when she noticed a little girl at the bottom of the bushes, sitting there and crying.
"Why are you crying?" She asked her.
"Because I lost my teddy bear," the little girl blubbered.
"Do not bewail, I will show you a tale about the good bear, possibly your teddy bear will be found in the meantime!" and she was even pulling out the following tale from the Enchanting Bag:
Once upon a time, there was a little bear cub with his parents and siblings. This bear cub really would have liked to play with hikers and children who only occasionally wandered nearby, but even if they emerged rarely, they were always terrified of the cub suddenly appearing in front of them.
Time wore on, and the little cub became a big bear. He also started a family, looking for a private cave for himself and his family. This cave could accommodate many bears, and it was spacious and pleasantly warm. One by one, our bear had little cubs who also would have liked to play with the human children. Our one-time little cub already had five little cubs living in the spacious new cave when a royal prince arrived at the dense, dark forest on his wandering.
At the edge of the forest, he bound his horse to a tree with a thick stool, unbuckled his sword, and took his road into the dense forest. Where he saw no path, he cut a path with his sword. He had been going this way for a long, long time, hungry, thirsty, and ineffably tired. Just as he was thinking of turning back and going home without a wife in shame, he was suddenly blinded by sunlight; he found himself in a beautiful little lawn. Red strawberries lured him from under the bushes, and silky grass beckoned him to rest. As he was looking for a place to settle, a huge bear suddenly appeared in front of him out of thin air– at least the royal prince could not see where he was coming from. The bear said to him:
"Do not be afraid of me, royal prince, for I have lived in this forest since I was born, and I never hurt anyone. I see you are tired, and you must be hungry. Come with me to my cave, there you will get food and drink, and you can also relax to your liking!"
The royal prince was about to grasp his sword when the bear started to speak, but was astonished at the kind words and eventually followed the bear to the cave. They did not have to go far, but suddenly they stopped in front of an inviting hole near a spacious cave.
"Get inside, royal prince!" The bear invited him in, and then the royal prince saw the little cubs, who lined up like organ pipes and watched him curiously with their mother behind them. However, at Daddy Bear's admonition, they gave way, and Mommy Bear offered the tired guest some real bear delicacies: she treated him with blueberries, strawberry pudding, honey, and poured currant syrup into a glass made of willow-wool. The royal prince was also amazed seeing the plate: huge butterburs were the plates of the bear family.
Then, at the kind offer, he just went ahead manfully and ate everything. The little cubs also gorged beside him, and then showed the royal prince where he could have a rest. He rested for a long time and began to question the bears:
"How is it that you did not want to devour me right away when we met?" He asked Daddy Bear.
"It was so that when I was a little cub, I always would have liked to play with people's children, but they were afraid of me and avoided me. So I decided to prove that good bears also live. My family thinks the same. You are the first one who finally went there, so we will invite you for a whole year, stay with us, and when you move on, tell others about us!"
And so it happened: the royal prince was happy to accept the invitation. He lived there with the family of the good bear until autumn, helping them collect honey from wild bees, cooking strawberries like Mommy Bear, drying fragrant grasses, and playing a lot with his little friends with the cubs.
Suddenly, however, autumn, then later winter came, and the bear family was going into their winter sleep. The royal prince also got a comfortable bed, and the attentive Mommy Bear prepared a jug of currant syrup, honey, and pudding next to it, in case the royal prince did not sleep through the winter. If he wakes up, have something to be full. And the royal prince buckled his sword to the entrance of the cave, drew his bed near him, and put his head to sleep with the bears. Mommy Bear, however, was soon alarmed by a strange, unusual noise: an unadorned snort was shaking-quaking the cave. She woke Daddy Bear up and sent him outside to see what was causing this strange noise. Daddy Bear lumbered all the way to the cave entrance, checking on his deep-sleeping offspring, and finally found the royal prince to be the source of the snoring. He did not need the syrup or the sweets, for he did not even notice that Daddy Bear was waking him, but he kept snoring steadily. Even the little cubs could not sleep because of the guest, so the bear family kept their dream together: Daddy Bear, Mommy Bear, and the five little cubs in a row. However, time fortunately does not stop.
Spring came, tender grass sprouted in the dense forest, flowers poked their heads out, buds burst out on the branches of trees, and birds chirped again. The royal prince was still asleep and snoring. Then a swarm of bees bumbled by in front of the cave, and the wind wafted a scent of honey through the air. The royal prince's nose moved: while still asleep, he sniffed the air and began rubbing his eyes:
"Ah, what a long time I slept for!"
"For a long time, sure!" Daddy Bear growled sleepily, and they told him how they had kept vigil through the winter. The royal prince was astonished extremely, apologized to them all, thanked them for their gracious hospitality, and started to prepare to leave: he buckled on his sword, wrestled with the cubs playfully for the last time, and promised to visit them even later. But in the meantime, he tells everyone that there is a good family of bears living in this dense forest, and, waving, he went to where he had bound his horse when he arrived. What is more, he found it, because this forest was a forest of magical powers. He sprang into the saddle and set off in search of the royal princess who would believe him that there were not only evil bears, but also those about whom the tales are about.
He soon found her, and they made a great wedding, and seated the good bear family next to them at the place of honour at dinner.
This is the end, run away with that!
By the time the good bear had plodded back into the Enchanting Bag with his family, and Bluebell Pixie had carefully bound its mouth, the little girl sitting at the bottom of the bush had long since been comforted, and how it happened, I do not know, but her teddy bear had also come to light: she embraced her happily.
"On another occasion, take better care of it, and now leave home, they will surely be waiting for you at home!" She waved goodbye to the little girl, who ran home with sparkling eyes, the ribbon in her plait fluttering after her.
And Bluebell Pixie continued her journey satisfied, to take the tales of the Enchanting Bag to the worthy everywhere, as he had promised Spring Fairy.
She is pretty close, listen to her upcoming footsteps!
Written: Sometime around 1995, by J. W. Cassandra
Translated: 15 / 12. 2025, by J. W. Cassandra
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