The Enchanted Bearskin

There once was a man, who was walking through a forest; he was travelling to his brother's house, but on the way was attacked by a wolf. He fled from the beast, and once he had escaped, the man found that he had ventured too far off the path; he was quite lost. He tried to find the path, but only went deeper and deeper into the forest; it was growing dark, and he was running out of food.1

"Not good, not good," thought the man. "It's getting dark, and there are no animals, not even birds, suitable for me to eat here. I will likely be torn to pieces by hungry beasts."2

At last the man found a place to lie down, and he lit a fire. He could not sleep, though, for fear of being attacked. As the fire died down, the stars and the moon shone brightly through the looming trees. The man gazed at the stars, and, as he did, he noticed something hanging on a branch above him; what it was, he could not tell, but, after pulling it down, he found that it was the skin of a black bear.3

After putting it on to warm himself, the man was changed into a great and terrible black bear!4

"What wonderful magic is this?" he thought to himself; "Now I am warm, I have nothing to fear, and it will not be hard to find a decent meal." So the man went to sleep with the bearskin on.5

The next morning, after he awoke, he realized that there were no birds singing, just as the day before. The man groaned: "I must find a meal; perhaps there is a bee's nest nearby, where I can find some honey. Nevertheless, I must continue on, if I am to escape this forest alive."6

As he travelled on, the terrain became hillier, yet the trees were still thick about him. After he had gone on for an hour or so, a glint caught his eye. When he went to discover what it was, he saw that it was a diamond, as large as his nose, lying at the entrance to a cave --the first cave he had seen in the forest. The cave was just big enough for the bear-man to enter, and he thought: "Aha! Now here is a meal, at last! For some animal -or family of animals- must live inside." He sniffed the air with his big bear-nose, and caught the scent of some strange beast. "No matter," he decided, "For I am a bear, and a hungry one!"7

Now, a wingless dragon lived there, no larger than a horse. In hopes of ensnaring a greedy human meal, he had placed a piece of his treasure in the cave entrance.8

The bear-man entered the cave, but was soon attacked by the dragon. Using his powerful jaws, the dragon tore into the bear's arm, but was hurled against the cave wall. Just as the bear stood over his opponent, ready to kill him, the dragon cried out: "Stop, please stop, Mr. Bear! I am a prince, who is under a terrible wizard's spell!" The bear-man sat down, and, looking around, noticed a pile of jewels, silver, gold, and pearls, nearly as high as his knee. The dragon continued: "The only way for me to become a prince again, noble bear, is for someone like you to slay the wizard who has cast this spell upon me."9

"If you need my aid," the man inquired, "why did you attack me?"10

"Noble bear, I am assured you would have done the same. You were going to devour me, no?"11

The bear replied: "Yes, for I am famished. It has been over a day since I had a bite to eat."12

"Above my cave," said the dragon, "is a tree, on which hangs a bee's nest. You may have your fill of honey; and beneath the tree is a hole, in which a family of rabbits dwell. These should suffice."13

"Thank you," said the bear.14

"But you must promise to help me," pleaded the dragon.15

"I will."16

The dragon smiled. "Good, good." And he laughed, a hissing sound filling the cave. "There is a castle not far from here, where lives the wizard. Guarding his castle is a giant. You must first slay the giant, then quietly enter the castle and slay the wizard. Once the wizard is dead, the curse will be lifted from me, and I can reclaim my castle; and to you I will give all the treasure you see here."17

The bear thought for a minute. "But still I do not understand," he said. "you are a dragon, yet you fear a giant?"18

The dragon feigned a laugh. "Don't be silly. It is not the giant I fear, but the wizard, for he would recognize me. He has no power over animals, but men he can control. And, underneath this guise, I am a man."19

Upon hearing this, the bear began to worry. "Yet I am a man too," he thought. "No need to worry, though, for the wizard will probably not even attempt to cast a spell on me, if he even sees me." He found momentary relief in another thought: "And this treasure will make me rich as a king."20

So the bear gave the dragon his promise once more, ate his fill, and went on his way. He soon enough discovered the castle, shining white in the middle of the green forest. The castle was encircled by grass, and though the trees also encircled it, they were quite a distance from it. Suddenly, the giant of whom the dragon had spoken thundered from the castle doors, a wooden club in hand. "Away from here bear!" he roared. He stood as tall as two men.21

Taking up courage, the bear stood on his hind legs and roared also; he stood nearly as tall as the giant. The two ran at each other, and the giant raised his club; but before he could bring it back down, he was knocked to the ground by the charging black bear. Using his club, he beat the bear off himself, but was knocked down a second time once he tried to stand. The bear bit his opponent's hand, causing him to yell in pain, and drop the club. Now that he was defenseless, the giant was soon torn to pieces by the bear.22

Meanwhile, the dragon had been following the man since he left his cave. The whole time the bear had journeyed to the castle the dragon wasn't far behind him, creeping along stealthily as a cat, and changing the colour of his scales so that he might blend in with the woods. He watched, delighted, as the bear slew the giant, and now he continued to watch as the bear crept into the castle.23

The first thing the bear noticed upon entering was that everything was gigantic. "It's as if this whole place belongs to the giant," he thought to himself; "But perhaps this part of the castle is just his abode." Once he had gone on, stealing quietly from one room to the next, always wary of the wizard, he was struck with a thought: "There are no scrolls or potions here, and I haven't yet seen the wizard; and all the doors and furniture here are large enough for the giant. But I think there is still a room or two I haven't inspected; perhaps the wizard is abiding in one of those."24

The next door that he approached was a tall iron door, locked tight. He approached cautiously. "Perhaps he is here; after all, that would be sensible." With his great bear body, he burst the doors asunder. What he found wasn't a wizard, though; it was instead a room filled with treasure! Treasure a dozen times the amount the dragon possessed. 25

A noise behind him caused him to turn. Standing in the doorway was the dragon! "So, you have discovered the treasure of the giant," hissed the serpent, slowly approaching. "You've tricked me!" cried the bear. "I killed that giant for no reason. And this is his house! What have you made me do?" The dragon adroitly replied: "But he attacked you, and you merely defended yourself. And you did slay the giant for a reason: it is so that I may now claim his treasure.26

"Now that you've also opened the door to his treasury, I'll take it for myself --once you are out of the way, of course."27

The dragon darted forward, biting the standing bear on his foot. The bear lifted the dragon above his head, then threw him onto one of the piles of treasure. Instantly, the dragon vanished, blending in with the gold he lay upon. But the bear could smell his enemy, and avoided him as he lunged from the treasure towards the bear.28

The bear spotted a sword nearby, and, after removing his skin (thus changing back to human form), he took hold of it. But the man was soon knocked to the ground by the dragon, for his nose wasn't as keen as it had been. The dragon became visible again, aghast that his opponent wasn't as he had seemed. The man, summoning all his strength, hurled the dragon from him, and swiftly threw the sword after him. A terrible screech echoed through the castle as the dragon died, pinned to the wall by the sword. And the treasure was the last thing he saw before he died.29

The man then lived a life of luxury, and invited his brother, along with his brother's family, to come and live with him in his marvellous castle. However, he also lived a life of adventure, going out on occasions with his enchanted bearskin.