For the man who saved the bear
from the dragon's mouth, the
bear
became a sort of pet.
When he would lie down to rest,
the bear would stand
guard.
A certain friend passed by,
"Brother how did this
bear
get connected to you?"
He told the adventure with the dragon,
and the friend
responded,
"Don't
forget
what your companion is. This friend
is not human! It would
be better
to choose one of your own kind."
"You're just jealous of my unusual helper.
Look at his sweet
devotion. Ignore
the bearishness!"
But the friend was not convinced,
"Don't go into the
forest
with a comrade like this!
Let me go with you."
"I'm
tired.
Leave me alone."
The
man began imagining
motives other than kindness for his friend's
concern.
"He has made a bet with someone
that he can separate me from my
bear." Or,
"He will attack me when my bear is gone."
He had begun to think like a bear!
So the human friends went different ways,
the one with his
fear into a forest,
where he fell asleep again.
The bear stood over him
waving the flies away.
But the flies kept coming back,
which irritated the
bear.
He dislodged a stone from the mountainside
and raised it over the
sleeping man.
When he saw that the flies had returned
and settled
comfortably on the man's face,
He slammed the stone down, crushing
to
powder the man's face and skull.
Which proves the old saying:
IF YOU'RE FRIENDS
WITH A BEAR,
THE FRIENDSHIP
WILL
DESTROY YOU.
WITH THAT ONE,
IT'S BETTER TO BE
ENEMIES.
 |
Modern Languages / Anthropology 3043: Folklore &
Myth. |
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