Mary and the Bear

One sunny day, Mary decided to take a walk in the forest.
She put on her yellow sun-dress.
She put on her yellow sandals.
She put on her floppy straw hat.

Mary looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

"I look like the sunshine!" she said, and giggled.

"Mom," Mary said, skipping into the kitchen. "I want
to go for a walk. Pretty please?"
"Alright," said Mother with a smile. "But you must stay
close to home where I can see you."

"I will," Mary promised.
She hugged her mother happily then skipped out the door.

Outside Mary saw a bright red bird sitting in a tree.
"What a pretty bird," she thought. "I wonder if he can sing."
The red bird saw her looking at him and spread his wings.
"You're a very pretty bird," Mary said. "But I don't think you
can sing."

Mary smiled at the bird, then walked down the little path
from her house. Pink Tulips, Yellow Daises, Red Roses and
Blue Bells grew beside the path. Mary stopped to smell one
of the roses.

Suddenly, a bee flew out of the rose and zipped away.
"Oh!" Mary exclaimed. "I guess he was just as surprised to see
me, as I am to see him."
She looked carefully the rose to make sure there were no more bees.
"That's good," Mary said, patting the rose gently. "Bees can
sting you if you're not careful. I don't think I'd like that."

Mary started down the path again, then stopped. Something was
sitting under the trees at the edge of the forest.
"I wonder what that is?" Mary thought curiously. "It's big
and it's brown. Maybe it's a bear?"

Mary put her hands on her hips and looked at the bear.
"If he wasn't sitting with his back to me," she said. "I could
see him better. I'll bet he's got some honey."

Mary thought about what her mother would say if she saw the
bear.
"Mom's afraid of bears," Mary thought. "She would scream and
run away."
Mary thought about what her uncle would do if he saw the bear.
"My uncle's a big farmer," Mary thought. "He'd chase the bear
away with his rake."
Mary thought about what her friend Sarah would do if she saw
the bear.
"Sarah would just laugh and tell me there's no such thing as
bears," Mary decided. "She doesn't believe in anything."

Mary frowned and shook her head.
"I suppose I could try to chase it away," she said. "Or maybe
I could just pretend it isn't there."

Suddenly, the bear moved! It jumped to it's feet and ran right
at her!
Mary gasped, then laughed out loud.

"You're not a bear!" Mary giggled, shaking a finger. "You're
our neighbors dog!"
"Woof!" barked the pretend-bear and he licked Mary's face.
"I'm happy to see you too," Mary said. "But you should go home
now."
"Woof," barked the pretend-bear again, then he shook his shaggy
head and ran toward his home.

"I think I'll go home too," Mary decided. "I've had a lot of
adventures, but now I'm tired."
She smiled up at the sun in the sky, then turned and skipped
back up the path.

"Good-by Mr. sun," Mary said when she got to her door. "I'll
play with you again tomorrow."
She waved at the sun, then opened the door and went inside.