Week 11 Story: The Woman and the Bear

The Woman and the Bear

Hundreds of years ago, in a small village in the Norwegian forest, a strong, wise old woman named Sylvi lived by herself in a cottage. Sylvi's neighbors helped take care of her by periodically bringing her food, as she was too old to fend for herself. One day the village hunters brought something else to her doorstep: a bear cub! "We found this cub far away from its mother and have no idea what to do," explained the leader of the village hunters. "The only idea we had was to bring it to you, oh wise Sylvi, and see if you wanted to take care of this young creature."

Sylvi quickly agreed. She was full of compassion and had never raised a child of her own. The bear filled an emotional void in her life. Sylvi named the bear Ruben and loved him deeply. For years she nurtured the cub and fed him as he grew bigger and bigger. "Look at how Sylvi loves that bear!" town villagers would remark.

After about four years, Sylvi suddenly grew sick with a fever. She could not leave her bed, and other villagers helped take care of the now fully-domesticated bear. At the same time, the hunters in the village had been struggling to find food. The village had become desperate and was beginning to starve. Some began to whisper, "We should kill Ruben and eat him."

Ruben could sense something was wrong with both his adopted mother and the village-people. He decided to do something. One day, Ruben snuck away from the village to look for food. As he was looking, Ruben noticed something strange: other bears! As he got closer, he began to communicate with them. He realized something amazing: these bears were his long-lost family! Ruben snuggled up to the bears with affection and explained what had happened over the last few years. He also told them about the current situation in the village. Upon hearing how kind Sylvi had been to Ruben, the bears agreed to help. They led Ruben to a secret lake, only known to bears and other woodland creatures. The lake was full of fish!

Ruben returned to the village the next day. Sylvi had been deeply worried about her bear, but had started to recover from her fever. However, hunger in the village had continued to worsen. Ruben communicated to the hunters that they needed to follow him. The kind bear led them to the secret lake full of fish. The village hunters caught hundreds of fish that day and returned to the village with joy. A great feast was held, and Ruben brought his bear family to the feast to meet Sylvi. Sylvi's kindness in raising Ruben had ultimately led to the saving of the entire village. Bears and humans continue to live in friendship in this region.

THE END

Author's Note: I started with the story "The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son," which is part of the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen (1921). The story tells of an old woman who mothers a bear. I kept the basic premise the same, but changed the setting and created an entirely new plot with different events and a new ending.

Image Info: European Brown Bear. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Inuit (Eskimo) Folk Tales, Part B

More reading notes from this section of folk tales!'

Bibliography: The notes are on the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921).


One story I enjoyed from this section of reading was called "The Wife Who Lied." It starts in a startling and attention-grabbing manner: "NAVARÁNÂPALUK, men say, came of a tribe of man-eaters, but when she grew up, she was taken to wife by one of a tribe that did not eat men." Wow, what a way to introduce a character! This origin story here is pretty intense and definitely intriguing.  Then she proceeds to start a inter-tribal war for unclear motives. Characters who do dark things for vague reasons always add an interesting wrinkle to a story. As the tale progresses, there enters "one old woman among them" who "had a  strange dream." Prophetic characters can be fun additions to stories, I may look at adding one into one of my upcoming stories. Navaránâpaluk is murdered by men from the opposing tribe for lying. This was quite an adventure for such a short story, only around 500 words. I hope to work on packing in action like this into my short tales.

Another story I enjoyed was about a man named "ÂTÂRSSUAQ."  The story, like the last one I took notes on, starts in a compelling way: "ÂTÂRSSUAQ had many enemies. But his many enemies tried in vain to hurt him, and they could not kill him." Introducing characters can be difficult, but the Inuit/Eskimo authors have done a great job in these folktales. This description creates in my mind an image of a brave, strong warrior who has done things to generate some animosity towards himself.

One final introductory characterization that I thought was especially effective came in the story of "Tungujuluk and Saunikoq." This story begins strongly: "TUNGUJULUK and Saunikoq were men from one village. And both were wizards. When they heard a spirit calling, one would change into a bear, and the other into a walrus." These attributes are unique and help bring the reader into the story quickly. Wizards who can shape-shift are always fascinating characters.

I enjoyed these Inuit/Eskimo folktales, especially the characterizations found at the beginning of many of these stories!

From Source: "'Eskimo family and their igloo from Labrador, Seattle, A.Y.P.E.' Photograph shows two Inuit 

couples and two children, outside fake igloo at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition."

Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Inuit (Eskimo) Folk Tales, Part A

Bibliography: The notes are on the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921).

Here are my reading notes for this week!

One story that stuck out to me was "The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son." This creative folk tale featured a great narrative of a relationship between a bear and a woman who raises the bear. I enjoyed the character of the woman, who nurtures the bear but is willing to let him go when he grows and the need arises. They model a compassionate understanding between human and animal. I am writing about Saint Francis's love for animals some in my storybook project, so this relationship could help serve as a guide when I am crafting my stories. The story also ends with a bit of mystical mystery, suggesting that the bear may still be alive. This was a fun twist and left the reader curious. I want to practice ending my own stories in ways that leave readers thinking and engaged. 

Another tale that I found interesting was "The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man." This story has a clever and funny opening: "THERE was once a wifeless man. Yes, that is the way a story always begins." This really made me laugh and seems to be true in a lot of stories! The man in this story is a bit of an outcast, rejected by society and dealing with chronic sleepiness. Things begin to turn around for him after he saves the life of a mysterious "noseless one" who was from "beneath the earth" and who blesses our main character. The girls in the town begin to like him and he becomes an impressive hunter/fisher. He marries a woman, but eventually tells her his secret to hunting and loses all he has: the ability, his wife, etc. The story ends in a strange way, but I was fascinated by this idea of losing all you have after exposing yourself. The reminded me of some modern book/movie plots. This story and others in the unit were told in engaging, easy to comprehend ways!

According to source, "Photograph of a book illustration of an Inuit village, Oopungnewing, 

near Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island in the mid-19th century." Originally from 

Arctic Researches and Life Among the Esquimaux: Being the Narrative of an Expedition in Search of Sir John 

Franklin in the Years 1860, 1861, and 1862 by Charles Francis Hall (1865). 

SOURCE: Wikimedia