The Great Bear's Blessing

The blizzard stung my eyes and cheeks and made me hide my face in my hands. I knew I would die soon, without proper provisions or warmth. I saw something large and white loping toward me. I recognized it as one of the great bears. I raised my spear but lowered it again, deciding to at least allow one being to survive on this frozen tundra. He did not, however, kill me. Instead, he flopped his big, shaggy body down next to my small, frail one. He saved my life.

When the blizzard was over, the landscape had changed completely, and I had no idea how to get home. I randomly picked a direction and headed that way. The bear allowed me to ride him, and a few hours later we reached the sea.

Lounging in the bright sunlight were many seals that my bear friend wanted to hunt. Slowly, he moved to within fifteen feet of the seals. One of them turned its head our direction and let out a honk of fright, then all the seals took off toward the water. Then, out of the water burst a gigantic orca which grabbed a seal but in the process cracked the ice, so we were trapped on an ice floe.

The ice floe tipped at a crazy angle, and I started slipping toward the orca's gaping jaws. Fortunately, my heavier bear friend fell faster than me, and he bashed the orca in the eye, saving my life yet again. Clutching my spear, I drove it deeply into the whale's blowhole and was sprayed by bright red blood. I turned around to look for my bear friend, and the orca feebly tried to bite me once more, but all it got was a mouthful of parka and it slowly swam away.

Eventually I made it safely back to my camp. I never forgot that bear, and years later when I became leader of my tribe I was given the name Nanook, or great white bear.