The Bear and the Bee

A fable about the blurry relationship between friends and enemies.

Upon retreating to the comfy hammock for an afternoon nap, I notice everything is still. The wind sleeps and the sun gleams. The sky is clear. The air is settled. I lay back, close my eyes and drift towards sweet, honey-dipped dreams — the Bear.

Over mountains and deep in the woods, the bear is in his intended element. He lays in a soup-bowl of surrounding peaks that tear at the above blanket of blue sky. An icy-waterfall is roaring in the distance, creating the perfect hum for an afternoon nap. Ready for rest, the hairy hero nestles in a hammock at the edge of a glacier lake. All is still. All is quiet… until he meets his adversary. A familiar story retold in many forms — this adversary has plagued the amiable bear for generations. The smallest of creatures once again begins to stir the sleeping bear.

*Buzzz. Buzzz…

“What’s that?”

*Buzzz…

“No, it can’t be! Go away!

*Buzzz Buzzz…

A yellow and fuzzy flying menace is interrupting my harmony. A snake has arrived in my Garden of Eden.