'Like father - Not!' - 3WW - 7/3/2013

Warning!

This story includes death, and the eating

of raw flesh - so if you are 

squeamish, or overly sentimental,

DO NOT READ ON!

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   The weather had been brutal for days; a strong gale, blowing out of the north-east, with an ambient temperature of minus 37 celsius, made to feel worse by the wind-chill effect of thirty meters a second winds.

   Mother bear had been groping around various seal holes in the ice, without success, and her young cub had tagged along behind getting hungrier, and hungrier.  Finally mother bear found a large hole in the ice that had been made by a walrus family.  The walruses had gone, but lying at the edge of the water was a seal, taking advantage of some snow banks to shelter from the wind.  The seal spotted the bear creeping up on it and made a dive for the open water.  Mother bear followed, and after a short struggle she was able to transfer the now dead seal to the ice shore.

 

   'Come along now,' she called to the cub, 'here is some fine fresh seal to eat.'

 

   The cub ran across the ice and joined it's mother in tearing at the seal's carcass.  After a few minutes, the cub looked at mother bear and said:  'Mum, am I a polar bear?'

 

   'Yes my dear, you are a polar bear,' answered mother bear.  'Get on with your dinner.'

 

   The cub went back to gnawing at the seal, but after another minute or two asked:  'Mum, am I really a polar bear?'

 

   Mother bear answered:  'Polar bears live in the Arctic, and this is the Arctic, and you are a bear; so yes - you really are a polar bear.   Now eat!'

 

   Little bear carried on chewing for a while, then with a bear-type whine asked:  'Mum!   Am I really, really, really, really, really a polar bear?'

 

   'Oh! For goodness sake!' said mother bear exasperatedly.   'Look here - I am a polar bear, your father is a polar bear, you are our son - so you too are a polar bear.   Why in Heaven's name do you keep on asking?'

 

   ' Because I am bloody freezing!' said the cub.

 

 



 

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 Main picture: Sue Forbes Exclusive Pics.

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