Moon Bear

There once lived a story that is now lost in time and only a few remember the great tale of how there become the dancing lights in the sky. We now call them the Northern Lights.

You see in the old times the spirit of every living thing was more powerful than it is today. The magic that everyone could touch, see and feel was lost in the darkness that claimed the earth. In the north where it was cold and the land covered in snow and ice suffered the most in the darkness.

The moon watched over the lands at night the same as the sun during the day. The moon felt sorrow as the darkness took over and all the animals hid to keep safe. The moon wished to show all the creatures that at night there was more wonder then fear.

So one night when the sky was the darkest then moon came down to the lands, the moon taking its true spirit form being a huge white bear whose fur shone with the light of his inner moon. He was beautiful but when he tried to talk to the creatures he had no voice, no sound escaped his lips.

He tried communicating the rabbits but they burrowed deeper into the ground, the deer fleeted off whenever he got close enough. Without being able to speak the creatures of the land feared him, a huge glowing bear in the night. They did not know it was the moon who light the night sky for them, who protected them in the darkness.

Feeling defeated the moon bear walked away from the dark lands to a river to take a drink. He saw his beauty light coming off the water, dancing light on the current. Then the bear saw movement on the other side of the river bank. It was quick that he almost missed it.

The movement swift and looked like fire dancing between the trees only to disappear as fast as it appeared. The bear stepped into the water to cross the river to see what the fleeting flame was. As the bear's fur touched the water bright lights lit the air casting the darkness aside replacing it with magical colours that where forever changing. The moon bear stopped and just sat in the middle the river watching the splendour of colours.

From the corner of his eye he saw that the flame had stopped moving and now sat at the edge of the river sharing in the gift of colour the bears fur had created in the sky. The flame was not a flame at all but a fox who now barked as it chased the rainbow on the snowy ground. The bear again watched the dancing little fox jump and play with his light while joyful yips escaped her lips.

Finally the fox had played enough and looked at the bear then turned to leave. Before the bear knew what had happened the little flame had disappeared into the trees. Already feeling the loss in his heart without the fox he quickly moved out of the water. The lights died as the water fell from his fur. The bear looked back sad but the pain of not seeing the little fox was worse.

He ran through the forest not caring that he was making a thundering sound scaring each creature he came across. Without his voice he couldn't call out for her nor could he ask anyone where she had gone. He searched and searched panic starting to set in that he may never see her again. His breathing heavy and his body shaking he stopped in a small clearing, he's lost his way and he had lost his fox. His heart broke. He looked up at the dark sky that is even darker now that he was not in the sky. His first tear began to fall. As that single tear rolled down his face and across his fur shimmers of light again danced in the air, small little sparks of colour painted the trees surrounding him. Seeing the light that brought him happiness now only brought him more tears.

More and more creatures came out of the forest to see the colours that now coloured the forest around them. The bear looked at each of these creatures then ran from him before, the deer, the rabbits and even a badger. Looked at him in wonder and yet he could only look back in sorrow. All them there where there but not his fox.

The moon bear sat there in his pain as the other creatures drew closer now unafraid of him. He had decided he wanted to go back to the sky. He was happy the creatures found some wonder but he had also lost his. So he got up to leave when a small flame appeared on the end of the trees, where the wisps of colours light just touched the ground. She sat there watching him, she saw the tears in him eyes and whined.

He just sat there watching her, if he had had a voice before it wouldn't even work now, he was speechless. She started walking towards him, the other creatures noticed her only then. They moved away from her as they had done before with the bear. He saw the pain cross her face as they did and understood her sadness, she hid it quickly not to show the creatures the hurt they had caused. Finally she stood only a few steps away from him. His heart filled with joy that she was so close that he just had to move, speak or do something to release the fullness that he felt in his heart.

With no more tears wetting his fur the colourful lights died down and the only light that filled the area was the small glow from the moon bear. The creatures who had delighted in the colour without knowing the pain that had caused the lights now further backed off into their forest. To their hiding place in the darkness leaving the moon bear and his little fox alone in the clearing.

The two of them just stared at each other, the bear not knowing what to do. The fox yipped and bounced around inviting the bear to play. The bear not really sure on what to do sat there watching the silly fox. She suddenly stopped as he didn't move, she moved closer and tilted her head to the side in question. He flattened his ears not knowing how to respond without a voice to speak. She lowered her head in sadness as he didn't respond to her so she turned to go.

He panicked, she was leaving again and he didn't want her to disappear out of his life. So he stood up and repeated what she had done, though awkward he jumped about. His landings sending mini shockwaves through the snow. The little foxed looked again at him with a puzzled look on her face. The bear bounced again, sending another shockwave through the ground causing some of the snow on the ground to lift into the air.

The fox yipped and bounced in the spot before she dashed into the new snow in the air, trying to catch it on her flame coat. Seeing how much fun she was having the bear joined her, jumping harder onto the ground to lift more snowflakes into the air. He too tried to catch the snow on his fur. That was how they played, how they found their happiness when no one else would come near them out of fear.

A now panting bear and fox sat together, her tail lay close to the bear's paw. The now that had gathered on their fur began to melt... the colours coming back but now in full force. Brighter than they were at the river, brighter still then in his tears this was a light of pure joy and happiness. So bright that it lit up the whole land in colours, it reached the sky in waves and danced that it covered the stars. The two just sat there watching the magic play in the heavens. The bear's magic poured out to the ground and touched the fox, her whole body turned white as his. She was beautiful and her fur shone with such an inner light as the moon bear's did.

In a shock when she looked down at her own paws she darted away from him, as she did she turned back into her own fire coat, except for the tip of her tail that remained white as the bear. She moved closer watching her own coat again turn white. She started yipping again then began bouncing back and forth to watch the change. Finally she jumped and curled herself as close as she could to the bear, sharing in her joy.

Long after the water had fallen from the bear's fur the lights stayed in the sky, and only when the bear returned to the sky did the dance of colour stop in the sky to be replaced by the brilliant light of the moon to light up the lands. Whenever the colours return to the sky it's because the bear has come back down to the lands to play with his little fox.