The Journey

The Wishing Bear

As morning dawned on the forest Jimmy woke with a start when he heard something growl. Lancelot also jumped awake and lept onto Jimmy's head. Lancelot's paw jammed into Jimmy's eye. 

"Ow!" Jimmy yelled putting a hand on his eye.

 Jimmy stood, still holding his eye. 

"What was that sound?" asked Lancelot.

 "It sounded like a large animal." replied Jimmy.

 He had heard many animals outside of the little cottage at the edge of the woods. Jimmy dropped his hand from his eye, hurriedly grabbed his backpack and hid behind a tree. 

"What are you doing?" Lancelot asked as he watched Jimmy run behind the tree. 

"What does it look like? I'm hiding from whatever growled, and if you had any sense you would hide as well." Jimmy said. 

"Fine" Lancelot snapped, clearly annoyed.

 He hopped over by Jimmy and sat down. A few minutes later the growl sounded again, but closer this time. 

" It's getting closer!" Lancelot whispered clearly on the verge of crying.

 "Shhh!" Jimmy hissed. 

Suddenly, the tree started to move as if someone were trying to shake it like a maraca.

Lancelot screamed and started to blubber. Jimmy, not quite as frightened, peeked his head out from the tree. What he saw filled him with wonder, because there, on the other side of that tree was the biggest and pinkest bear Jimmy had ever seen. Although it wasn't that big of a surprise because, well, he was sitting next to a talking enchanted bunny. Jimmy, remembering that he had zoned out, jolted back to reality. 

He leaned over by Lancelot and sputtered, "Cry baby!"

 Then he grabbed his backpack and stood. Lancelot watched Jimmy stand, and with an appalled expression on his face riposted,

 "Princes can't be cry babies, they are brave and noble!!" Lancelot got up, wiped his nose on his fur, and hopped over by Jimmy to face the bear.

 The bear being larger than most, made Jimmy and Lancelot look like teeny tiny ants. By now the bear had stopped shaking the tree and had turned its head to look downward at the pair standing there before it. It looked as if it were studying the two, trying to figure out what they were maybe? Then the bear started moving toward them slowly but surely. Granted, it only took about one giant step since the bear was so gigantic. The bear was upon them. It took everything Lancelot had not to turn around and bolt the other way. Jimmy, on the other hand, looked as if he wanted to get on the bear and ride it into the sunset. 

"Don't make a sound" Jimmy whispered in hushed voice.

 "What do you think I would say?" Hello Mister bear, how is your day going?" Lancelot replied mockingly.

 "Mister! Who are you calling mister?!" came a booming high pitched voice. 

Both their heads jerked forward so fast anyone watching would have gotten whiplash.

"Did that bear just talk?" Lancelot asked in disbelief. 

"Dude, you do realize that you are a talking bunny, right?" Jimmy replied. 

"Whatever," Lancelot retorted.

 Then the bear growled so loud it could be heard four villages over. Jimmy and Lancelot stopped and gaped at the enormous creature looking down on them. The bear was so big, there really was no other way for it to look at them. Lancelot, feeling a rush of courage, bellowed up at the bear,