Part 1

The bear hurried down the mountain hungering for more than hikers. He stopped at the pavement and sniffed the air. What he sought was nearby. He started scampering across the road, looking both ways to watch for oncoming traffic and head down the side of the road heading east. Coming around the bend his pace slowed as the 7-Eleven came into sight. His anticipation had him breathing hard and fast. “Calm yourself old bear or they’ll never let you in.” No one wants a wheezing bear in their stores, frightens potential customers away. He walked the rest of the way so he could catch his breath and maybe sneak in undetected. When he was but 20 feet from his destination, an RV pulled into the parking and four kids popped out with their parents. “WE WANT ICEES! WE WANT ICEES!” the children were chanting. Hearing this sent the bear into a state of panic, he wanted ICEES as well. What if there weren’t enough? A bear can consume a lot, but kids can be downright greedy, he didn’t want to have to attack the children for theirs. Though, he was of course prepared to do so, if that’s what it came to. This wasn’t his first time at the rodeo, or the 7-Eleven in this case.