Old Mother Bear

"The old she bear had been there for three days already, called by the cold to ready her den for winter. Hauling out great mounds of earth and rock, she dug a tunnel down into the half-frozen mountainside. "The grizzly dug until the sky could no longer see the tiny tuck of her tail. Then she began to widen the base of the tunnel. The den was snug, with just enough room to twist and roll, the roof held fast by a tangle of tree roots. The old she tore up great mouthfuls of bear grass and heather and lay it as a thick blanket barrier against the ice-cold den floor." Back in the days when I'd M.C. a couple of daily preschool circle times, we'd often "do" a few repetitions of Sleeping Bears. You "do" Sleeping Bears by getting the kids to all lean over, eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, and then singing them a little three-chord verse: Sleeping bears, oh sleeping bears, oh sleeping in their caves. Sleeping bears, oh sleeping bears, oh sleeping in their caves. Please be very quiet, oh so very quiet, If you shake them, if you wake them, they get very mad. At this point, the kids all spring up, bare their claws and teeth, and give the loudest roar they possibly can. (This is the sort of activity that helps provide necessary balance to fine-motor-based fingerplays and the sitting still, listening attentively circle activities.) "She was born in a den like this one, twenty-four summers before. Since the grizzly was three years old, she had made her own dens, always in the high ground, usually on the dark side of a mountain. Sometimes she tunneled into a steep forested hillside, in other years she squeezed into a cave. "After nine days the grizzly's den was complete. The tired bear curled up and tucked her nose into her warm belly. Overnight her drowse deepened; her heart-beat and breathing slowed, and her body cooled a little. Snow fell heavy on the mountain. Within a week, the only sight that life slept below was a thin ribbon of grey mist that threaded the dark sky every time the old grizzly exhaled." Back in the days when I'd M.C. a couple of daily preschool circle times, there were some fun bear book read alouds, such as Pamela Allen's BERTIE AND THE BEAR. Kids are into bears. I'd not be surprised to discover that the most popular creatures among American kids are bears and dinosaurs. There are Teddy bears, Berenstain Bears, Care Bears, Yogi Bear, and Little Bear. "The bees are buzzing in the tree to make some honey just for me. When you look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants and maybe try a few" Baloo, whose name is derived from the Hindi word for "bear," was my own favorite bear character when I was young. And then there is, of course, the granddaddy of literary bear characters: " 'Hallo, Pooh,' he said. 'How's things?' "Terrible and Sad,' said Pooh, 'because Eeyore, who is a friend of mine, has lost his tail. And he's Moping about it. So could you very kindly tell me how to find it for him?' " 'W