Once upon a time, there was a bear who lived all alone. He had been living this way for many winters, but he never felt lonely.

    One day, after stepping out of his cave on the first day of spring, a wolf, who was straying from his pack, saw him and said, "Bear! Hey Bear! Where is your pack?"

    The bear replied, "I don’t have a pack."

    "Well," scoffed the wolf, "You must be lonely?"

    Taken aback, the bear grunted and thought, "Hmm… well, no…” But before the bear could finish his sentence, the wolf scoffed again, "If I were you, I would be lonely. You must be the loneliest not lonely bear,"...

...The wolf teased with a laugh and went on his way, catching up to his pack. He watched as the wolf and his pack disappeared into the woods. 

Alone again, he was puzzled by the wolf's question. He decided to sit and think, wondering and pondering for a number of hours, with no one else to think with, all the way into the night. When the forest got dark, almost too dark to see, the Loneliest Not Lonely Bear went back to his cave, without finding supper, to rest his heavy head and sleep... 

... all alone.

When the sun rose the next morning, she used her sunbeams to tap gently on his eyelids, breaking the crest of the cave door. He could hear, on the sunbeams, her lovely sweet, motherly voice, "Wake up, gentle creature. The day has begun!"

    The Loneliest Not Lonely Bear woke up with a big growl and yawn, flashing his big bear teeth. When all of a sudden, a rumble in his tummy interrupted his waking, "I'm empty! It's time to eat! You didn’t feed me supper!" it said.

    “Oh…” said he and got up, shook his fur coat back in place, and proceeded to find some eats. 

    He used his great bear eyes…

  He used his great bear ears… 

    …And finally, he used his great bear nose. He stuck it out, and a little breeze kissed it, as it passed by and said, "Mister, look over here!" And sure enough, he spied some juicy red berries in a bush not too far.

    “Thank you very much, Breeze.” he said, smiling ear to ear.

    The berries then called out to him, waving in the breeze, "Hello there, sir! You sure look hungry. Would you like to eat us?"

And he replied, "Well, if you insist, I don’t mind if I do." The Loneliest Not Lonely Bear strolled over to the berry bush and bit into one of the berries. It was so bitter he had to spit it out. The berries then shook again in the wind and laughed. "They must have played a trick!" he thought. "I guess it was kind of funny," and the bear joined in with the laughter, showing his big bear teeth.

    The Loneliest Not Lonely Bear made his way to the river, where he could hear the sound of splashing and could see the outlines of other bears. He could also see the salmon speeding up the current so fast they didn't know where they were going! The other bears, just standing in the water, the salmon would swim right up into their mouths! ...

  ... "Mmmmm…" he thought, licking his lips. "That looks good."

  He was still hungry, though. His tummy was rumbling and didn't seem like it was laughing at all. In fact, it sounded downright mad.

    "Okay, Okay…" he told his tummy, gently rubbing it with his paw. "Let's go get some salmon."

    As he got closer, he saw the group of bears not only wading but also frolicking in the water, diving, and playing other games. At first, he felt something strange...

- a whole forest of friends that loved him. 

    ... He had a motherly sun to wake him up, the breeze to kiss his nose, the berries to laugh with, and the river to feed him. 

 ... He never had anyone to play with before, and it looked like they were having so much fun together. Then he remembered something important: he was never lonely because he was never really alone...

    Now, sitting on the bank, he watched the other bears for a while, feeling content just to be near them. They were just another part of the forest like he was.

 But then, one of the bears noticed him sitting on the shore and called out to him. "Hey there, friend! Come join us!"

   The Loneliest Not Lonely Bear was hesitant at first, but then he realized that he had nothing to lose. He waded into the water, feeling the coolness of the river against his fur. The other bears welcomed him with open paws, showing him how to open his mouth just right, so the salmon would jump right in.

    Soon enough, his tummy was no longer mad, and they continued splashing and having all sorts of fun the rest of the day.

    From that day on, the Loneliest Not Lonely Bear would make his way to the river every day, spending time with his new bear friends and feeling grateful for the love and companionship that had come into his life. And though he might always be the Loneliest Not Lonely Bear, he knew that he was never truly alone as long as he had the sun, breeze, and the river to keep him company.

    Many moons later, there was another surprise waiting for him. One day, while he was playing with his friends, he saw a familiar figure walking towards him. It was the wolf who had mocked him for being alone all that time ago.

    He tensed slightly, unsure of what the wolf wanted. But as the wolf drew closer, he spoke in a friendly tone, "Hey, Loneliest Not Lonely Bear. I see you've found some friends."

   He nodded, still a little unsure of the wolf's intentions.

    The wolf continued, "I was wrong to judge you for being alone. I realize now that sometimes it's better to be alone than to be with the wrong pack. And it looks like you've found the right pack for you."

    He smiled, feeling a sense of forgiveness and understanding. "Well, that was just your opinion then, and that has changed now," he said with a smile that went ear to ear, showing his big bear teeth. Hearing this, the wolf smiled back at him. And with that, the wolf joined in on the bear's games, becoming a part of the Loneliest Not Lonely Bear's circle of friends.