There lived an adorable bear cub. He was so small and had the cutest little nose, bright shiny, inquisitive eyes and soft brown fur covering his body. His ears were always alert. Little bear lived in a beautiful forest. He would eat berries and nuts that his mother taught him to forage for. 

Little bear liked to go out and explore every day. His mum tried to keep him nearby but she knew he loved to go on adventures.

'You can go and look, but do not where I cannot see you' she said. 

So little bear would wander a short distance from the cave where he could see through the trees. He would look at the tall mountains in the distance, imagining that someday he would go on a big adventure.

Little bear and mother bear lived by themselves but they were never lonely. When mother bear was not teaching him how to swim or to forage for food, she would play with her cub. They would roll through the long grass and chase each other in between the trees. They were surrounded by other animals that shared the forest with them. At night they could hear the call of wolves. Sometimes little bear would pretend to be a wolf and copy the sounds, putting his head back and 'howling' though his howls were more like little high-pitched squeals. They lived a happy life but another bear had once told mother bear about the danger that exists past the forest so she kept her precious baby bear close toher at all times.  

Little bear was happy but when he was asleep, he would dream of grand adventures, of running deeper into the forest and exploring, of meeting new animals and making some friends. He would dream that he was climbing up  and up into the  snow-capped mountains. What other creatures might there be out there? What sounds and smells might he encounter? It all seemed so exciting to imagine.

One sunny morning, little bear awoke. He could hear the birds singing as usual and the golden sun shone through the trees as it always did. But something was wrong. Something did not feel right. He looked to his side and there were no fish. Every morning, mother bear would bring a fish for her cub to eat for breakfast. 

'Mum?' little bear whispered, then he headed out of the cave. Maybe she was outside watching the sun rise. Maybe the fish were being difficult today and she had not yet caught one. 

But as he stepped outside, mother bear was nowhere to be seen.

'Mum!' little bear cried, now feeling quite scared and worried. He forgot about the danger his mother warned him of and ran into the woods, his little paws running faster and faster, deeper and deeper into the forest.

Little bear soon found that he was lost. He had ran so deep into the woods, deeper than he had ever been. 'Where do I go now?'. He heard a twig snap and turned to see an animal that looked like a deer yet this one was bigger and had large antlers.

'Have you seen my mum?' the cub asked. 

'No' said the stag, picking up some of the lush green grass in his mouth. Then seeing baby bear's worried face he asked 'what does she look like?'

Little bear titled his head to one side 'She looks like me', he said 'but she has bigger paws and bigger ears and a kind face'. 

'I am sorry' said the stag, 'I have not seen her.

'I must find her' said little bear, 'I can't take care of myself'. 

'You might have to' said the stag, then he added 'just until you find her. And I hope that you do'.  

Little bear ran deeper into the woods until he heard the sound of water. The stream! Maybe mother bear was still catching fish. But as he reached the stream there was no sign of his mum. Little bear went over to the water and had a drink, for he was quite thirsty after all that running. 

'Excuse me' he said to the fish, 'have you seen my mum?'

The fish shook their heads then swam away fast, fearful the little bear might eat them. Little bear lifted his wet head out of the water and sat down and wept. 'I want my mum!' he cried. 

Then he heard a scuttling sound and looked up to see a squirrel climbing up one of the trees. And he had an idea.

'I will climb up high so I can see the entire forest' he said excitedly 'Then I will be able to find my mum'.

So little bear climbed higher and higher. Mother bear had not yet taught him to climb so he watched the squirrel and copied him, digging his sharp nails into the bark and scrambling up. He looked quite clumsy but he was a strong climber and very determined.

When he finally reached the top, he was a little bruised as he fell a couple of times and had to start again. He was tired but felt proud of himself. 'Wait until I tell mum that I climbed a tree!' he said. From the top of the tree he saw the most beautiful view he had ever seen with trees stretching for miles with vast, high-peaked snow capped mountains in the distance. He searched with his eyes until he noticed a small flickering flame halfway up one of the mountains. There is a fire, he thought, perhaps whoever lit the fire will know where I can find my mum.

So little bear scrambled out of the tree and ate some berries from a nearby bush before setting out on the biggest adventure he had ever had. He missed his mum but did not feel so sad now; he was going to see the mountains and he knew that for the there to be a fire, some animal must have lit it. And perhaps those animals would know where his mum had gone. As mother bear was a kind bear, perhaps she had gone up the mountain to light the fire to keep all the animals warm who lived amongst snow and ice.

It took little bear two days to reach the foot of the mountain. On the first night he found a cave but all the bears must have moved out as when he called out 'Hello, is there anyone home?' nobody replied. So he curled up and slept for a long time, dreaming of the mountains and of seeing his mum again.