Once, in a land far, far away, there lived a big bear in a giant forest called The Hollow Netherlands.

There were lots of trees, most of them Weeping Willows, and some of them, they were really just old regular Oak Trees. 

There were lots of yummy fruits to eat, most of them juicy and sweet. 

Hunters soon came, and the bear got scared. He didn’t really think of himself as a confident, strong bear. He was an orphan. That kind of makes sense, right? Poor bear! But, don’t worry. There is a happy ending to this story. It is a fairytale!

So! Let us get back to the story. Where was I? Ah, yes, so, he was very scared. He knew that there was a princess in the land who could help him, but he also knew it was going to be hard to ask her for help, because the princess was human.

princess?

If he was up for the task, he might have to try many, many times. He knew that he would get hurt. He knew he was taking a risk.

Although he did not think that he was rather strong or confident, he knew he was deep down inside of him somewhere. He was not scared to go on this journey. 

A few days passed, and he committed to this task. He started his journey. He had mixed feelings. He was excited, happy, nervous, and so much more. But there was really no way to explain what his feelings were.

He started walking, and he heard a big noise. He jumped. He wondered if those were the hunters. He started running. Because of this, he did make sure that he ran gently so that they could not hear him.

Soon, he finally got through the forest without the hunters getting him. A minute later, he realized that he was lost. He spotted a path, which was right in front of his furry, and dark brown claws. The path was rather pale, with some tan in the lonely color. He followed the path.

Once the path finished, he came up to a tiny orange and brown cottage, which was almost square shaped. It had a patched roof on top, which looked like it was about to fall apart. The poor bear walked up to the tiny cottage and knocked.

The person inside joked, “I’m not here!’’ Then the bear whined, “But I really need someone right now, Ma’am!’’ The old lady opened the door and laughed, “Oh, it’s ok! I was just joking!’’ She led him into the house in a kind way.

Surprisingly, the old lady treated the bear just as she would treat a human. The bear wondered in happiness. It had worked! The bear was so surprised! You know, in a good way. 

The old lady went to a tiny coffee table and sat down. She gently whispered under her breath, “I have been waiting for you.’’ The bear gulped, “For what?’’

“Oh, don’t be silly, I’m not going to hurt you!’’ she smiled. “Oh! Phew,’’ the bear said, relieved.

“I can see that you’re on a long journey. I would like to help you.’’

“Oh, thank you!’’ the bear happily shouted. “Now, what should I help you with first?’’ the old lady asked.

“Wait, already?!’’ the bear exclaimed.

“Well, yes! You want me to help you, don’t you?’’ the old lady questioned the bear. “Of course, of course!’’

Oh, thank you!

So, the bear and the old lady started working together to make sure that the bear’s plan would succeed. 

They started heading to the castle. The bear finally started to work up his confidence. Now he was completely determined to accomplish this hard task.

When they got to the castle, the old lady made sure that the bear was protected. They finally walked up to the castle. When they opened the door, the guards made sure that they couldn’t come in.