A Whopper Of A "Fish" Story

A friend recently gave my wife, Betty, a C.D. of Native American stories and legends. One of the tales on it immediately reminded me of an incident that occurred some years ago when my then seven year-old grand nephew, Corey Camirand, asked me a tough question. It once again made me wonder if it pays to be an uncle, especially a grand uncle. It was a question that I never would have thought of unless, maybe, I was a seven year-old. Corey’s dad, Henry, had explained to him that I was an outdoors columnist and wrote stories about hunting, fishing and wildlife. That was all the encouragement Corey needed.

"Uncle Bob," Corey asked, "Why do bears have such short, stumpy tails?" Good grief! My immediate reaction, to avoid claiming total ignorance, was to call our Fish and Game Department’s bear biologist, Eric Orff. "I haven’t the foggiest idea, Bob," he said. "I’d have to do a heap of research on that one and it could take me weeks," No help there. 

North American Black Bear

But, all was not lost. Before long, my wife heard about the question with no apparent answer. Having been a Cub Scout leader for over 20 years then, she just happened to have the answer to the question sitting on our living room coffee table. Cub Scouts are fascinated by stories and folklore. Betty, was preparing ahead for the upcoming monthly Cub Pack meeting and the theme was "Vikings". The Scandinavian folk tale (much like an Aesop Fable) is called: "Why The Bear Is Stumpy Tailed".

One cold winter afternoon, a long time ago, a bear was walking through the woods. He had awakened from his hibernation because he was so hungry that his stomach was growling. Then, he met a sly old fox carrying a string of fine fish over his back. "Good day to you fox." he said. "Tell me, where did you get such a fine string of fish?"

Now, the fox had stolen the fish, but did not want the bear to know that. So, he said, "I’ve been fishing all day. I caught these down in the river. I am very fond of fish, you know. They will make a fine supper." The bear was fond of fish, too. He wanted some fish for his supper. So, he asked the fox, "Is it very hard to catch fish in winter?"

"No," said the fox. "It’s easy. I’ll tell you what you must do. Go down to the river and cut a hole in the ice. Then, stick your beautiful, long bushy tail down into the water and just wait for the fish to bite." "Will it hurt when they bite my tail?" asked the bear. "Oh, it will sting and hurt for just a little bit," the fox told him. "But, don’t worry about it. The longer you sit there, the more fish you will catch. When you think you’ve had enough, just give a good hard pull. Your tail will come free and you will have a string of fish on the end of it!" "Sure sounds like a funny way to catch fish to me," said the bear. "But, I am so hungry for fish that I’ll do it. I just hope the fish will bite." "Oh, they will," laughed the fox. "Just do as I told you." "I will remember. Thank you fox," said the bear as he walked down to the river. 

Of course the river was well frozen over. The bear walked out onto the ice. He cut a neat hole and sat down. Then, he dropped his long, bushy tail through the ice hole into the water. The water was very cold and soon the bear began to shiver. After awhile, his tail began to sting. "My tail hurts a lot," thought the bear. "That means, that the fish are biting." And he sat there for a long, long time dreaming about the fish he would eat for dinner.

At last, he decided that he had caught enough fish. But, when he tried to get up, the poor bear found that he could not stand straight. All the water in the hole had frozen solid. The bear’s tail was caught fast. "That sly old fox has tricked me," growled the bear. He was so angry that he gave a good hard pull. Up came his tail out of the water! But, not all of it, only the small part that was fastened to the bear. The rest stayed right there in the frozen water. And, that is why all bears have such short, stumpy tails! If one is to believe folktales, no bear was ever given a beautiful, long, bushy tail again as punishment for believing such a sly fox and following such foolish advice. Whether you believe the origin to be Native American or Scandinavian, it’s an interesting TALE about the loss of a tail. And, how else could you answer the questions of a seven year-old? 

Bob Harris can be reached via e-mail at: outwriter2@aol.com

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