Tale #52 -- HELLO AND GOOD-BYE

The Return of Dancing Bear

After Dancing Bear finished her hibernation, she came into town to see what was happening. One day, Ben came home from school, and there she was in his yard, looking at the brightly-coloured tulips blooming in the flower beds.

Ben hugged her and hugged her. Then he hugged her some more. "I thought you were never coming back, " he said. "Are you here to stay?"

Dancing Bear hugged him back. "I can’t promise anything," she said, "but I think I’ll be around for a while."

"Where are you staying?" Ben asked. "Are you at David MaDougall’s house again?"

"His daughter Vivian is visiting him right now, " Dancing Bear said. "I think he’s doing just fine without me."

"You can stay in my room," Ben said. "You can have the bed. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor."

"Thank you," Dancing Bear said. "I’ll think about it."

"Please think fast," Ben said. "It will be fun – like a sleep-over."

"I don’t need a bed in a house," Dancing Bear said. "I’m a bear, remember? I can sleep anywhere."


Oreo’s Little Girl

"So this is your little girl," Bandit said. Oreo was sitting on Vivian’s lap and purring. "She’s not so little any more."

Oreo stopped purring. "She’s not the way I remember her."

Vivian stood up and went to the kitchen. Oreo almost fell, but she managed to jump onto the footstool. "See what I mean?" she said. "She didn’t bother moving me off her lap. She just stood up as if I didn’t exist."

"Don’t be so sensitive," Bandit said. "She knows you’re smart enough to look after yourself, and she expects you to do it."

"She used to adore me," Oreo said. "And now she doesn’t care!"

Oreo went down into the basement and curled up on an old chair. Bandit followed her and jumped up beside her.

"Hey – you still have me!" he said. He started licking the top of her head.

"Dancing Bear is a much better cat-brusher than Vivian," Oreo said.

"I agree," Bandit said. He lay down beside Oreo. She had to move over to make room for him, but she didn’t complain about it.



A Big Surprise

Bandit and Oreo were lying on the back of the couch side by side, looking out the window at the driveway. David McDougall and Vivian were loading luggage into her car.

"I’m not sorry to see Vivian go," Bandit remarked. "Everything was different when she was around."

Oreo licked her paw. "I don’t know," she said. "Maybe we didn’t give her a chance to get to know us."

"Yes, we did," Bandit said. "We were friendly, but it didn’t work. Vivian just isn’t a cat person."

"She used to be," Oreo said. "I don’t know what happened."

"She had a baby," Bandit said. "Maybe she is a baby person now."

"Maybe her little girl is a cat person," Oreo said.

"I wonder why Vivian didn’t bring her along," Bandit said. "After all, David MacDougall is her grandfather."

"Maybe she needed a break," Oreo said. "Baby humans are very demanding – just one of them is worse than a whole litter of kittens."

"How come you still love Vivian when she doesn’t love you?" Bandit asked.

"I don’t know," Oreo said. "I just do."

"Well, it isn’t fair," Bandit said.

Just then, David MacDougall and Vivian came into the living room together.

"She’s come to say good-bye!" Oreo said. She jumped off the couch and ran to Vivian. Vivian picked her up and held her.

"See – I told you she still cares!" Oreo said.

David MacDougall walked over to Bandit and picked him up. He held him firmly by the scruff of his neck.

"What’s going on?" Bandit said.

David MacDougall and Vivian took the cats to the dining room. Their pet carriers were ready and waiting.

"What’s this?" Bandit said. "Are we going to the vet again? We’ve already had our shots for this year!"

"I don’t know," Oreo said. "Maybe David MacDougall is taking us to Ben’s place."

David MacDougall and Vivian put the cats into their carriers and fastened the doors. But they didn’t put the pet carriers into David MacDougall’s truck. They put them into the back seat of Vivian’s car.

"Good-bye," David MacDougall said. "I’ll miss you."

"What is this?" Bandit said. "Where are we going?"

"I think he wants us to live with Vivian and her little girl," Oreo said.

"I don’t want to!" Bandit yelled. "This is my home! I want to stay here!"

"That’s one disadvantage of being a cat," Oreo said. "We don’t get to decide where we want to live."



Good-bye

Just then Dancing Bear came along. She peered into the car. "What’s going on?" she said.

"David MacDougall is sending us to live with Vivian," Bandit yelled. "Tell him we don’t want to go!"

Dancing Bear turned to David MacDougall. "Why are you sending the cats away?" she asked.

"Oreo is Vivian’s cat," David MacDougall explained. "She’s found an apartment in a building that allows small pets, and she wants Oreo back. I’m sending Bandit along to keep Oreo company."

"They don’t want to go," Dancing Bear said.

"What is the matter with you, Dad?" Vivian asked. "Why are you talking to a bear?" She waved her arms. "Shoo! Get out of here!"

"Dancing Bear is special," David MacDougall said. "She’s been helping me look after the cats."

"What kind of silly story is that?" Vivian said. "Dad, you’re just too weird!"

Dancing Bear tried to talk to Vivian and explain that the cats would be happier if they stayed in the home they were used to. But Vivian couldn’t understand her. She just kept waving her arms and yelling.

David MacDougall watched them for a while. Then he sighed and went back into the house.

"I’m sorry," Dancing Bear said to the cats. "There’s nothing I can do."

"Thanks for trying," Oreo said. "Vivian is not a cat person. It looks like she’s not a bear person either."

"It’s not fair!" Bandit yelled. "I want to stay here! All my friends are here!"

Vivian took out her cell phone and called the Ministry of Natural Resources office. "Get someone over here right away!’ she shouted. "There’s a bear in my Dad’s driveway!"

"I’d better get out of here," Dancing Bear said. "Good-bye. You’re the best cats in the world."

"Good-bye," Oreo said.

"It’s not fair!" Bandit yelled.

Dancing Bear walked down Alexandra Street. She turned onto Ninth Street and just kept walking and walking far out of town. She was crying as she walked.. She cried for a long time. She slept in the bush that night and the next. Then she came back into town and told Ben what had happened.

"Poor Mr. MacDougall!" Ben said. "What can we do to help? Should we get him a new cat? Animal Rescue always has cats who need homes."

"It’s too soon," Dancing Bear said. "We have to give him time to get over this."