INSIDE THE STORY

Jym comments on the featured story.
"The Great Black Bear"

With many folktales, there are several versions of a story floating around depending on the part of the world to which you journey. The Great Black Bear is an excellent example of such a story. Depending on the continent where the story is found, we might discover that the character of the bear has been replaced by a lion or a tiger or a some other ferocious beast. The hair on the chin of the bear is frequently depicted as a whisker on the face.

The version that I tell (with the Black Bear as the focal character) comes from China, while a very similar story is found in Japan. Little details in the story reveal its origin in unlikely ways. For example, black bears live in only two places in the world: North America and Asia. The Asiatic Black Bear is sometimes called a Crescent Moon Bear because of a crescent-shaped patch of white hair on its chest. It also has some interesting traits that show up in our story:

- Unlike most hibernating bears that stay asleep for most of the winter, the Asiatic Black Bear frequently comes out to sun himself, even making a blanket of sticks on the snow on which to lie.

- There are only a few hairs on the chin of an Asiatic Black Bear. For many centuries these have been thought to have healing powers and are greatly prized.

- The Asiatic Black Bear is one of the most dangerous of bears, attacking without warning and for no reason.

Because this version is so deeply rooted in the place from which it comes, I find it the most satisfying one to share. In light of our bear's temperament, the woman in the story had to be indeed wise, courageous and patient to accomplish her task.

"The Great Black Bear" is available on the audiocassette, Telling the Truth.

Here is a brief audio sample of the story.