A long, long time ago, in
fact over 1000 years ago, brown bears used to live in England. These
bears were big and very fierce. They had a round face and 42 teeth in their
powerful jaws. Their hair was about 10 centimeters long and covered their
bodies from head to tail and they had big paws and sharp claws. Most of the
bears weighed no more than 300 kilograms but occasionally a giant bear roamed the
land and this is the story of one such bear. He was a male bear weighing 400
kilograms and measured over two and a half meters in length. When he stood on
his hind legs he was almost the height of two men who in ancient times were of
course a little shorter than they are today. This bear was the strongest and
most fearsome in all the land and he was known as Arthfael meaning Bear Chief.
Although Arthfael would often
fish for salmon or trout in the swift flowing streams and rivers near the cave
where he lived, his favourite food was meat. He would venture from his cave
through the surrounding woods hunting for rabbits, wild boar and any thing else
that took his fancy. What he couldn’t eat, he would often drag back to his cave
to snack on later. No other animal or human for that matter, could challenge
him and he roamed freely in his domain doing as he wished.
After some years had passed,
Arthfael started to roam further afield in search of food and one day he
reached the edge of some farmland surrounding a small village. His eyes
sparkled and his mouth watered when he saw small flocks of sheep and herds of
goats scattered around strange mud and straw huts with smoke coming from them.
New and tempting smells drifted his way as the scent of cooking came from the
settlement and then there were those funny looking creatures moving around on
two legs. He remembered that his mother had told him about them when he was
young. They must be humans, he thought. His mother had told him to be wary of
them but they didn’t look as if they were any threat to the mightiest bear that
ever lived! Arthfael gave a scoff, huh! Why had his mother told him to be
careful of those puny little creatures? He gave an almighty roar and raced down
a gentle slope from out of the trees and attacked an unsuspecting goat, killing
it with one blow from his enormous paw. The humans screamed and ran in all
directions except for one or two who ran towards him with long sticks shouting
as they came. However, Arthfael just stood up on his hind legs and bellowed
with such ferocity that the humans turned tail and ran leaving Arthfael to devour
his tasty goat dinner.
Now in the village there
lived a pretty girl called Hildred. She had long blonde hair that glinted in
the sunshine and sparkling blue eyes that seemed to be able to look into your
very soul and seek out everything that you were thinking. Her best friend was a
fair haired boy called Darwyn. He always had a twinkle in his steely grey eyes
and a smile that could melt the heart of many a fair maiden and especially that
of Hildred. After a number of attacks from the giant bear Arthfael, the two
were sitting together one day and discussing the plight of the village. “Why
won’t all the villagers stand together and fight the bear?” said Hildred. “They
are just too scared” replied Darwyn “and they think the bear has been sent by
God to punish them for their sinful ways”
They think that the bear will leave them alone if they worship God more
and behave in a manner more pleasing to the Almighty. “I wish we could do
something to save the village and our animals” mused Hildred, half thinking out
loud and half looking for a solution from her beloved Darwyn. He was a clever
lad after all, surely he could think of a plan to rid them of the terror that
was facing them more and more frequently.
The two sat in silence for
some time thinking things over when suddenly Darwyn stood up and announced that
he alone would confront the bear. Hildred pleaded with him not to do it. It was
dangerous and Darwyn would almost certainly be killed. “Better that than give
in to that bullying brute of a bear” retorted the young man. Seeing that his
mind was made up, Hildred came to a decision. “Then I shall help” she announced
and, just as Darwyn could not be swayed from his decision, neither could the
brave Hildred. You know, bravery is a strange thing because the bravest people
are not those who are fearless but those who do something even though they are
scared. Darwyn and Hildred were two such people. Very scared but very brave.
For the rest of the day, the
two friends sat discussing ideas and trying to formulate a battle plan. In the
end, their plan was not much of a plan at all for they had little experience in
such matters. They noted that the giant bear Arthfael, usually came looking for
food first thing in the morning when the sun had sent its first rays above the
horizon and lit the sky with glorious shades of pink, orange and red. So for
the next two days the sneaked out of their parents huts and waited, hidden in
bushes at the bottom of the slope below the woods from where Arthfael usually
made his appearance. Darwyn had taken a short sword from his hut that was kept
hidden in a blanket behind his father’s bedding. The sword had belonged to
Darwyn’s grandfather who was given it when he once fought in the feudal Lord’s
army many years before. Before his grandfather had died two years past, he had
sometimes shown it to Darwyn and taught him the basics of its use, mainly the
thrusts used in close combat. Although the thought of close combat with
Arthfael sent shivers through his spine, the sword was the only real weapon
Darwyn had apart from the sticks, scythes and pitchforks that the villagers
used for everyday farming use. For her part, all Hildred had was a sling and a
pouch of carefully chosen stones. Unusually for a girl in those days, Hildred
was very skillful at using the sling and she would often fire stones at targets
she set up at some distance away making the local boys angry when she proved
more accurate than them. However, she secretly doubted that her ammunition
would trouble Arthfael too much no matter how accurately she was able to propel
it. Anyway, Hildred was agile and a fast runner and the plan was that she would
distract the bear by firing at it from one direction and then another confusing
it to the extent that Darwyn could seize his moment to run in and thrust the
sword into the bear’s heart.
For two mornings they rose
from their beds early and waited with beads of sweat running down their
foreheads displaying the apprehension that they were trying to hide from each
other. Nothing happened, No Arthfael, he did not appear. On the third morning,
unbeknown to them, Arthfael had set off from his cave with the intention of
stealing another lamb or goat kid from the village. On his way, he happened
upon a family of wild boar and managed to grab a piglet for his breakfast which
he found very tasty indeed and certainly satisfied his hunger. He was about to
turn for home when he thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to carry on
to the village and grab a defenseless morsel and carry it back to his cave for
his dinner later that night. So it was that he strolled somewhat more slowly
than usual in view of his full tummy and started down the slope above the
village with his eyes already picking out a target in the field below.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his rear leg as Hildred’s first stone hit
him. He turned to see who or what had dared to sting him when another stone hit
home from a slightly different direction. Her heart pounding, Hildred ran to
the cover of another bush and fired once more hitting Arthfael on his nose. The
bear roared and stood up on its hind legs so that he looked the size of a
mountain to the brave young friends. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted
Hildred and ran towards her. Bears are quick but with a full tummy, Arthfael
wasn’t quite as quick or nimble as Hildred and she managed to run to his rear
and fire another stone hitting his bottom. Darwyn saw his chance and jumped out
form his hiding place and towards the bear. He was about to thrust the sword
into Arthfael when the bear suddenly turned and lashed out a mighty paw
catching Darwyn a glancing blow knocking him unconscious. In her horror,
Hildred dropped her pouch of stones and before she could recover them, Arthfael
grabbed Darwyn by his belt and carried him off into the woods.
With no thought for her own
safety, Hildred finally gathered her pouch and ran after them picking up
Darwyn’s sword as she went. Seeing them a little way ahead she fired another
stone from her sling narrowly missing the lumbering Arthfael whose speed was
reduced considerably not only by his full tummy but by the weight of the
unfortunate Darwyn. Hildred quickly drew close to them and fired another stone,
this time hitting Arthfael on his already sore back leg. “Enough of this” the
bear thought dropping Darwyn and turning to face the slim, delicate human who
was becoming a real annoyance and spoiling what had promised to be such a
pleasant and fruitful day.
Before Hildred could react,
the bear was upon her knocking her over with a slash of his enormous paw and
leaving blood trickling from a shallow wound on her arm. Now lying on her back
the bear stood over her roaring angrily. “This is it” thought Hildred and a
small tear appeared in the corner of her eye. She looked right at Arthfael not
just with fear but with something far deeper. As she gazed beyond his eyes and
into his heart she felt both respect and forgiveness for this beautiful animal
who was about to end her life. After all, the bear was trying to survive and
live as bears do just as humans try to live their lives as best they can; to
find food and seek happiness amidst the beautiful countryside of England.
Arthfael stopped and looked
back at Hildred; at her silky blond hair, her pale tender skin and into those
timeless deep blue eyes. He observed the tear that had formed there and
something stirred within him. A strange new emotion entered his very being He
felt compassion for this brave and beautiful young girl who was trying to save
her beloved Darwyn. Arthfael turned and walked away leaving both Hildred and
Darwyn behind to tend their wounds and make their way slowly back to the
village. Arthfael never again troubled the villagers or stole their livestock
and for years to come the story of how Hildred had tamed the mighty bear chief,
Arthfael, was told in gatherings and by campfires throughout the land.
