HILDRED AND THE BEAR

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.