He had been unsure at first, but the further they walked, the more certain the possum was that they were going in the right direction. It turned out that he had covered a considerable distance for it took close to an hour to make their way back.
“It was just beyond this ridge,” the young possum asserted.
The bear sniffed the air. Something was not right. “Stop!” He barked. If he was right, it would not do for the boy to climb over the ridge.
The possum stopped short. “What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
The bear pushed on ahead of him, “Wait here a moment. I want to check things out.”
He was relieved that the possum did not challenge him and instead waited obediently as he climbed over the ridge to examine the clearing.
It was as he had feared. There in the middle of the clearing were the ravaged carcasses of two older possums, presumably the boy’s parents. The wolves had gotten to them after all. What was left wasn’t pretty. Best to save the boy from this sight.
He walked back up the ridge. From the look on the bear’s face, the possum could tell that something was wrong, “What happened?”
The bear sighed sadly, “Your parents…they didn’t make it.”
The possum shook his head in disbelief, “No. That can’t be right. Are you sure?” He bounded up the hill, “Possums are good at playing dead, maybe they were just pretending!”
The bear reached out to stop him, “No wait!” But it was too late.
The boy quickly learned that there was no playing dead here. Tears rolled down the possum’s cheeks as he observed the carnage. “How?” he asked feebly.
The bear stepped in front to block the possum from looking at the grisly scene any longer. “They must have stopped to slow the wolves down to make sure you got away.”
“Well they shouldn’t have!” the possum snapped, “ What good is living if my parents are dead?”
“Don’t be foolish!” the bear snapped back. “You dishonor your parents with that talk!” He took a breath, then spoke more calmly, “It may not make sense to you now, but I’m sure your parents must have felt that they lived their lives and they wanted to make sure you got a chance to live yours.” He was silent for a moment, then asked, “Do you have any family in Vawsing?”
“An uncle,” the boy sniffled.
“Come then…let us find your uncle.” He pushed the boy gently along the path back to town.