"The Adventures of a Polar Bear"

                                                                                                    by 

                                                                                                
                                                                                           Anna Abgaryan

    

     Once upon a time, there lived a polar bear. She spent most of her days waiting with her two cubs near the leads in the ice, hoping to hunt a seal once they came out of the water to breathe. This was the third day that they have been waiting, but still there was no sign of any seal. They were hopeful so they continued waiting. Days were passing. She knew that waiting was not a solution anymore. When her cubs fell asleep she decided not to lose another minute and left them in hope of finding some food. When she returned she couldn’t believe her eyes. They were gone. She couldn't see them anywhere. She should go and find them but the weather was so cold and the wind was blowing the snow so hard.

     That was an omen; omen of a blizzard, the one that usually happens in the Arctic Circle and does not end very fast. Even though, the snowstorm was hard, she could not stay calm and wait when her cubs will appear.” And what if not?  What if something bad happened to them? “Why did I leave them? What if I will never see them again?” These thoughts haunted her the whole way. She called their names: ”Where are you?" She looked for a long time, but she couldn’t find them.

   “I won’t stop, I will keep looking, until I find them”-she kept saying

    The wind howled, blowing crystal flakes of snow through the air. After a few minutes she spotted on a Penguin, another representative of the Arctic World.

   "Hello, Penguin. Have you seen two Polar cubs wandering around?" The Polar Bear asked.

   "No, I am sorry, but I haven’t. Are they lost?" the Penguin asked.

   “It’s all my fault. “-she burst out crying. “I left them alone in hope of finding some food, because my little cubs haven’t eaten anything for a long time and the days were passing. I could not wait any more. I am a bad mother.”

    “Do not say like this. You left to find food for them. They probably got carried away with the game and somehow got lost. Don’t worry. I am gonna help you to look for them.”

    “You are going to help?”-she asked

    “So, do you need my help or not?

    “Of course, of course I would be endlessly glad for your help”.

    The Polar Bear and the Penguin walked on, looking behind barrows of snow, and anywhere they thought the little cubs might be. Soon the blizzard began to lighten up. They could see much better. Off in the distance the Penguin noticed a great mass lying on the ice. It’s a Walrus.

   The Penguin said to the Walrus: ”We’re looking for little cubs. They went out in the storm earlier and now we can’t find them.”

   “Have you seen them?" asked the Polar Bear.

   "No. Haven’t seen a slightest thing. I’ve been sleeping. That is our main lifestyle: we eat and we sleep.”

   “Do you want to come and help us?" asked the Penguin

   "Sure, I’ll definitely help you. Where do you think they might go?" The Walrus said

   "I don’t know. They are so small.” The Polar Bear kept weeping.

  “We’d better find them before dark, cause after it gets more dangerous and besides, the cubs will get frightened" -The Walrus said.

   Three animals walked on, calling little cubs’ names, but there was no answer.

   The storm had soon stopped. Only some flakes of snow fell and the wind had slowly “calmed its severity down”. The sky turned blue and the sun started to come out of the clouds and shine on the icy ground.

   The more they walked they neared the edge of the ice where it meets the ocean; they spotted a white Snowy Owl, sitting on a rock.

   "Owl, have you seen two little polar bears?" The Walrus asked.

   "No, I haven’t. Why do you ask?" the Owl wondered.
   "My little cubs are lost. They are so small and alone in this land of Ice” The Polar Bear cried.
   "I’ll come with you and hope the sky will help us to find them”-said the Snowy Owl.
    And so four animals were looking for the polar bear cubs all calling, the cubs’ names, but still, there was trace of them. They kept walking.
   Time went on. Suddenly four animals stopped, because of the sounds reminding them the chirps, trills, whistles and clicks. Out of the ocean they saw the White Beluga swimming around. They stood on the edge of the ice looking down at the White Beluga.
   “Where are you going? “-asked the White Beluga
   The Polar Bear:” Here is the thing: my little cubs are lost, and we cannot find them anywhere.”
   The White Beluga replied-“I do have kids. I do understand you like no one else. I’ll help you find them. I’ll swim around and see what I can see and let the ocean help me" she said and swam away.
   The night came. All of them stopped the searches. They were tired and exhausted. They had been walking for hours so in no time they all fell asleep. In the meantime, the White Beluga swam around. She looked everywhere, but she couldn’t see any sign of the polar bear cubs.
   The whole night the Polar Bear could not sleep, sighing and weeping until she met the dawn.
   The searches of the little cubs renewed. They went on and on and it seemed the hope was already gone and they were about to give up when the Snowy Owl’s eyesight spotted on the three figures: one of them lying on the ice and two of them playing on the icy ground. When all of the animals got closer, the Polar Bear cried out: “Cubs, my little cubs!” With these words she was running towards them. The cubs turned around in excitement, hearing the dearest voice. They started running, shouting” Mommy, we are here”.
   She was embracing and hugging them and kissing them from head to foot. She was crying, but these were the teardrops of joy.
  “Why have you run away? I got scared to death”-asked the Polar Bear crying.
  “We wanted to help you and find the seal ourselves”. –said the boy cub
 “And we found Mommy. He was lying on the edge of ice.”-said the girl cub.
 “So much time passed and you are hungry.”
 “No, Mommy, we ate”-said the girl cub
 “You ate? Where? How?”-asked the Polar Bear surprisingly.
 “The seal fed us.”-the cub said
 “The Seal?”- wondered the Polar Bear
 “He caught the fish from the ocean and gave to us”-joyfully answered the boy cub.
  The Polar Bear came up to the Seal and thanked him for taking care of her cubs.
 “I would never hurt them. They are so nice little cubs.”-answered the Seal
   The Polar Bear felt ashamed. She wanted to hunt for the Seal out of food and it turned out the food saved her cubs. “Life is a mystery”-she thought. “One can never predict what can happen and how the situation can turn out.”
   "Thank you, the Seal, for saving our cubs," said the animals.  

    The Polar Bear lost her cubs for a while , but  gained many friends –the Penguin, the  Walrus, the Snowy Owl ,the White Beluga and the Seal. Never again will the cubs get lost, but if they do there are many friends looking out for them and find them.