Bear and the Bard
The Bear and the Bard is a story told to many Brunn children. It tells of a bear that became best friends with a Gnome bard. The story is usually told or read from a book, but it has also been performed on stages and translated into song. The story of the Bear and the Bard is a rather short one, perfect for a bedtime storytelling for kids. It is only about the bear and the bard meeting for the first time. Some versions are much longer and stories have also been written about the adventures that the bear and the bard went on after that magical musical meeting in the forest.
There once was a bard with a beautiful voice and a twinkle in his eyes. He traveled through many lands and sang along with the sounds he heard in the world. He learned to harmonize with the songs of the birds and the howling of the wind. He even sang along the rhythm of the slamming thunder and the patter of the soft summer rain. One fateful day, while singing along the tune of a sparrow, the bard suddenly found himself lost in the woods. 'Like that singing sparrow, time truly flies', he thought to himself. As the sun started setting, the bard decided he would make camp for the night. He unfurled his bedroll and started a small fire to keep warm. Pretty quickly, the bard made a warm and cozy place to rest for the night and as he lay there in the dark forest, he could hear how the crickets started chirping and the frogs started croaking.
But there was another sound, one the bard had never heard before in all his travels, like that of a deep rumbling sigh and the sound of heavy bellows being emptied. The bard stayed quiet for a while, listening to the rhythmic breathing and the pitch of the deep rumble. Softly, the bard started to hum a melody along with the mysterious sound. The hum turned into words and the words turned into song. It was as if the whole forest sang along, the mysterious sounds, the crickets, the frogs and even the leaves of the trees themselves seemed to rustle along the wind in the soft breeze.
All of a sudden, the mysterious sound stopped, the bard finished singing a last verse and closed his eyes contently. As he drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were how he hoped to be able to remember the sound and the song in the morning.
The sound of the birds singing in the morning sun woke the bard as the sun shone its first rays on the world. As the bard slowly opened his eyes he could feel a soft warm breeze on his cheek. While his eyes adjusted to the light, he felt another warm breeze on his cheek, and another... and another. And then he remembered, the sound from the night before, there it was again. He slowly started humming the tune from the night before, and before he knew it, the words came back to him and he started singing the verses he had made up. As the bard opened his sleepy eyes, he turned his head to see where the sound came from. His breath caught in his throat as he stared in the face of a huge brown bear that was curled up on the forest floor beside him, her head resting right next to his. Her amber eyes were wide open and were staring him in the face. The bear blinked, slowly, and tilted her head. Her paw rhythmically tapping the forest floor. The bard sat still, frozen in terror, looking into the big eyes of the bear. 'Why is she tapping her paw like that?' thought the bard. 'do you want me... to sing?' he asked out loud. The bear stopped tapping her paw, and a few moments of silence passed which in the mind of the bard lasted an eternity, but then, her big pink tongue licked his face and she growled approvingly. Softly the bard started humming the tune again, and the bear growled along, tapping her paw. The humming turned to singing and the tapping turned to what can only be described as a bear's way of dancing. Like the night before, all the sounds of the forest joined in the song. The birds and the trees, the wind and the bees, they all played their part, filling it with life and adding their notes to the performance as the bard and the bear lost themselves in the song. And when it finally finished, and bard found himself back on a trail through the forest together with the bear by his side. And the bard and the bear both knew, that they would travel together from that point onward, discovering the music and melodies of the world in harmony.
There once was a bard with a beautiful voice and a twinkle in his eyes. He traveled through many lands and sang along with the sounds he heard in the world. He learned to harmonize with the songs of the birds and the howling of the wind. He even sang along the rhythm of the slamming thunder and the patter of the soft summer rain. One fateful day, while singing along the tune of a sparrow, the bard suddenly found himself lost in the woods. 'Like that singing sparrow, time truly flies', he thought to himself. As the sun started setting, the bard decided he would make camp for the night. He unfurled his bedroll and started a small fire to keep warm. Pretty quickly, the bard made a warm and cozy place to rest for the night and as he lay there in the dark forest, he could hear how the crickets started chirping and the frogs started croaking.
But there was another sound, one the bard had never heard before in all his travels, like that of a deep rumbling sigh and the sound of heavy bellows being emptied. The bard stayed quiet for a while, listening to the rhythmic breathing and the pitch of the deep rumble. Softly, the bard started to hum a melody along with the mysterious sound. The hum turned into words and the words turned into song. It was as if the whole forest sang along, the mysterious sounds, the crickets, the frogs and even the leaves of the trees themselves seemed to rustle along the wind in the soft breeze.
All of a sudden, the mysterious sound stopped, the bard finished singing a last verse and closed his eyes contently. As he drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were how he hoped to be able to remember the sound and the song in the morning.
The sound of the birds singing in the morning sun woke the bard as the sun shone its first rays on the world. As the bard slowly opened his eyes he could feel a soft warm breeze on his cheek. While his eyes adjusted to the light, he felt another warm breeze on his cheek, and another... and another. And then he remembered, the sound from the night before, there it was again. He slowly started humming the tune from the night before, and before he knew it, the words came back to him and he started singing the verses he had made up. As the bard opened his sleepy eyes, he turned his head to see where the sound came from. His breath caught in his throat as he stared in the face of a huge brown bear that was curled up on the forest floor beside him, her head resting right next to his. Her amber eyes were wide open and were staring him in the face. The bear blinked, slowly, and tilted her head. Her paw rhythmically tapping the forest floor. The bard sat still, frozen in terror, looking into the big eyes of the bear. 'Why is she tapping her paw like that?' thought the bard. 'do you want me... to sing?' he asked out loud. The bear stopped tapping her paw, and a few moments of silence passed which in the mind of the bard lasted an eternity, but then, her big pink tongue licked his face and she growled approvingly. Softly the bard started humming the tune again, and the bear growled along, tapping her paw. The humming turned to singing and the tapping turned to what can only be described as a bear's way of dancing. Like the night before, all the sounds of the forest joined in the song. The birds and the trees, the wind and the bees, they all played their part, filling it with life and adding their notes to the performance as the bard and the bear lost themselves in the song. And when it finally finished, and bard found himself back on a trail through the forest together with the bear by his side. And the bard and the bear both knew, that they would travel together from that point onward, discovering the music and melodies of the world in harmony.
Wow, this is so sweet and magical. I'm crying a little. I love it.