Friday, 21 December 2012

How the polar turned white

This is a story that I wrote that got turned in to a play, that I directed. 
It was fun.


Before even your great great grandfather's memories begin the world was peaceful and the rainbow polar bear lived happily with his friends in the North Pole.  But one day the wise old raven came and warned all the animals of a terrible freeze. When the polar bear heard the news he laughed, the thought of listening to the raven and going south through the harsh wilderness! Later that day the arctic fox went to visit the polar bear. “Polar bear, polar bear, why aren’t you packing, we have to go south, the raven said a terrible freeze was coming?” “Young fox so much you do not know, I the mighty polar bear do not have to listen to that foolish old raven.  I will stay here in my warm home and I will be fine, you will see.”  “But raven said—“  “Go now fox and come back in spring, you will see, I will be fine.”  And with that the fox and all the other animals left for the south, with the polar bear laughing at them.  So the next days went as follows:  When the animals were trekking through the snow the polar bear was making some breakfast, when the animals were setting up a small cold camp the polar bear was out fishing, and when the animals were waking up early to walk south the polar bear was sleeping in his warm soft bed dreaming about the fish that he was going to eat for breakfast.  So when the animals were finally in the southern place now called Canada they were cold wet and tired, but the wise raven came and told them that they were safe from the freeze and they could stay there until spring.

Meanwhile, the polar bear was out happily fishing thinking about how his friends would never hear the end of this, he was perfectly fine and they had trekked through the wilderness for nothing, ‘serves them right, listening to that pesky old raven!’  The polar bear, deep in thought, did not notice the temperature dropping or the fact that it was starting to snow and by the time he did it was too late.  He was trapped under the ice.  As he scrapped at the ice trying to get free all he could think was that if he could go back he should have listened to the raven.

19 days later, the arctic animals were home and for five days they searched high and low for the polar bear.  Just when they were ready to give up little fox found him frozen in a block of ice.  The animals mourned the polar bear but little did they know, he could be rescued.  The way he was frozen made it simple to thaw him out and he would be preserved.  So what a surprise it was to the animals when one sunny day their rainbow polar bear was found out fishing, completely white!  “Oh polar bear!  Oh polar bear!  Is it really you?”  “How?—what?—where?—“  “Wait young fox, I will explain everything.”  And that he did, explaining all about how he didn’t listen to the raven, how he got frozen under the ice, how the sun melted the ice and freed him, how the snow stuck to his coat so now he looked white, and how he promised to always listen to the raven.

The other animals were delighted to have him back, though it took some adjusting to get used to his new coat.  And that my dear friends, is how the polar bear turned humble and white.
                                    

                                         THE END

No comments:

Post a Comment