An episode appeared twice a month
in The Michigan Farmer magazine.
Introduction
Do you know how large a baby bear is when it is born? Do you know why
bears sleep all winter and how they can do it without eating? Have you
any idea why a fawn has white spots on its coat until it is no longer
a baby; or what makes a rabbit wriggle its nose; or why a beaver's tail
is flat and a muskrat's tail is round?
There is one man who knows much about wild animals. He is Uncle Joe
Spence, one of our forest firemen, who spends most of his time in a
fire tower high over Friendly Forest watching for fires. From there,
while he is watching for signs of fires through his binoculars, he often
sees his animal friends in their adventures although they do not see
him.
Each time we visited Uncle Joe he told us stories of Whitepaw and his
sister Blackpaw, twin black bear cubs which were born and grew up near
the fire tower. From those stories we learned many things which we had
not known before. We would sit an hour at a time while Uncle Joe, between
"watches," told us when little bears were born, how large
they are at that time, what they eat, how they go to school, and many
other interesting things. Some of the most exciting stories were of
the adventures Whitepaw had when he found a pincushion in the woods.
It wasn't a real pincushion but it had started him on a number of adventures
during which his mother, sister, and even Friendly Forest were lost
to him for a while.
Now, with Uncle Joe's permission, we offer you the stories just as
he told them to Jerry and me.
Click HERE to read "Whitepaw
Gets an Unexpected Bath"
If you have questions or comments
about this Web page or site, e-mail: mary@vanmeer.com
© 2004 Leo VanMeer
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