A Cherokee Legend
Once, a man tending to his field of growing corn decided to climb a tall stump to get a better view of his ripening crops. Unbeknownst to him, the stump was hollow, and within it, a bear had made a nest for her cubs. As the man climbed, he lost his footing and fell into the stump, landing right on the cubs. The startled cubs began to squeal loudly, and their cries quickly reached the ears of the mother bear.
Hearing the commotion, the she-bear hastily climbed down into the stump, descending tail first in true bear fashion, to investigate the source of the noise. In a state of panic, the man instinctively grasped onto the bear’s hind legs. The old bear was so frightened by this sudden encounter that she quickly climbed back out of the stump, pulling the man along with her. Once they were both out in the open, the bear, still alarmed, took off into the forest, leaving the man behind.
