There's a Bear on the Beach!

By Shannon Petersen

IWhy did the Chicken cross the road? You might ask. Well, that’s because he wanted to get to the other side. And why did he want to get to the other side? Well, I don’t know. But I do know that chickens crossing roads have nothing to do with this story.

This story is about the time I went out to Kulik. I went there lots of times. Kulik is a vacation place where you sleep in cabins and go fishing and bear watching. It is somewhat cold out and it can be cloudy. My dad is the owner to I go out there to visit him sometimes.

There is a lake in front of the lodge where I like to hang out. Since it was June and the bears weren’t in the area yet, my mom thought it was safe. The bears don’t usually arrive until late July. Even though no bears were spotted yet, my mom told me I still had to look up and down the beach to check for bears while I was outside. I heeded her warning, checking every five or 10 minutes. After all, I was in front of the lodge. I felt close to civilization.

My back was to the water because I was fumbling with a pile of sticks. I heard someone coming; I thought it was just someone who worked there, or a guest. I turned around to see what it was, but it wasn’t a who. It was a bear! Just about two yards from me!

A shiver went up my spine as cold as an icicle. I didn’t know what to do! I knew that with grizzly bears you are supposed to pretend to be dead, but I didn’t want to stick around with a grizzly bear! Who would?

So I ran. I ran terrified, not knowing if the bear might be following me. Did he see me? Was he just as scared of me as I was of him? I ran past a guest sitting on a bench. “Why are you running? she asked.

“There’s a bear on the beach!” I answered.

“There is!” she said. I couldn’t believe she said it like that. She sounded so excited to see the bear! Why isn’t she scared? Well, I thought, that’s what she came to see, but not me.

I ran all the way to my cabin, wondering what my mom would say. But when I ran inside, I couldn’t believe it when my mom jokingly said, “You look like you’re running from a bear.” How could she know?

But when I said, “Yes,” her jaw dropped. Aha, she was surprised, too. After all this, I still have one question that hasn’t been answered. No, it’s not whether the bear saw me or not. It’s why did the chicken cross the road?

How could she know?

But when I said "Yes," her jaw dropped. A-ha -- she was surprised too.

• Shannon Petersen, 12, lives in Anchorage.