King bear and Phunkle

The bear was awakened by the tantalizing smell of food. ‘King’ Bear, as he referred to himself, was hungry and confused after his hibernation. His name, in bear language, was not translatable to human. So King he was. He rumbled, growled and sniffed his way to fully awake. King rose, shaking his head, looking all around, trying to remember where he was. In his winter cave or as he called it, his ‘winter quarters’. If there was any other critter in the cave, his sniffing, slobbering and growling was sure to warn them he was awake and hungry. Be aware, King was on the prowl.

Big Daddy Phunk (Melvin Phunkle) was a hunter. He imagined himself as the greatest hunter of north America. This year he was a winner in the drawing for a bear license. A bear was exactly what he was going to get. He wanted a bear rug. He was willing to brave the wild to get it. Only a fresh one would be acceptable. No more old or imitation bear rugs for him, no sir. Be aware, Big Daddy was on the prowl.
 
There was a morning chill in the air. King was not affected. He still had a thick coat of fur. Prime fur. He was hungry. He rumbled to the mouth of the cave. Looking first one way, then the other, he sniffed about. Not finding what woke him, he padded outside. still sniffing and looking about. He raised up on his hind legs. It felt good to stretch. If he could have smiled he would have. He was a large bear. He had added some height over the winter. Over the past year he had added some weight. Soon, very soon he would challenge for the rights to a female bear. For Now, there it was. That awakening smell. Faint, tantalizing food smell. The smell tickled his faint memory. It smelled like----BACON! He was now fully awake. He dropped to all fours. He was on his way to find the food.
 
Big Daddy was on a hunting trip in the northern part of the state. He was with his best friend and neighbor, Elmer Phud. Elmer was not licensed to hunt bear, just mule deer. Elmer was nowhere in sight, having decided to sleep in. Today he was traveling along a wooded ridge, on higher terrain. He had his trusty rifle, knife and snacks. This included a LBT (lettuce, bacon and tomato) sandwich. He was prepared for any bear that had the misfortune to be spotted. He was a crack shot, having trained as a sniper. A crack woodsman,having been trained by Elmer.
 
King followed the bacon smell. It lead him across boulder strewn ravines and wooded hill sides. Sometimes he lost the smell. Those times he rose to his hind feet sniffing and found the trail. He came across a rotten log. He dug into the log looking for food. Grubs and insects qualified as food to a hungry bear. He spend some time at the log.
 
Big Daddy spotted a large boulder in the near distance. He decided the boulder would make a nice stop for a snack break. He set out for it. He exited the wood cover and crossed a ravine.
 
King had enough of the grubs. The smell of bacon was nearer. With his dim eye sight, he spotted a large boulder in the near distance. The food seemed to be traveling toward the boulder.
  
Big Daddy arrived at the boulder. He sat his rifle down against a small nearby log. He sat down on the sunny side of the boulder. He took out the LBT, unwrapped it, started to eat it. He finished the sandwich, dug a hole, buried the wrappings and all signs of his short meal. Satisfied, he once again set out to find a bear.
 
At that very moment, King, slobbering with the anticipation of bacon, reached the bolder on the shady side. He looked around. Saw nothing. Smelled nothing. The smell of bacon was gone! He stood up on his hind legs. Turned his head to the left. Nothing. Turned his head to the right. Just missed seeing the greatest hunter of north America disappear into the brush. This was confusing. Having lost the food smell, he wondered off in search of grubs. 
          
Big Daddy did not see nor shoot a bear. He arrived back at camp to find Elmer frying some deer steaks they had brought along on the trip. He allowed how the bear hunting was poor this year. No sign of bear anywhere. Elmer said he had a nice nap with the same hunting result. That evening they packed up for the trip home.
 
King came into bear manhood that year, challenged for and won a female. He populated the woods with his offspring until a few years later, having aged and just about blind, walked off the edge of a cliff. Not good for him. The cliff felt nothing. A year after the cliff incident, Big Daddy, on yet again another hunting trip, found the bones of a bear at the bottom of a cliff. Allowing as how he never shot a bear, he rescued the skull and currently displays it over his home fireplace.