The cub had heard of the Raven many times before from his father and the other friendly animals in their tribe, in the stories they would tell at night around the fire, but he had never seen it himself.  He once asked Father if the Raven was a male or female, and Father simply told him it didn’t matter.

In the village there was a great totem that stood in the center, and it had at the bottom a bear, then above was a raven, and at the top was a Thunderbird.  He knew Thunderbirds couldn’t be real, because he had never seen one.  On the other hand, he knew bears live on the ground and ravens live in the air, so maybe Thunderbirds live even higher, beyond the sky and in the stars.

The cub looked up and around the blue skyline.  He saw clouds and the Sun, several white-capped mountains and eagles, but he did not see any ravens.  He started to wonder if the stories about it were merely symbolic, but he decided to save that question for another day.

One day they were both walking in the mountains and looking for fresh berries.  They emerged from a clump of trees and surprised a few of the tribe’s children that were involved in some troublesome behavior.  Father’s eyes narrowed and he frowned at them, then told them that they should know better.

The children’s heads lowered and they apologized as they immediately started walking back to the village.  Father often had to discipline other children for acting or behaving as he did not expect of them.  The cub noticed that many of the other animals in the forest wouldn’t teach these things to their children.  They would instead leave their children on their own, to decide what is right and wrong, or how they should behave.

Very often the little cub was envious of these other children.  He saw how they were allowed to do and behave as they wished.  They always seemed to be enjoying themselves, although they did seem to also get into a lot of trouble.  The cub knew that his father was the King of the land, and that all animals would do as he asked.  He knew that if his father demanded that animals would raise their children to follow rules on how to raise their children, or if he ordered them to attend gatherings that taught them important lessons on the history of past Kings that they would follow his orders.

The cub knew how important it was to his father that children be educated on how to behave and that they grow up to be good and kind animals.  He was confused then as to why his father didn’t force all the animals to do as he say, and order them to be good and kind.

One day, when the cub saw that his father was in a good and happy mood, he decided to ask him why he didn’t command all the animals to raise their children in the same way that he was raising himself.  His father looked at him and smiled, proud that his son had made such an observation at a young age.

Like many of the answers that the cub would receive during his years with this father, he was given a task instead of an answer.  His father told him that he himself would find the answer to this question one day, and when he did he would find the key to unlocking the doors of a thousand riddles.  The cub was completely flabbergasted by this answer (he knew “flabbergasted“ was an impressive word that meant confused, so he liked to use it in his stories once in a while).  He pressed his father to explain himself, but as usual Father was immovable and told him to leave it be with the answer that he had received. 

The cub was as stubborn as any bear had ever been, so he kept on bothering his father to explain his answer further.  It was only when Father feigned shock at the beautiful Northern Lights that appeared later that night that the cub would finally abandon the subject.

They settled down beneath the glowing green and purple sky and watched the colors dance above them until they fell asleep.

That night the cub had a terrible nightmare.  He dreamt that he was alone in a different forest, and he was all by himself.  He dreamt that he was being chased and attacked by all types of animals that he had not seen before.  He dreamt that they captured him and did things to him that he would not wish to be shared with anyone.

He awakened after this nightmare, his eyes full of tears and his body shaking with sadness.  He was so relieved to see that the experience was a dream.  He looked at his father sleeping next to him, breathing deeply in and out, and he knew that he would be okay.  He rolled over and into his fathers chest before he soon fell asleep again.

When they both awoke in the morning the cub decided to not tell his father about his dream.  He worried that he'd get emotional and sad if he had to remember it, so he would instead keep it hidden away in his memory where it couldn't hurt them.

He followed his father to the river where they would fish together for salmon.  During the hike down the mountain the cub watched his father more closely than he had in the past.  He admired his strength and power, but he also noticed a few scars on his fur, close to his left rear leg that he had never noticed before.

He asked Father if those scars were new.  Father replied that they were not, that they were in fact quite old.  Little Bear knew they were not there the day before, but he decided to not correct his father.  It would sound rude to disagree with him.

Three nights later the two again chose to sleep under the Northern Lights.  The cub had been thinking about his dream, and he had realized that he always had intense and vivid dreams when he slept under the magical colors at night like this.  He had thought hard about this for three days, so he knew what he'd do on this night.  The little cub had never been easy to put to sleep, so he knew Father would be asleep before he would.

Once Father was asleep, which really only took a few minutes, the cub rolled over so that he was facing his father and his father’s deep breaths would wash over his little face.  With great effort, he then lifted his father’s large right paw up and onto himself, so that he could feel the weight of it on his small chest while he slept.  This was much better.  He definitely wouldn’t have a nightmare while protected like this.

The cub fell asleep again, and this time he had a wonderful dream.  He dreamt that he was back in the same forest where he had been attacked, which initially frightened him, but this time he was welcomed and adored by all the animals.  Despite recognizing some of the animals as being the ones that had attacked him in the previous dream, they were loving and kind to him this time.  They all welcomed him and told him how happy they were that he was there.  They offered him kindness and love.  They asked him to give them knowledge, and when he spoke they all listened very closely.

This dream was much more enjoyable than the previous one, and it was understandable that the cub was even a little disappointed when it came to an end.

When he awakened he was where he had been with his father when he last fell asleep, but alone.  The warm Fall sun was heating his fur, and it felt warm and comforting.  The air was light and cold, and a gentle breeze was gliding across the meadow, causing the blooming fireweed to bend over towards him.  For a moment he saw them not as plants, but as all the forest animals in his dream, bowing towards him in appreciation and kindness.

He blinked his eyes a few times and regained his senses.  His eyes regained focus and he lifted his head, sniffing the friendly breeze to see if anyone was near.  He smelled his father nearby.  He didn’t notice the Raven nearby, perched in a spruce tree.