Every morning, Burt gathered honey. But all the gathering didn't leave any time for his family. They liked to get together by Redwood Creek to enjoy breakfast and smell all the enchanting flowers in the valley. But Burt was always too busy to join.
"Come smell the flowers with us, Burt!" they'd shout.
"The daffodils are divine!"
"The lilacs are lovely!"
"The forget-me-nots are unforgettable!"
In the rolling hills of California's Yosemite Valley lived Burt, the Busiest Bear. Burt could always be found roaming the great valley, gathering honey to store in his cave.
He found it in high places...
...low places...
...leafy places...
...and upside-downy places.
Every morning, Burt gathered honey. But all the gathering didn't leave any time for his family. They liked to get together by Redwood Creek to enjoy breakfast and smell all the enchanting flowers in the valley. But Burt was always too busy to join.
"Come smell the flowers with us, Burt!" they'd shout.
"The daffodils are divine!"
"The lilacs are lovely!"
"The forget-me-nots are unforgettable!"
They reminded Burt that soon the big freeze would come, and then he wouldn't be able to smell the flowers anymore. But Burt politely declined and went on searching for honey.
In high places...
...low places...
...hard-to-balance places...
...and underwatery places.
Then one morning, Burt emerged from his cave to find the whole valley covered in ice. Burt felt a heavy sadness. The big freeze had come and he never got to smell the flowers. No divinely scented daffodils. No lovely lilacs. No unforgettable forget-me-nots.
He sat on the cold floor of his cave, surrounded by jars and jars of honey but no one to share them with.
As he watched the snowflakes fall gently to the ground, Burt had a thought. He may have missed his chance to smell the flowers, but it wasn't too late to spend time with the bears he cared about.
Burt got to his feet, grabbed as much honey as he could carry, and headed off into the valley. He trudged through the ice and snow till he reached the edge of the creek, where his family was sitting on a frozen flowerbed, trying to keep warm.
"Hello, Burt!" they shouted. "About time you joined us!" Burt smiled and sat down among the bears. He shared his honey, and they all had a most wonderful breakfast, told silly jokes, and sang even sillier songs.
As Burt laughed and joked and sang, he began to feel something he hadn't felt in a long time... The warmth of togetherness.
It felt like his heart was being wrapped in a comfy old blanket.
Then a curious thing happened. The warmth Burt felt inside started to pour out of him.
It melted the snow and ice. First nearby, then faraway, like magic. Until the whole valley was green as a spring morning.
"The daffodils are divine! The lilacs are lovely! The forget-me-nots are unforgettable!"
The enchanting scents swirled around the bears like invisible kites, and Burt’s heart overflowed with joy.
And so, on that day, as the bears danced in the sun, Burt decided that life is a journey. And that journeys aren't meant to be traveled alone.