Forest of Wonders by Linda Sue Park

Author:Linda Sue Park
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

RAFFA gasped. A bear? The girl who had tamed a Forest bear—that was Kuma?

It was Garith who found his voice first. “I can’t believe it! Is it really tame? How did you do it?”

“No,” Kuma said. “She’s not tame. She’s a wild bear. The Forest is her home.”

Ansel looked at Kuma, his eyes bright with admiration. “We heard the rumors,” he said, “but I never dreamed they could be true. What an amazing thing you’ve done.”

Kuma bowed her head at the compliment and seemed to relax a bit.

“Please tell us more,” Ansel said.

She was silent for a moment. “I was only four years old,” she began slowly. She went on to tell of a family outing to a meadow near the Forest. She had strayed away from the group and gotten lost. It had started to rain, and despite a frantic search, no one heard her cries as she wandered about for hours, wet, cold, alone, frightened.

“Then this huge bear came out,” Kuma said. “From the trees. I was too little to know any different. I just ran straight toward her.”

“Faults and fissures!” Trixin exclaimed.

“I don’t remember very much more,” Kuma admitted. “But she must have taken care of me. They found me days later, in the same meadow. My family could hardly believe I’d survived all those nights alone.”

She paused, then went on. “Except I wasn’t alone. As soon as I was old enough, I started going to the Forest to try to find her. And I finally did, when I was seven.” Another pause. “Or maybe it was she who found me. She made this lovely noise, ‘A-rooo, a-rooo,’ so I called her Roo. Ever since then we’ve spent . . . a lot of time together.”

“Amazing,” Uncle Ansel repeated.

“Such a story!” Trixin said.

“But where is she now?” Kuma’s voice quavered. “They took her from the Forest in a wagon. To the Commons, I heard them saying.” She looked at Ansel. “Please, will you help me find her?”

Raffa saw tears in Kuma’s eyes. He knew then that this bear meant even more to her than Echo did to him. His fear that Echo might be taken from him—Kuma was living that very nightmare with the bear, and his heart ached for her.

Ansel’s hesitation was so brief that Raffa thought he might have imagined it. “I know only that a bear was captured, nothing more. I will find out what I can.”

“Thank you,” Kuma whispered.

“Has anyone sent word to your family? I should have asked earlier.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s all right. They know—I mean, I’m often away from home, so they won’t be worried.”

That sounded odd to Raffa, and apparently to Ansel as well. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” she said. “I live with my aunt and uncle, but I stay in the Forest a lot. They’ll think I’m there now.”

After a pause, she added, “They have six children of their own. They’re not unkind but . . . it’s just easier for everyone when I’m not around.

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