Soldier Bear by Bibi Dumon Tak

Author:Bibi Dumon Tak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Published: 2013-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

The men of the 22nd Company of the 2nd Polish Corps lined up the trucks in a long chain, all the way to the store. They passed the heavy ammunition down the line. Voytek stood watching everything from a distance for a while and then ran over to Peter and Stanislav and took up position between them in the line.

“What’s that bear up to now?” Stanislav said with a sigh.

“Oh, no. I think he wants to help,” Peter said.

“No chance,” Stanislav replied. “I can accept him coming with us, but we can’t let him carry this stuff. If he drops anything, he’ll blow us sky high.”

Peter looked at Stanislav in surprise.

“What’s up with you?” he asked. “Ever since we got to Italy, you haven’t been your usual cheerful self.”

Stanislav shrugged.

“You’re not scared, are you?” Peter continued.

“Of course not,” Stanislav said. “Just keep on passing those shells.”

Peter looked thoughtfully at Stanislav, but not for too long, because the next shell was already coming down the line. Peter took it from his neighbor and carried it over to Voytek. Voytek then took it from Peter and waddled over to Stanislav. And Stanislav just took it and shook his head and passed it on to Pavel, who gave it to Janusz, who gave it to Lolek, and so on and so on.

Everything was going fine until suddenly a buzz ran down the line. A group of men walked over, with a senior officer in the middle. Every man who wasn’t holding an artillery shell jumped to attention. The officer saluted the soldiers, but then he suddenly froze.

His jaw dropped and his face went white. This senior officer was in fact the commander of the battalion. But, for just one moment, he forgot all his rank insignia and decorations, his discipline and level-headedness, because, standing there, right in front of him, was a great big bear, well over six feet tall. And the bear was holding a huge explosive device in its paws.

“What is the meaning of this?” he yelled.

All of the soldiers froze on the spot. Not even Stanislav and Peter knew what to say.

“Well? I’m waiting for an explanation!” the commander roared.

Another deathly silence.

“Well?”

Lolek took a step forward. “Sir,” he began, “we understand your concern, but I assure you that this bear is tame. He’s officially listed as a private with the 2nd Polish Corps. He received his training in the Middle East and he’s a valued and experienced member of our transport company. You certainly don’t have anything to fear from him and, given the look on your face, we hope he doesn’t have anything to fear from you.”

When he’d finished speaking, Lolek took a step back. For a moment, the only sound was the rattling of machine guns on the front.

Then the commander cleared his throat and announced that there was no way he could permit such irresponsible behavior.

“I understand that, sir,” Lolek said, taking a step forward, “but we need all of the strength we can get right now, whether it’s manpower or bearpower.

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