Bear Hug

Hesitantly, Ty stepped forward. The hesitation was less about the bear and more about the plants that the bear was trying to feed her. She felt like plants weren't supposed to be eaten. Food was meat. Rabbits were food. And so were deer. Except for her friends. They were different kind of rabbits and deer. Ty wasn't sure she could explain it if anybody asked, but thankfully, nobody had ever asked.

The big ol' bear set the branch in front of her, and Tytonidae began chewing on a leaf. Clearly, she was having hard time of it. Just as soon as she had chomped down once, she spit the leaf out. “That’s horrid!” she exclaimed. “How do you eat that?”

Sheila explained, eventually, that they were supposed to eat the not-leaf parts. They were little round spheres that burst in her mouth when she bit into them. Curious, indeed. At some point, though, Ty had to return home, and she did just that, excited to tell her father all about Shelia.