Big Bear Lu and Micky

 

Big Bear Lu was the biggest bear in the whole Greenville Zoo.  The children from towns around came to the zoo in the Spring,when Big Bear Lu woke up from his winter's hibernation.  Big Lu was the most popular attraction because he had a friend, Micky, the monkey, who lived with him.  Micky loved to run all over Big Lu and especially sit on top of his head and scratch behind big Lu's ears. It made the children laugh seeing Micky, the monkey  playing with Big Bear Lu.

Early one morning when the zoo keeper came to feed Big Lu and Micky, they both were missing.  Oh, no,they had escaped in the night and no one knew where they were. The zoo keeper pulled the alarm and the police department responded within minutes. The TV reporters arrived with their cameras and put out a detailed description of the two animals. Everyone in the town were on the lookout for the two run-a-ways.  They were sure that if they found one, they would find the other.  Micky and Big Bear Lu were loyal and devoted to each other. They were the best of friends.  Where do you think they went?

For the next few days the police and zoo keepers looked everywhere.  They looked under under dry dead debris, old barns and sheds,  but they couldn't find them anywhere. Because they had been gone so long, everyone was getting scared because they knew that Big Lu and Micky hadn't eaten for days and would probably be looking for food in trash cans. It was getting very dangerous for the town's people, so the police rode up and down the street calling out on their loud speakers, "Stay inside until they are found "

But there was ONE PLACE where they hadn't looked.  Could Big Bear Lu and Micky find their way back to  the Green Forest? It wouldn't  especially be the best home for Micky, but he loved Big Bear Lu, so he knew that they should be together. The zoo keeper thought that if he made a bear trap that he could capture Big Bear Lu. As the police and zoo keepers started into the Green Forest, they notice Big Lu's huge bear foot prints.  He had to be in there, but where? The Zoo keepers set the trap and left. The next day they went out to the Green Forest hoping to find the animals, but the trap was empty and the food was eaten.  How did that happen?  The zoo keepers were stunned.  They couldn't believe how the food could be eaten and yet they were not caught.

 You will never believe what happened the following week. Early Monday morning just after the zoo opened, when the zoo keeper was getting ready to feed the bears, to his surprise, there was BIG BEAR LU with MICKY perched on his head.   During the night the two animals had eaten the food in the bear trap and decided to make their way back to the zoo.  The zoo keeper was so happy to see Big Bear Lu that he give him a big hug and three extra pieces of meat. Micky fared well with his own  bunch of bananas.  From what I understand , every Spring, just after Big Bear Lu comes out of hibernation, the zoo keeper allows both Big Lu and Micky to take a short vacation in the Green forest. Food is provided, while they enjoy all their little forest friends before they they head back to the Greenville  Zoo.