The bear was always solitary. He knew his land, and each aspect of it. He had an amazing memory of each pebble, each rock. He knew the trees the bushes. He also know the streams and the rivers. The bear would be able to walk many kilometres of his land and know exactly were he was. The bear knew where the best berry bushes were. He knew which strawberries were the ripest and which blueberries were the sweetest. He even knew which eddies had the biggest fish. Walking everyday, strolling through the bush and along the river bank there was pride in his land. Even as his feet thrashed through the bushes he felt secure and content. There was nothing else the bear wanted or needed.

The muskox was always solitary. He moved about his land with curiosity. He did not know the land well and travelled about with a sort of blind discovery. The muskox did not care to remember where he had been or where he was going. Each direction brought on a new discovery and surprise. The muskox would find a fresh batch of fireweed flowers and would eat through the field until he ended up somewhere else.

The raven was always solitary. She knew her land as she flew through the clouds and over the tree tops. The raven was above all a trickster. She could fly anywhere she wanted and see the world from the sky. It was not enough for the raven and she knew that if she wanted to live off the land without worry, she would need to do something about it.

The Raven went to the muskox and said
“Hello muskox. I have heard dangerous stories and I am here to protect you. All you need to do is listen to me. Do not anger the bear, if you eat from his special blueberry bush that looks like every other blueberry bush on the tundra. Do not eat from his special fireweed patch that resembles every other fireweed patch on the tundra. If you do, he will kill you and eat you.”

The Raven went to the bear and said.
“Hello bear. I have heard dangerous stories and I am here to protect you. The muskox is planning to destroy everything you know about the tundra. He wants to stomp on every bush until it is gone. He wants to knock over every tree, and dam every river and stream. The muskox wants to destroy everything you know about the tundra so that you no longer know where you are or where you are going.”

The muskox was so frightened that he was not able to eat. He did not go anywhere near the blueberry bushes. If the muskox happened across a fireweed patch, there was no choice but to turn away. He eventually grew so weak that he could no longer walk or move. He was starving, he was terrified.

The bear continued to walk through the forested tundra that he knew so well. Keeping an eye out for the muskox. In that moment the Raven swooped down and with a flap of her wings, trees started to fall down. The Raven flew over all the bushes and destroyed them all with the force of her wings as she flew overhead. The raven then swooped over the river and streams and damed them all.

The bear grew frightened as he noticed everything he knew was disappearing. What the raven had told him was coming true. he became angry and furious. He stomped the ground and searched for the muskox.

Once the bear saw the muskox in the distance, he slowly moved in let out a huge growl and took down the weak and tired Muskox. After he had killed him, he noticed that the muskox was weak, and tired. He could not have done the damage to his forest. The bear knew in that moment that he had been tricked by the Raven. He grew sad because his forest was gone and he had killed the muskox.

This is the story of how evil and trickery came into the world, why there are no more tress on the tundra and why muskox travel in packs. The story has been told, and now it cannot be taken back.

Reflection
I am not the creative type, therefore this was a little more difficult for me. I tried to come up with many ideas but I do not have much imagination beyond what I already know. This story was adapted from a fable called the Lion and the Ox from Kalila wa Dimna an ancient Muslim text. I adapted my own characters and changed the story but it still has a similar premise. Two animals being tricked by another.

In terms of writing goes. It was difficult to write a story that is also meant to be read aloud. It was tough starting out the sentences without using He, she or the animal. I Would like some feedback and advice for that. Some research had gone into story telling, but I knew I just had to start writing.
I used the same sentence at the start of many paragraphs several times to convey a storytellers voice. I thought it would read aloud better when there is some consistency but I am willing to take advice on how to work that better.

Thank you.
MM

Sources

Atıl, Esin. Kalila Wa Dimna: Fables From a Fourteenth-century Arabic Manuscript. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981

Charles Parrott. “On Telling Tales and The Art of Storytelling.” Storytelling, Self, Society, vol. 10, no. 2, 2014, pp. 258–262. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.13110/storselfsoci.10.2.0258.

Lunde, Paul. Kalila wa Dimna. Muslim Heritage.http://muslimheritage.com/article/kalila-wa-dimna