The story of two bears
Once upon a time in a lush green jungle there lived two bears called Sloth and Sun.
One day, while foraging for food the two bears met. Although they were each a different species of bear, they found they had much in common and quickly became good friends.
Their friendship grew so strong that they decided they could not be apart, so they found a comfortable place for them to live right within the centre of the thick strong branches of the tallest, oldest tree in the jungle.
Their home was comfortable and the envy of all their bear friends. Their friends Brown, Polar and Koala would comment on how wonderful Sloth and Sun's home was, and their comfy dwelling among the thick branches became known to many as the best home in the jungle.
But Sloth was not satisfied. Although their home was so perfect, he would gaze wistfully at the branches further from the trunk.
"It would be so much more exciting living out there on those limbs," he thought to himself.
Occasionally, he would tell Sun about how he thought living on the far limbs would be better, but Sun thought nothing of it as they both well knew that no bear could live on those far limbs safely.
Sloth and Sun continued to live in their home within the thick branches of the tallest, oldest tree in the jungle. Sometimes twigs would break off from above them and fall on their heads, and sometimes the wind would blow so strong that they thought they would fall; but their house remained steady and they were happy.
One day when Sun was foraging in the jungle for food, Sloth decided to venture out onto one of the far limbs. Tentatively at first, he took a step out. He knew that he should tell Sun what he was doing, but she wasn't there so he kept going - another step then another step. To his amazement, he realised that it was not so difficult to walk on the limb! He certainly had to be more careful, but his front paws that turned inwards were actually perfect for walking out on limbs.
When Sun returned Sloth told her all about his venture out onto that far branch. By this time he had reached a very significant decision.
"Sun," he said, "I have realised that out on the far branches is where I am meant to live. I could not live anywhere else and if you want to live with me you will have to live out on the far limbs too."
Sun was shocked at first as she had not realised it was possible, but she decided to at least try it because she did not want to live apart from Sloth.
Tentatively - even more so than Sloth had when he first tried - she took a step out. She wobbled a bit and saw the ground so very far away. Impatiently, Sloth stood several metres away. Sun's paws did not turn inwards as Sloth's did so she did not find it so easy, but Sloth didn't understand that.
"Sloth," said Sun, "If you want me to join you out on that limb, you will have to help me learn how to balance like you."
Sloth then realised that he had to help Sun along the way. He walked towards her, steady on his feet, and offered his paw to her. At first Sun could only take a few steps out, but as she practiced more and more with Sloth's help, she learned how to balance more steadily. Sloth too was learning and after a long time they could both balance confidently.
One day, not long after the limb had started to become more comfortable, Sloth and Sun realised that they had changed and didn't have as much in common as they used to. They decided to live in separate trees, and although they were sad about this, they knew it was for the best and promised that they would still forage for food together.
A few days after they parted, Sun was passing by their old tree. Nostalgically she looked up and what she saw gave her the greatest shock - the limb they had been living on had been chopped off. Where it used to be was a note from Sloth. It said "I've gone back to living in the centre, thick branches. It's better."
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Should Sun feel:
- A) Anger towards herself for not making their home in the thick branches better?
- B) Hateful towards Sloth? Or
- C) Somewhat ripped off with a healthy amount of anger directed at Sloth?