Bears

The bear's hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear's memory and renews his search with a vengeance.

Michael," says Karl, "there's a really big bear in the backyard." This is how three children meet Stillwater, a giant panda who moves into the neighborhood and tells amazing tales. To Addy he tells a story about the value of material goods. To Michael he pushes the boundaries of good and bad. And to Karl he demonstrates what it means to hold on to frustration.

With graceful art and simple stories that are filled with love and enlightenment, Jon Muth (and Stillwater the bear) present three ancient Zen tales that are sure to strike a chord in everyone they touch.

It befell that on the first day of Lent, Brother Hugo could not return his library book. The Abbot was most displeased. "Our house now lacks the comforting letters of St. Augustine, Brother Hugo. How did this happen?"

The precious book, it turns out, has been devoured by a bear, and so Hugo must replace it. Letter by letter and line by line the hapless monk crafts a new book, all the while being trailed by a hungry new friend who thinks that the words of St. Augustine are truly far sweeter than honey.