by Anna Cuffaro
They started on their journey again. There were helicopters circling over their heads everywhere. The bears enjoyed watching them. The sound of helicopters seemed to get louder. Suddenly, a deafening gun shot was heard. It was so loud that it made the bears jump, and then tremble with fright. They huddled up together, lay down on the grass against the mountain face, and held Little Sister’s suitcase in front of them for protection. They waited and waited for a long time, until they were certain there was no longer any danger. They had heard no more shots and the helicopters had flown away.
The sun was going down, the evening breeze began to ruffle the bears’ fur. The last train down to the valley had left. The bears had no idea how far the cave was. Neither did our bears realise how dangerous mountains were. Gatwick had only lived at Gatwick Airport and Little Sister on a shelf – they were totally clueless. They had no idea that the temperature fell sharply at night, that creatures could freeze to death. The Alps were snow-capped all the year round. Even when the temperature in the valley was scorching hot, the ice and snow still hugged the tips of the mountains.
The two bears were still marching along the mountain path until hardly a ray of light beamed from the sky. Night time had fallen by the time they finally reached the cave. They poked their heads in. It was pitch black in there. All they could do was to tread carefully, find a spot to sleep on, and hold each other’s hand while they waited for the morning sun to rise. Gatwick managed to feel his way with his wooden spoon; he clung to it for good luck. Little Sister was even too scared to cry. Gatwick thought they should try and sleep where they were instead of walking further into the cave. There might be pot holes, or deep water wells, or prowling animals, or slimy reptiles, or creepy insects, or all sorts of nasties deeper in the cave. They needed to sleep and to be fresh in the morning to walk all the way back to the little train station.
So, they lay on the hard ground, side by side, trying not to let the slightest noise worry them. The clouds moving in front of the moon were projecting sinister silvery shadows through the entrance and on to the walls of the cave. Suddenly, Little Sister felt someone was lurking there, near her. She could feel a gaze on her, and thought she heard breathing. She sat up and turned around, all she saw were two white eyeballs glowing at her in the dark. Slowly, they were moving nearer towards her until they were right there in front of her. Then she felt a gentle stroke on one of her shoulders, then another stroke on her other shoulder. She was being gripped. Little Sister was petrified. A strange voice asked: “Who are you?”
Little Sister couldn’t speak. So Gatwick answered: “Please don’t harm us. We’re only two little peaceful cubs”.
“What are you doing here?”, the voice continued.
“We wanted to visit this cave. We didn’t realise it was so far, and arrived here when it was nearly night time. So we couldn’t go back because we couldn’t see our way in the dark”. Gatwick found the courage to ask a question: “Are you the Brown Bear?”
“Who told you about the Brown Bear?” the voice asked back.
“We met some cows, they told us that everyone thought that the Brown Bear was on Emerald Mountain”.
“I’m not that Brown Bear. He was shot and killed late this afternoon”.
“Who are you then? Please tell us”.
Little Sister was freed from the grip. “I’m his widow: Mother Brown”.
Mother Brown had been frightened out of her skin, too. But, now she let all her feelings burst out and told the little bears her story:
“I’m an Italian bear. Gilbert moved from England to Italy when we got married. We were living peacefully and happily on the highest of all the Italian mountain tops. We loved nature so much: the wild flowers, the smell of the rain... During the day we would go hunting for food: nuts and berries to store away; and in the evenings we would sit together and look up at the birds and the changing colours of the sky... Then, we started roaming further, as you do. Had we known that it is illegal to cross the border, we certainly would not have come here. One mountain looked like another to us. I don’t think we realised how far we walked that day. You can imagine our joy when we found this cave. Well, it was a ready-made home, somewhere we could settle down and have cubs. We didn’t want to start a family until we had a cosy home”.
“So, you don’t have any cubs?” Gatwick asked.
“No, unfortunately, we didn’t have any”, Mother Brown said. “As I was saying we moved and started by doing the place up. When daylight comes, you will see how much work has gone into decorating our new den. We even built a secret extension round the back”.
“But what happens when tourists visit the cave during the day? Don’t they see you?”
“Oh, no! We were always out of the den when the first little train arrived in the morning, and we came back here when the last train left”.
“It’s a lovely place, Mother Brown”, said Little Sister.
“Yes, well, we liked it here”, Mother Brown said. “We later found out that Swiss shepherds are very protective of their sheep. They thought we would kill their sheep. Really, they needn’t have worried because we don’t eat mutton or lamb. There are no protection laws for bears here. Every day they would comb the area but didn’t find us, until, this afternoon...” Mother Brown started sobbing as she spoke, “until... this afternoon... we were spotted by patrols. Someone shot him and took his body away. My poor, poor, Bertie, how could they do such a thing to him? Men are so cruel, so cruel”.
“We’re so sorry”, said the little bears together.
“Please, don’t cry, Mother Brown, you’ve got us now”, Gatwick comforted her. “You know, we don’t have a mother, so we must have lost her, or she lost us. That is, a family is made up of parents and cubs. I’m a cub, and Little Sister is a cub. You don’t have cubs, and we don’t have a mother. So logic tells me that you must be our mother and Bertie was our father”.
“Oh, Gatwick and Little Sister, this must be the saddest and happiest day in my life. I have lost a husband, but I’ve found two cubs to look after. Thank you, Gatwick. What you have just said is so true. Now that you’ve told me, I know I am your mother. Please call me ‘Mama’”. She liked the sound of that. “Let’s get some sleep now darlings, I am so tired”.
The three bears slept for a few hours. But soon, the sun started rising slowly in the distance from behind the mountains opposite. Gatwick woke up first, then he woke Little Sister and Mama. They had to leave the cave because the train would be coming up the mountain soon with its first load of tourists.
22 The Hideout
Before leaving Little Sister admired the colour scheme of Mama’s interior design: lime-green and pink. What good taste Mama had! They left the cave, with what was left of their luggage. Gatwick went out first but he didn’t know where to go. “We need to hide”, whispered Mama Brown. “The hunters probably don’t know I exist but, if someone sees me and tells them, they will be after me. I know a place where we can go. It is a hard climb, but worth it. Nobody else, apart from Bertie and I, know if its existence. Or, should I say ‘knew’ in the case of Bertie?” and she started sobbing again.
“Please, Mama, we love you dearly!” said Little Sister.
“And we’ll look after you!” added Gatwick.
Mama cheered up a little to hear such tender words. She went on: “The place is very difficult to reach but it is so secluded that it can’t even be seen from the air. There’s a little sparkling blue lake up there: Bertie’s and mine – our secret lake – now it’s yours too”.
Gatwick could not hide his excitement. At last, he would have the chance to go fishing with his rod. He was a bit of a show off when he was fishing. He loved to have an audience, Little Sister and Mama could watch and admire him. They could go: “Ooooh”, when he caught fish. With that in mind the climb didn’t seem as tiring as it would have done otherwise.
It was true. The lake was simply stunning, it sparkled like Little Sister’s diamonds in the morning sun. The
ripples moved gently, and softly lapped against the banks. All around, they were surrounded by the deepest silence – not a whisper. The shadows on the lake and green, green mountains made gliding patterns, which Little Sister and Mama watched intently as they breathed in the freshness of the morning air and felt the warmth of the day’s new sunny beams on their bodies. What delight! Gatwick had already begun fishing.
At midday, they ate a trout each, which Gatwick had caught amid much joy (and showing off). When tea-time came around, they indulged in a box of chocolates between them, followed by the berries and nuts Mama had brought up with her in her apron pocket. They were a new-found family. They were happy.
It was nearly time for the last train to go down. Mama could tell the time by the length of the shadows spreading down across the valleys. Soon all the tourists would leave; the mountains would be all theirs again. They could go back to their den. Slowly, but surely, they made their way back following Mama down the winding and dusty track. She was an expert mountaineer – only she knew the way. So many were the bends and tracks shooting off in all directions that keeping to the right pathway meant expert knowledge. Neither Gatwick nor Little Sister had any hope of remembering the way. They finally arrived back in their cave and Mama started getting dinner ready. That evening she would make blackberry crumble like she used to make for Bertie. He had loved blackberry crumble because it brought back fond memories of his native England.
Stirring was another of Gatwick’s favourite activities, so he ran to get his wooden spoon because he wanted to do all the stirring that there was to do. Soon Gatwick had flour all over his head and waistcoat. Mama sent him out of the kitchen and ordered him to go out to play for a while. She would call him when dinner was ready.
23 Gatwick Goes Out to Play
Gatwick was fascinated by the helicopters buzzing around in the evening sky. He started jumping around waving his wooden spoon and shouting “Hello”. Then, he ran and ran, trying to chase them. He had gone a long way from the cave without realising it. Where was he? Now he started getting a bit worried. But, the helicopters were coming his way; they were moving the air so much that all Gatwick’s fur blew back, he nearly lost his grip on his wooden spoon as he fell over backwards. One of the helicopters landed. A man in uniform marched up to him. “Gatwick, we know it’s you. Don’t resist us. Drop your wooden spoon and put your paws behind your head, then get up very slowly”. Gatwick did exactly as he was told. He had no idea what was happening. He had never seen these men before. What did they want? Maybe they would like to take him for a ride in their helicopter. The men ordered Gatwick to get into their helicopter and to sit still. One of them picked up his wooden spoon and threw it in the helicopter. They were taking him to the police headquarters where he would be questioned by the Chief of Police. The helicopter took off in a straight line and then headed off towards the City. When they arrived, Gatwick was thrown into a prison cell.
Gatwick sat there with his wooden spoon for quite a long time, but nobody came. He started thinking about his Little Sister and his Mama – how worried they’d be! And, he also started thinking about the blackberry crumble he didn’t get around to eating. The eyes in his round head went watery. Little Sister said that litter louts could end up in prison because they were not civilised. She was so right.
Mama and Little Sister had finished making blackberry crumble. It had a mouth-watering light-brown sugar crust on it. Mama waited for it to cool down and then drizzled more caster sugar over it. What a finishing touch! Mama was an excellent cook: “Go and call Gatwick, will you, Little Sister. Both of you, go and wash your paws then come and have supper”.
Little Sister put her head out of the cave door and shouted: “Gatwick, supper’s ready! Dinner’s ready!”, she waited a moment for his reply. Nothing, only the silence of the brooding mountains. “Gatwick, please stop messing around. Come on!” Again, there was no answer. It was evening, and the sun had already started moving down behind the mountains. Little Sister went a short way along the stony track and called again. No answer. She rushed back home, crying as she went, to tell Mama.
“Mama! Mama! I can’t find Gatwick!”
“All right, now; don’t panic. I’m sure he’ll come back soon. He’s probably just playing somewhere, hasn’t realised how time has passed”. But, Mama was worried. After what had happened to Bertie, she couldn’t help being on edge.
“What if he’s been shot, like our dad, Bertie?”, Little Sister cried out.
“Don’t say such silly things. We haven’t heard any shots. No, he hasn’t been shot”.
“Look, you stay here and don’t move. I’ll go further down the track, and see if I can find him”.
After what seemed like an eternity, Mama came back – without Gatwick. Mama and Little Sister were too worried to eat. In fact, they were sick with worry. Mama took Little Sister into her arms, sat down, placed her on her lap, and cuddled her tight. “Everything will be all right”, she said. But, night was now closing in over the mountain and creeping into the cave. Mama thought that Gatwick was surely lost. The problem was that at that height spending a night on the open mountains could mean freezing to death. And, Gatwick was only wearing a waistcoat, really not warm enough. Neither did he have anything to drink or eat with him.
24 Questioning
The Chief Inspector arrived and asked Gatwick if he’d like a drink.
“Could I have a fizzy drink, please?”
“Of course. Constable, can you bring us a couple of fizzy drinks, please?”
“Right you are, sir”, and off the constable went.
“So, Gatwick, I suppose you know why you’re here?”
“Yes, sir. I’m so sorry. I haven’t been very civilised. I promise I will never ever do it again”.
“Yes, well, it’s a bit late for that”.
“I know it was naughty. But, you can be sure that I regret it very much”.
“Are you willing to sign a statement that you are guilty?”
“Yes, sir, I’m guilty. I can’t hide that”.
“No, you can’t because we have CCTV images of you and your accomplice in front of the bank”.
“Sorry, sir. What does ‘accomplice’ mean?
“It means that...”, the constable came in with the fizzy drinks. The Chief Inspector went on: “It means that there was someone with you who helped you commit the crime”.
“Oh, no, no, you can’t blame Little Sister. I take all the blame, Inspector”.
“So, it’s your sister, is it? Keep it all in the family, eh?”
Gatwick had lost him. He didn’t know what to say so didn’t answer but started sipping his fizzy drink instead. The Inspector asked Gatwick if he’d like something to eat.
“Yes, please”, he replied. “A tuna sandwich and ice-cream would be nice”. Reference to food made Gatwick think of Mama, Little Sister and blackberry crumble. Tears came to his eyes.
“Well, it’s no good crying now, is it? You should have thought about that before committing the crime”, said the Inspector.
“If you let me go, I will clean up all the streets of the City”.
“So, you think you are going to get away with community service, do you?”
“Sorry, sir; you tell me what to do”.
“First things first, I want to talk to Little Sister. We will get her! But for the time-being maybe you can tell me if she helped you plan it”.
“Plan it! Oh, no, sir, it just happened, it wasn’t planned”.
“Did she try to stop you?”
“No, she didn’t realise I’d done it at the time. When she did, she gave me such a telling off. She said I wasn’t civilised”.
“So, why didn’t she call the police?”
“Because she thought a telling off was enough”.
The constable came in with the tuna sandwich and ice-cream. Placed the food in front of Gatwick, who finished it all off in no time.
“You say you’re ready to sign a confession; is
that right?”
“That’s right, Inspector. When I’ve finished my fizzy drink”.
“I see, when you finish your fizzy drink... In the meantime, can you tell me where your little sister is now?”
Gatwick nearly choked on his drink: “She’s... I can’t tell you”. He couldn’t let Little Sister be arrested, such a sensitive creature, she would despair. Anyway, she was civilised. Then, there was Mama. If anyone found out that she was up on Emerald Mountain, they would shoot her. Gatwick didn’t like telling lies, as an exception, just for this once, he had to.
“Because I don’t know”, Gatwick answered.
“When did you see her last?”
“Yesterday”.
“Where were you?”
“Sorry, I don’t remember”.
“You had better get yourself a lawyer, you badly need one”.
“What’s one of those?”, Gatwick asked.
“It’s a person who will defend you. Who can speak for you”.
“I don’t need anyone to defend me. I can defend myself, and I can speak for myself” and, with that, Gatwick drank the last of his drink: “I’ve finished”, he said.
“It’s your choice. OK, that’s it for today. You can sign the confession in the morning”. The Inspector left.
What was Gatwick to do now? Looking around him, he thought that this wasn’t quite like the Grand Hotel. There was a wooden bunk bed, a simple toilet, a small washbasin and a TV. He had better make the most of this. The top bunk seemed more exciting than the bottom one. So, Gatwick switched on the TV, climbed up the ladder, made himself comfortable and watched the news.