In a picturesque mountain valley surrounded by lush green trees, filled with the sweet scent of blooming wildflowers, a cheerful little bear named Benny lived happily with his friends. Benny had the softest brown fur and the kindest heart but also carried a fear that sometimes made him feel lonely: he was afraid of deep water.
As the sun shone more brightly in the summer sky, the friends fixed their eyes on a juicy raspberry bush on the opposite side of a big river. Benny was counting on his friends Tilly the squirrel and Gilly the frog to help him cross the river.
“Let’s go!” said Tilly, her tiny paws twitching with excitement.
“But how will we get across the river?” asked Benny, his heart beating fast. Gilly, who loved playing in the water, jumped up and said, “Don’t be afraid, Benny! I’ll give you a lift on my back!”
However, when they reached the edge of the river, Benny’s courage began to melt away. The deep blue water splashing against the brown rocks looked frightening.
“Oh dear,” he cried, “what if I fall in? I might get swept away!”
“But I’m here, remember?” said Gilly, “Just hold on tight!” So with Tilly sitting in front and Benny behind, Gilly hopped into the river with a big splash. The water nearly reached Benny’s tummy, and he hugged Tilly tightly.
“It’s alright,” said Tilly, “just look at the other side and keep on holding on to Gilly!”
A big wave swept over Gilly’s head as he swam into the deeper side. Benny closed his eyes tightly and thought of happy things—a nice juicy raspberry to eat, or of his warm comfortable bed.
Before they knew it, they were at the riverbank, and Tilly hurried out, pulling Benny after her. But Gilly, who looked with his big bulging eyes at Benny, still kept on bobbing up and down in the water.
“Oh Gilly, I am so sorry,” cried Benny, looking absolutely miserable. “I was so frightened, I forgot you were in the water!” And without waiting for Tilly to help him, he rushed into the river, and swimming towards Gilly, caught him on his back and swam to the bank where Tilly was waiting.
“I didn’t mean to drown you, Gilly, dear Frog,” said Benny, rubbing his head against the side of Gilly to make him feel better.
“It was alright. You’re a little heavy, but it went splendidly,” Gilly replied.
“Oh look,” cried Tilly, “the raspberry bush has a lovely cluster of fruit! And now all I want to do is to dry myself in the sun!” And off she hurried to a sunny stone while Benny and Gilly collected raspberries for her.
“I say, Gilly, that wasn’t half so bad as I thought it was going to be,” said Benny, as he stuffed his mouth with fruit.
“Oh, I just knew that you could swim alright,” replied Gilly.
“You did?” said Benny, looking very pleased.
“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have suggested you getting on my back,” he continued.
“You dear frog,” laughed Benny, “I hope we are always the best of friends!”
“Well, that of course depends on how you behave,” said Gilly seriously.
Benny took no notice of the joke, but looked at Gilly happily as he jogged along by his side, right on to the bank of the river leading into the evening garden.
No matter how old we grow, we can never forget that animals are always animals, and that deep love is possible between man and man as well as between man and animals. But let us hope that the difference in age may be counterbalanced by a difference in kind, and so for the life of us we cannot understand why that frog Gilly should have preferred the company of Benny to the velvet-pawed respectable cats of Hannah the cook!
Benny’s heart sang with joy. He had faced his fear, conquered the big river, and along with his friends, found the sweet juicy fruits to share. Benny smiled to himself; summer was indeed a wonderful and happy season.