Raven's Mountain by Orr Wendy Page B

. . . They’re on the log. They race along it to the roots I’m hiding under, and stare down at me.
    I’ve got the spray in my hand.
    Hansel is on the root above my head. Gretel’s following, bumping her brother’s bottom to hurry him along. Hansel slips, swings upside down, and: ‘Oof!’
    I’ve got a bear on my chest!
    He’s bigger than I thought. I can’t move; I can hardly breathe.
    Double ‘Oof!’ That was me and the black cub together. The white cub was staring so hard that she fell off too, and thumped on top of her brother.
    The two faces stare into mine   – they’re as surprised as I am.
    They’re playing! Just like Coyote Girl but with bears.
    There’s no way I could spray them.
    No way I can lift my arm anyway. I let go of the can.
    Hansel’s patting my hair.
    â€˜Ouch!’
    I was wrong. Turns out I could move: I just needed to have my hair yanked hard enough.
    I can’t believe I just shoved two bears off me!
    Baby bears. Don’t get smart thinking you could do that to their mum.
    She’s standing up, calling them with a clucking sort of grunt.
    I grab the spray can again.
    The cubs scamper off around the end of the log. There’s a nest on the other side a lot like mine, with scuffed up pine needles and grass.
    Lily crashing around, Lily snoring . . . it wasn’t a dream   – it was bears! I slept beside the three bears all night! If I had blonde hair I could be Goldilocks.
    I peek through the lace of the tree roots: Mama bear is still watching me. Hiding doesn’t seem to trick her at all.
    She makes the clucking sound again.
    Is she calling me?
    I stay where I am, but take my finger off the safety catch. ‘Thank you for not eating me.’
    She looks at me again and ambles into the forest. The cubs follow; one blink and they’re gone. If it weren’t for the trail of waving branches and a steaming pile of poo, I’d think I had made the whole thing up.
    I’m safe; they’re gone. I put the bear spray back on my belt.
    I should feel happy.
    I shouldn’t feel even more lonely and jealous. But the cubs have their sister or brother to play with and their mother to look after them; this is their home and they’re safe.
    Maybe they’ll come back, and Mama Bear will look after me till I find the truck. I’ll ride down to the lake on her back like Lyra on the Armoured Bear and when everyone’s rescued I’ll come back and be friends with the cubs.
    You’re crazy, you know that?
    Of course I know it. This is not a new Coyote Girl play. I know that just because Mama Bear didn’t mind me sleeping near her cubs doesn’t mean she’s going to look after me, and I know that if I’d done just one little thing to upset her this morning she could have killed me with a single swipe of her paw.
    It’s just that imagining playing with the cubs is the nicest thing I’ve thought since I fell off the mountain. I thought-message Jess: I need a happy ending for Coyote Girl! Right away!
    We were arguing about how to finish the play when Amelia suddenly said, ‘You know your mum’s going to marry Scott?’
    â€˜Mum told us she was never getting married again!’
    â€˜My mum said that last time too.’
    â€˜Mum and Scott are NOT GETTING MARRIED!’
    I marched straight into the kitchen to ask Mum.
    She hugged me and said, ‘I’m sorry it came up like that. I   was going to tell you tonight.’
    All I could do was wish that my real dad would come back before it was too late and that Scott would go to Australia instead.
    Now I’m just hoping he’s still alive.
    And wondering if Lily even knows it’s morning inside that dark cave.
    At least I don’t have anything to do to get ready before I leave. No bedroll to pack away; no hot flapjacks to eat; no clean clothes to change into; no Insect-Off, hat or sunscreen to put