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Fraser’s Ridge, 1779
“Rawwwwr!” Jem leapt from behind the tree, his younger sister’s screeching reply ringing in his ears long after she had stopped screaming.
“Jem! Not that scary! You scared me too much and Mama said you’re not supposed to make me scream, or Grandda will go deaf!”
“All right, fine. I’ll just growl next time.” Jem rolled his eyes and peeled a loose bit of bark from the pine tree, flinging it as far as he could into the forest. He noted the rustling of leaves along the trail leading to the creek and waited to see who it was.
Mandy threw a small rock with a wild swing of her arm, sending a squirrel scurrying away to less unpredictable environs. “I want to be the bear this time.”
“Ye canna be a frightening bear when ye’re just a cub, Mandy,” Jem said smirking.
She shot him a look that left no question as to who her mother was.
“It’s Germain and Uncle Ian!” Jem yelled, his body vibrating with excitement.
His cousin and uncle were carrying a sagging string of fish, enough to feed everyone gathered at the big house tonight, and both were beaming for their efforts. Germain skipped ahead to join up with Jem and Mandy, playfully shoving Jem in their traditional boy greeting.
“And what trouble are the two of ye getting into out here?” Ian asked, grinning.
“Jem’s being a bear!” Mandy exclaimed.
Ian’s brows raised. “Is that so? And are ye the bear killer, Mandy?”
Her eyes grew large. “I can’t kill a bear!”
“Oh, well, are ye sure of that?” Ian asked, crouching to her level. “Did ye ken that yer Grandda once killed a bear? Even was known as Bear Killer by some in these parts.” The kids shook their heads in unison, suddenly very interested in their uncle’s tale.
“It is quite a story, full of danger and daring to be sure, but I have a secret many do not know. Would ye like to hear it?” Ian had their full attention now.
“What is it? Tell us.” Germain nodded eagerly.
“Weel, when yer Grandda and Grannie Claire were out in the wilderness one night long ago, a bear did wander into their camp, hungry and surly. Now, yer Grandda is a brave, strong man as ye well ken and he fought the bear, but he is still just a man, and a man is no match for a bear. Yer Grannie Claire, she saw that he was struggling and couldna bear the thought of losing him.” Ian paused for a moment, hoping they’d catch his clever wordplay. “So, do ye ken what she did?”
“What?” Mandy whispered, eyes wide.
Ian stood slowly and walked to where he’d set down the fish. He pulled one from the string and walked back. The kids' faces were rapt, mouths slightly open in anticipation. “Yer Grannie grabbed the first thing she saw, which happened to be a fish just like this one, and she threw it, with all her might, at the bear!” Ian embellished and mimicked throwing the fish, a wildly exaggerated motion that nearly made him break his composure. He heard gasps from the three of them and swallowed his laughter.
“Ye canna kill a bear wi’ a fish, can ye?” Jem asked, a skeptical furrow to his brow.
“An ordinary man could not. That’s true, Jem. But yer Grannie is no man. When she threw that fish, it spun through the air, glimmering in the light of the fire, bouncing off yer Grandda’s face, leaving him sputtering wi’ fish scales stuck to his nose. It then hit the bear in his face, knocking him back from pure shock and as he stumbled in confusion, wonderin’ how a fish could be flying,yer Grandda then took the bear down. Dead.”
The three children sat silent for a moment, blinking. Finally, Mandy spoke.
“Oh my goodness. Grannie killed the bear with a fish!” She leapt up clapping and grabbed the fish from Ian’s hand.
“Well, no’ exactly -.” Ian’s attempt to explain was swallowed by the excitement of the three who were now arranging a new game in which Germain, as the menacing bear, would fight Jem as Grandda, and Mandy would propel the fish for the killing blow.
He gave up, a laugh bubbling up his throat, and headed to the house to drop off the fish and rescue Rachel from a teething Oggy. Before getting too far, he stopped and turned back to the kids. “Dinna forget to bring the fish back for yer dinner, and it better be in one piece!”
“Oui, uncle Ian!” Germain yelled, his voice quickly transitioning back into a deep growl.
A short while later, the children returned to the house, Mandy stopping at the table outside where Claire was cleaning the fish Ian had dropped off. She plopped the fish onto the table with the rest, its skin now covered in pine needles and dirt.
Claire stared at it for a moment and turned to Mandy, who was smiling brightly at her. “Darling, where did you get this fish? What’s happened to it?”
Mandy’s cheeks dimpled and she giggled. “I killed a bear with it! Just like you did!” She wrapped her arms around Claire’s waist and squeezed, then ran off into the house, leaving Claire staring down at the filthy fish in confusion.
Ian walked out of the house a moment later, Oggy passed out on his shoulder.
“Ian,” Claire said, holding the fish out for him to see. “What in the world did you tell the children?”
Ian gave his auntie a practiced look of innocence and whispered, “Sorry, I dinna want to wake the bairn.” As he walked away, he heard her shout-whisper.
“If you weren’t holding Oggy, I’d hit you with this fish.”