Summary

"The Bear" is a story of an unnamed child who has just turned ten and is finaly allowed to go with his father and some of his hunting buddies on their semi-annual hunting trip into Big Bottom. He has only heard stories of the bear that they have been hunting for many years and never caught. They never have the right dog even though they have 11 of them. The story follows him as he attemps to catch the uncatchable bear. Along the way he sacrifices his gun, gets his first deer and bear kills and also has some mentally intense meetings with the bear but he never shoots it. After four years he develops hunting and tracking skills that most adults do not yet have, he could lead a person anywhere into the forest and back out. One day when he and Sam Fathers were out on the trail the met the bear and that time they had the right dog and the right equipment.