Dad lazily stumbled to the windows at the back of the house to look toward the chickens, but instead of viewing the hen house, there staring back at him on the other side of the glass, was the head of a huge bear! It sat looking expectantly toward his two oldest kids, licking egg off it’s face. Apparently, after the shock had worn off, the bear had discovered that it’s face was covered with a delicious egg! He had followed the kids back to the house for a second helping.

“Wow,” Dad exclaimed, “you were right, that IS a Bear!”

“I think he wants to come in,” Eli replied.

“Well, he’s not allowed!” said Lizzy in response.

“Too late,” Eli shouted, pointing to the door as the bear pushed it open, “we forgot to close the door all the way!”

“Everybody get back!” Dad ordered, as they beat a hasty retreat through the house. “Head for the front door.”

The bear charged through the house right behind them, equally excited at the expectation of more food. Dad and the kids ran without looking back, out the front door and around into the garage. Dad was hoping that with a little luck, they might lead the bear back out of the house and trap him outside. Unfortunately, looking back from the garage, they watched as the bear stopped in the doorway, sniffed the air, and noticing the scents coming from the kitchen behind, turned back into the house.

“That bear better not eat my apple pie!” Lizzy remarked angrily.

“He’s got plenty of choices, for sure.” Dad said in a concerned tone, but his mind was on more pressing matter. They weren’t the only ones in the house today: Mom and their youngest girl were fast asleep in the bedrooms at the back of the house.

“Lock yourselves in the black car!” Dad shouted to his two oldest, opening the vehicle door, then running the opposite direction into the garage. Peeking through the garage door, he saw the bear curiously examining the kitchen countertops. Quickly he loaded a shell into the single shot twenty gauge rifle on the rack, cursing his luck for placing the more formidable weapons above the kitchen cabinets. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to hitting him with one shot!” He thought to himself.

Locked and loaded, Dad took the shotgun in one hand and a board in the other. Slipping silently around the kitchen toward the bedrooms, he noticed his wife groggily leaving the bedroom after a long nap. Before he could say anything, she turned and entered the hall bathroom, still half awake and totally unaware of the chaos ensuing a few yards further down the hall.

Dad blocked the hallway with some chairs, hoping to deter the bear from going that way. Back at the front door, he noticed Eli and Lizzy had failed to follow his directions and were watching anxiously as the bear sniffed at the apple pie.

Rapping on the floor with the board, Dad quickly caught the bear’s attention. “You Bad Bear!” he shouted loudly, “Go home!” He brought the board up and gave the bear a stout pop in the nose, hoping to elicit the same shot as the egg had gotten initially. But the bear’s hunger was in charge now, it wasn’t going to leave without some satisfaction. It roared back a challenge.

Dad knew that if the bear stayed, everyone was in grave danger, so he did his best to look and sound intimidating, banging the board on everything and yelling, but the bear only challenged back, this time, standing on it’s back legs to roar back the challenge. Now he could hear his wife and kids behind him, panic-ing at the unfolding battle.

Down to his last resort, Dad took aim into the bear’s chest with the shotgun and squeezed the trigger, but at that very moment the bear’s movement sent the board in his other hand flying upward into the rifle. The gun fired into the ceiling with a deafening sound, raining down pieces of drywall onto the bear and covering everything with fine white dust. Fearing the worst, Dad snapped the gun open and reloaded, but when he looked up through the dust, the only remaining trace of the bear was white footprints leading back through the house and out the back door.

Locking the door behind the bear, he called the kids back in, calmed the confused and crying Abby down, and hugged everyone.

“That, was the end of that,” he thought.