Grizzly King

Chapter 2

For a long time Thor stood beside a great rock, looking out over its domain.The brown-red rock stood silently, accompanying it silently.Like all grizzlies, its eyes are small and set far apart, resulting in poor vision.At a distance of half a foot, it can still make out a goat or a sheep.Beyond this range, its world is vast and mysterious, full of sunlight and darkness, and Thor mostly perceives his surroundings through hearing and smell.

Now Thor's keen sense of smell kept Thor motionless.It smelled a smell from outside the valley, which it had never smelled before, which was not from here, and it made it wonder.Thor tried his best to understand this smell, but he couldn't come to any result after thinking about it for a long time.It wasn't the smell of caribou, for he had killed many; it wasn't the smell of goats or sheep; , like to sunbathe on the rocks.The smell didn't irritate Thor, nor frighten him.It was very curious, but it didn't search along the way, and it stayed where it was for the sake of caution.

Even if Thor could see a mile or two further, he could see far less than his sense of smell could perceive.It stands on the edge of a small plain, and the land in the valley for a radius of 200 meters is at its feet.In the afternoon, it came to a break not far from there, and the plain was like a big teacup, about an acre in size, on a green hillside.The plain was covered with rich, soft grass, with juneflowers, violets, forget-me-nots, asters, and hyacinths.In the middle of the plain was a pit of loose earth, fifty feet long and wide, where Thor often lingered when his feet ached.

To the east, west, and north of Thor are the Canadian Rockies.On a June afternoon, the sun was shining, the mountains were rolling, and the majestic scenery became very gentle.

In the valley, in the crevasses of the peaks, from the ravines between the rocks to the snow line on the high places, there are soft and low whispers.Near Gaoren's ever-changing clouds, the snow does not melt all year round; the snow rushes down, enters rivers, enters small bays, crosses shallow streams, and the music played by the flowing water echoes in the air all the time.

In addition to music, there is also a sweet aroma in the air.In Beishan, June and July are the time when late spring and early summer alternate.The land is gradually becoming green, the small early flowers on the sunny slopes are painted red, white and purple, the fat groundhogs on the rocks, the proud little gophers on the mounds, the hard-working bumblebees among the flowers, Falcons fly and circle among valleys and peaks...everything sings.Thor sang in his own way, as he trod across the soft earth, and after a few minutes a curious murmur rose from the depths of his broad chest.It wasn't growling, it was noise, it was Thor's contented sound.

Now for some mysterious reason, the wonderful world it sees suddenly changes.In silence it has been sniffing the smell of the wind, which confuses it.Although the smell didn't disturb it, it still disturbed it.There was novelty in the air, to which it was as sensitive as a child's tongue feels to a sparkling drop of brandy for the first time.Finally, a low, sullen growl erupted from its depths like distant thunder.It is the leader of the territory, and its dull brain tells it that there is no unfamiliar smell here, even though it is not an expert in this field.

Thor stood up slowly, like a well-trained dog, his huge forelimbs were covered with mud and drooped on his chest.It had lived among these mountains for ten years, and this smell was unheard of, and it shocked it.It waited, and now the smell was getting stronger and closer.Instead of hiding, Thor stood there unafraid.

Thor was a huge creature, his new June coat shining golden-brown in the sun.Its forearms were almost as large as the body of a full-grown man; it had knife-like claws, the longest of which was five and a half inches long.

Its two footprints, sunk in the mud, were fifteen inches long.It has a strong body and glowing skin.Its eyes were the size of walnuts on a mountain, set eight inches apart.Its two upper teeth are pointed like daggers and as long as a human thumb; its upper and lower jaws are strong enough to bite off the neck of a reindeer.

Thor lives off the beaten track.Like many other grizzlies, he doesn't kill for pleasure.It often catches just one caribou from a herd and eats the prey clean.It is the king of peace.One of Thor's rules is: "Leave me alone, stay away from me." The rule is his attitude, as it is now—he is squatting, sniffing the strange smell.

Thor is a mighty bear with supreme power, solitary and infinite power.

It is number one in the valley, like a towering mountain.Along with Dashan, it comes from ancient times, and it belongs to one of them.Bears are facing extinction.

To this day, Thor can't remember who has challenged his strength and power.It has fought fairly with its opponents, and almost died in the fight more than once.

It has demonstrated its sovereignty and territorial scope.If anyone comes to challenge, it is always ready to fight again.Unless defeated, it is the ruler, the arbiter.He is not only sovereign over the fertile valleys and green hillsides, but over all things related to it.Thor has won without stratagem or intrigue, and it has justly kept these things alive.It looks repulsive and frightening, but it has no hatred or fear in itself.It was for this reason that Thor boldly waited for the strange thing to approach it from the valley.

Thor crouched, his keen brown nose probing the air.At the same time, Thor felt something in his mind, as if he was reminiscing about the vague past.Its nose had never smelled foul, and now it smelled, as if not quite fresh.It can't distinguish clearly, it can't name it, it only knows that it is a threat and intimidation.

For a good 10 minutes, it sat like a statue.Then the wind direction changed, and the smell became weaker and weaker until it disappeared completely.

Thor pricked up his flat ears a little, and slowly turned his large head so that his eyes could see the green hillsides and the small plains.It easily forgot the smell, and the air was fresh and sweet again.It landed on all fours and resumed its journey of hunting gophers.

There's a lot of fun to be had in Thor's quest.Thor weighed thousands of pounds, and a mountain gopher was six inches long and weighed six ounces.Often, however, Thor would dig the ground for an hour with great enthusiasm, and at the end he would happily swallow a fat little gopher like a pill.In summer and autumn, it spends one-third of its time digging and digging holes for that delicious little meal.

Now Thor, like a great dog chasing a mouse, found a hole to his liking, and began digging.In the next half hour, Thor occasionally raised his head, and the strange smell from the wind no longer bothered him.

(End of this chapter)