Lusa gazed at him miserably for a moment longer, then rose to her paws and headed off to look for food. On her way down the hill she spotted some butterflies dancing in the sunlight, and a couple of baby rabbits nibbling the long grass under a tree. She thought about catching one of them for Toklo, but they looked so peaceful that she couldn’t bring herself to attack. And they’d hardly make a mouthful anyway.

When the rabbits had hopped away, Lusa investigated the spot where they’d been nibbling and found a patch of juicy green shoots. She felt happier as she sat down and started to chew.

Then bear scent wafted toward her, and she heard the sound of pawsteps in the undergrowth. Scared that it might be Chogan, she scrambled up the tree out of the way and peered down from the shelter of a leafy branch.

Instead of Old Grizzly, two small cubs bounced into view, followed by a she-bear who had to be their mother. Lusa recognized the cubs as the two she had met beside the stream when she was with Toklo.

“You’ll never catch anything if you charge around like that,” the mother bear was saying. “You have to be very quiet and sneak up on your prey before it knows you’re there. Now, can you scent anything?”

Both cubs stuck their noses in the air and sniffed.

“Rabbit!” the bigger cub exclaimed.

“But I can’t see any rabbits,” her smaller sister said, with a disappointed look.

“You don’t have to see prey to track it,” their mother told them. “You can follow its scent trail. But just for now, you see that rock over there? The one with all the moss covering it? Let’s pretend that it’s a rabbit. I want to see you stalking it. Fala, you go first.”

The bigger cub crouched down to the ground and began to creep slowly toward the rock. Lusa was impressed by how lightly she put down her paws. But before Fala reached her prey, a frond of fern brushed across her face, and she sneezed.

“Bee-brain!” her little sister huffed. “Your rabbit just ran away!”

“Well, never mind,” their mother said as Fala plodded back to her side, dejected. “Things go wrong, even for experienced hunters. Now it’s your turn, Flo.”

“Watch me!” the little cub said, wriggling her haunches. “I’ll show you how to catch a rabbit.”

She started well, too, but the moment a butterfly fluttered past, she was distracted and reared up from the grass to bat at it with her forepaws.

“Now who’s a bee-brain?” Fala snorted with disgust.

Toklo and Tobi must have been just like this, Lusa thought.

“Listen,” the mother bear went on, gathering her cubs closer to her. “This is important. What have I told you about wolves?”

“They’re big and scary,” Flo replied, her eyes wide.