Chapter 5 — The Bear Story

Chapter 5 of NCERT Class 7 English (An Alien Hand), "The Bear Story", is a short story by Axel Munthe about a lady who lives in an old manor-house on the border of a big forest and keeps a pet bear she is deeply fond of. Found as a helpless, half-starved cub in the forest, the bear is brought up on the bottle by the lady and the old cook. He grows into a large, amiable animal that lives peaceably with the household's dogs, ponies, and children. The story's central incident occurs one Sunday when the lady discovers a bear following her through the forest — and the surprising twist at the end reveals the true nature of the encounter.

A lady living near a forest rescues a tiny, half-dead bear cub and raises him on the bottle along with the old cook. The bear grows up gentle and affectionate — he plays with the dogs, lets children ride on his back, eats bread and vegetables, and is chained only at night or when the lady visits her sister on Sundays. One Sunday, a bear follows her through the forest; furious at what she takes to be disobedience, she strikes him on the nose with her parasol until he turns back. Arriving home, she finds her own bear sitting quietly on his haunches outside his kennel all day — revealing the forest bear was a wild stranger, not her pet.

1. 01The bear cub was found half-dead of hunger in the forest and brought up on the bottle by the lady and the old cook.
2. 02He grew into a large bear but remained amiable — he never harmed anyone, lived alongside dogs and ponies, and let children sleep in his kennel.
3. 03He was a vegetarian, eating bread, porridge, potato, cabbage, and turnip; he loved apples and once had trouble resisting the beehives, for which he was chained for two days.
4. 04He was chained at night and on Sundays when his mistress walked through the dense forest to visit her married sister on the other side of the mountain-lake.
5. 05One Sunday a bear followed the lady through the forest; she hit it on the nose with her parasol so hard it broke, and the bear turned back.
6. 06When the lady returned home and began scolding her bear, the cook revealed he had sat quietly on his haunches at the kennel the entire day — the bear in the forest was not her pet but a wild bear.
7. 07The story, written by Axel Munthe, explores the themes of loyalty, mistaken identity, and the gentle nature that can be nurtured in a wild animal.