Blueberries

“Watch out for bears,” Auntie cautioned
“REALLY?” The young boy looked around frantically
“Yes, they like blueberries as much as we do.”
Hard to imagine but “Okay.”
He bent to his task picking the tasty fruit
The woods now alive with a sinister feel
Swatting mosquitoes he’d pick a berry and put it in his tin bucket
And scan the woods for bears
Nothing
Then he’d pick another berry and look for bears
Still nothing
For security he ate one of the yummy purple fruits
Oh boy it tasted good
He picked another but didn’t put it in his bucket
Holding the juicy goodness in his hand made him feel better
Less scared
Especially after he ate the berry which he did
And another and another and another.

He never saw a bear
Never had many berries in his bucket either
But my oh my
Those blueberries tasted good
They kept the bears away too
Of that he was certain.