stuffed them in his pockets. Hearing a ‘squeak’, he fished a rubber giraffe from his pocket and tossed it back into the trunk.

He slammed the trunk shut and sauntered back to the driver’s window, his lips twitching in an attempt to conceal his glee. “No rocks here. You’re free to go, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Officer.”

“No.” Weazel patted his pocket with a irrepressible smile on his face. “Thank you.” He got into his car - getting white paint on his hands in the process - started it up, and backed onto the shoulder. He grinned and waved at the bears as they drove off.

When the grey sedan was out of sight, he reached into his pocket, retrieving the maps and brochures and sorted through them. “This time, I’ve got it I’ve got it! I’ve got...nothin’!” Furious, he ripped the brochures into tiny shreds, saying, “Who wants ta see the world’s largest ball of twine anyways?” After tossing the paper out the open window, he beat his head against the steering wheel, prompting a pained, “Owww!” He put his hand to his pounding head, only to smear paint all over his forehead. Looking at his reflection in the rearview mirror, he groaned, “This is a really bad day...”

Colossal Canyon
Forty-Five Minutes Later

After paying a nominal fee for entering the Colossal Canyon National Park, the grey sedan rolled into the information center’s packed parking lot.

The five bears piled out of the car. It was a hot, hazy day devoid of the smallest hint of a breeze. Heat radiated from the gravel lot and from the numerous cars parked there. They wound their way through the crowded parking lot to the information center. After walking through the gift shop crammed with souvenirs, they came out on a rail-enclosed landing overlooking the canyon and crawling with sightseers.

“Wow!” Kit breathed, taking in the awesome panorama before him.

“I can’t see!” Molly hopped up and down. “There’s too many big people in the way.” Before anyone could stop her, she wormed her small body through the wall of people to the railing. “Double wow!” she exclaimed, sticking her head through the wooden rails to peer down into the deep canyon.

“Molly!” Rebecca called frantically. Panic welled up inside of her. There were people milling around everywhere and more people seemed to be crowding onto the landing’s small space every second. Strange faces flashed before her eyes and strange voices echoed in her ears.

“Molly!” Baloo bellowed, causing Cassie to cover her ears with her paws. “Aw, doggone that girl. She knows she’s s’posed ta stick close in strange places.”

“Oh, Baloo, she’s so little. What if...?” Rebecca began, placing a trembling hand on his arm.

Baloo’s eyes darted around the crowd for a little yellow bearess. “Don’t worry your pretty head, sweetheart, I’m sure she’s...”

“I’m over here!” Molly shouted, trying to wade through the people clustered around her.

“Right over there,” Baloo concluded, relieved.

“Molly, you get back here right this instant!” Rebecca demanded.

“I’ll get her,” Kit offered. He laboriously made his way through the crowd, saying, “Excuse me, pardon me, pardon me, excuse me.”

“Hi, Kit,” Molly said brightly when her brother appeared beside her. “Isn’t the Colossal Canyon big?”

“That’s why it’s called the Colossal Canyon,” Kit replied, putting a protective hand on his sister’s shoulder. He wondered what it would be like to cloudsurf through the canyon.

“Watch that first step. It’s a lulu,” Baloo joked as he, Rebecca, and Cassie jostled their way through the other sightseers to the railing.

“Molly Elizabeth von Bruinwald, I will not tolerate your running off like that, young lady,” Rebecca scolded, taking her daughter firmly by the hand.

“Sorry, Mom,” Molly said contritely. “I promise I won’t do it again.”

“Good.”

Molly crinkled up her nose thoughtfully. “Does this mean I don’t get any souvenirs?”

Rebecca’s stern face softened. She affectionately squeezed Molly’s hand. “No, Pumpkin. You can still get souvenirs.”

“How would you like to fly through this canyon, Papa Bear?” Kit asked, arms folded across the top of the railing.

Baloo judged the canyon’s twists and turns with a critical eye, then said confidently, “Piece of cake. It’d be sure be a heckava lot easier than Mirkle Pass back home.”

“Anything’seasier than Mirkle Pass.”

“Lookee at the mountain goat. Do ya see it, Daddy?” Molly said. She tugged on the hem of her father’s shirt and pointed to a white speck on the opposite side of the canyon.

No matter how much Baloo squinted, he couldn’t see the goat. “Yeah, I see it, Button-nose,” he fibbed, patting her on the head.

“And lookit way down there!” Molly cried. “There’s people walking.”

“Molly, honey, don’t stick your head through the railing.”

“Aw...” Reluctantly, Molly drew back from the railing.

“Baloo, did you bring Cassie’s bonnet?” Rebecca asked.

“In my pocket, Beckers.”

Rebecca pulled a white sunbonnet from Baloo’s shirt pocket and tried to tie it on Cassie, but the cub had other ideas. She buried her face in her father’s shirt, whining impatiently. Finally, Rebecca succeeded and adjusted the wide brim so that it shaded the baby’s face. “Now wasn’t it worth coming all that way to see this, Baloo?”

“I still say it woulda been faster with the Duck.”

“Oh, stop complaining and enjoy the scenery. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Yeah, an opportunity to get heatstroke. Man, oh, man, what a scorcher!” Baloo said, fanning the toddler’s face with a brochure as he marveled at the view. Cassie promptly grabbed the brochure flapping before her face and stuck a corner of it in her mouth. “But all this nuthin’ is really somethin’,” he murmured, gently playing tug-of-war with Cassie over the brochure.

Rebecca opened her brochure and read, “The Colossal Canyon is a mile deep, 227 miles long and has an average width of ten miles. The visible sedimentary layers were formed over billions and billions of years.”

“Sedimentary layers. Is that what the different colored stripe-y rocks are called, Mom?” Molly asked.

“Yes, Pumpkin. It also says that it took the river...”

Baloo snatched the brochure from her hands. “Stop readin’ an’ start lookin’, Becky. We didn’t come all this way ta read somethin’ from a manual.”

Annoyed, Rebecca grabbed her brochure back and lightly smacked him across the arm with it. “I’ll read if I want to, Baloo. A little knowledge about what we’re looking at heightens the experience.”

“We don’t need to be any higher. We’re already up high enough. Hey, Cookie, look at all the pretty rocks,” Baloo said, prying the pamphlet from Cassie’s mouth. “Tons an’ tons of rocks.”

“Wocks!” Cassie squealed, clapping her hands. “Wocks, wocks, wocks, wocks..”

“The word of the day,” Rebecca murmured wryly to her husband as she slipped her arm through his with a wink and a smile.

“Speakin’ of rocks, I wonder if that cop ever found anyone carryin’ illegal rocks,” Baloo mused.

“I don’t know about that, but I do know that it’s picture time!” Rebecca sang cheerfully, prompting a collective groan from Baloo, Kit, and Molly. She pulled a camera from her purse. “Backs to the railing, everybody. And smile.”

A Half an Hour Later

Weazel, now dressed inconspicuously as a tourist in gaudy plaid pants and a yellow polo shirt, pulled into a parking space at the Colossal Canyon’s information center. He consulted the von Bruinwald’s official trip schedule. “Yep, this is the place all right. Now, all I have to do is find that map.”

He put a pair of binoculars to his eyes. A sea of automobiles stretched before him. The majority were some shade of black or grey.

“Talk about findin’ a needle in a haystack,” he groaned. Then, Weazel’s frown turned upside down. He murmured, “Looks like I found the needle and the haystack.”

The fat pilot and his son were threading their way through the parking lot.

Weazel put on his sunglasses, got out of the car, and casually sauntered towards Baloo and Kit.

“I’m not sure about this, kid,” Baloo was saying as he opened the Chevrolette’s door.

“C’mon, Papa Bear, it’ll be fun,” Kit said. “It’ll give us a chance to see the Colossal Canyon up close.”

Baloo slung the diaper bag over his shoulder and slammed the door shut. “Why’s Becky gotta be as stubborn as a mule?” In a falsetto tone, he mocked, “If a mule ride is on the schedule, Baloo, then we’re goin’ on a mule ride.” In his own voice, he continued, “An’ that’s another thing - how in tarnation does she remember what was on that doggone schedule? That thing’s solid gone.”

Kit shrugged. “Mom’s got a good memory.”

“Memory, schmemory.” Angrily, Baloo said, “Let that be a lesson to ya, Li’l Britches. Never marry a gal who’s smarter’n you.”

“Okay, Papa Bear,” Kit mumbled, knowing that deep down his father was proud of his wife’s abilities.

While tromping back to the info center, Baloo grumbled, “Still think we shoulda took the Sea Duck. Then, we coulda flown over the canyon. None of this mule business.”

Weazel had to trot on his short legs to keep up with the bears. He trailed behind them at a discreet distance, thinking smugly, Now I’ve got ‘em.

Inside the info center, the bears disappeared into the crowd, much to Weazel’s disappointment.

I don’t got

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