Future Pet Shop

Black bears are known for their poor eyesight. From a distance, the papa bear and mama bear saw that the little black bear’s size and build seemed about the same as their cub’s, but when they got closer for a sniff, the scent was completely different. A black bear’s sense of smell is extremely sensitive. The little cub had just been scrubbed with soap at Shen Yibin’s shop and had spent half the day frolicking in the Yunshui River. To top it off, it had picked up the smell of cumin from eating grilled fish, so its original scent had become very faint. This left the papa and mama bear utterly bewildered. ’Is this really our child?’

The little black bear didn’t understand what the problem was and felt terribly wronged. Usually, when it was about to get dark, its papa and mama bear would always take gentle care of it, lead it to find food, and then return to their den to sleep. ’What’s wrong today? I was only gone for a little while, so why are they acting like this? Growling and watching me so warily.’

The papa bear growled directly at Hah’Er, as if to demand, ’Where in the world did you take my child? Did you think you could bring back this weird-smelling creature and pass it off as my cub?’

’Huh?’ Hah’Er was completely baffled as to how things had turned out this way. It glanced back at the little black bear. ’Other than being a bit cleaner and prettier, it hasn’t changed at all, right? So why can’t the papa and mama bear recognize it?’

A standoff unfolded in Xiong Mountain. The papa and mama bear stood on all fours, warily watching the two little ones. The little black bear grew anxious and tried to pounce toward them, but Hah’Er blocked its path. ’I can’t let it go over there now,’ Hah’Er thought. ’It’d be terrible if something happened.’

"Ngh! Ngh!" Seeing the situation grow increasingly tense, Hah’Er became anxious and quickly turned to Shen Yibin with a cry for help.

"I’m afraid the two adult black bears don’t recognize their cub because the scent is wrong," the zookeeper, who knew a great deal about black bear habits, quickly explained.

"Then what should we do now?" Shen Yibin asked hurriedly. ’We have to find a solution, or this little black bear will have nowhere to sleep tonight. Judging by its reaction, it probably doesn’t want to come home with me either. Besides, if their cub isn’t returned by nightfall, those two adult bears will probably go berserk, right?’

"That’s simple enough," the zookeeper said confidently. "Have Hah’Er bring the little black bear out, find a place to give it another bath, and wash all those other scents off. As it happens, I swept some trash out of the bear den today. After its bath, just let the little cub roll around in it for a bit. It’ll pick up its old scent again, and there shouldn’t be any more problems."

’How frustrating. This poor little bear,’ Shen Yibin thought, thoroughly vexed. ’It finally got clean for half a day, and now it has to get all dirty again?’ But there was no other way, so he could only wave for Hah’Er to bring the little black bear out.

"You gave it a bath with scented soap? Oh, and it just ate barbecue?" the zookeeper said, leaning in to sniff the little black bear. "It’s covered in the smell of cumin. That’s a really strong scent! No wonder those two adult bears don’t recognize it! Come on, I’ll take it somewhere to rinse it off with water and get rid of this soap and cumin smell."

’Sigh, all I wanted this afternoon was to get the little black bear clean. I never thought it would cause such a mess. This is all the soap’s fault!’ Shen Yibin shook his head in frustration, leading the little black bear to follow the zookeeper. This bath was a far cry from the luxurious treatment it had received earlier. The zookeeper found a faucet, attached a rubber hose, turned on the tap, and began rinsing the little black bear with cold water. Fortunately, the weather in Yunzhong City was still fairly warm, so the cub didn’t seem uncomfortable.

They rinsed the cub thoroughly from head to toe. Shen Yibin leaned in and sniffed it several times, only stopping when the smell of soap and cumin was almost gone. He brought over two towels and helped dry the little black bear from head to toe, and then the zookeeper led them to the next spot.

"You’re lucky. The garbage collectors haven’t come by today, or you’d really be in for it," the zookeeper said, grinning as he led them to a garbage pile. Shen Yibin and Hah’Er simultaneously pinched their noses—the smell was truly awful. Shen Yibin’s sympathy for the little black bear grew, thinking about how it had to roll around in a place like this.

"Here, this is the pile!" the zookeeper said, pointing to the heap of trash. It contained filthy straw, likely from the bears’ bedding, as well as leftover garbage like apple cores, bones, shrimp shells, and fish bones. Black bears aren’t exactly hygienic animals, so how clean could you expect trash swept out of their den to be?

"Hurry up and roll around a bit. You need to get these smells on you so your parents will recognize you." Seeing the little black bear just standing there, the zookeeper couldn’t help but urge it on. ’I’m trying to get off work here,’ he thought.

"Mmph!" The little black bear didn’t understand the zookeeper, but Hah’Er did. Hah’Er decided to take matters into its own paws. Pretending to start a playful fight, it pushed the little cub into the garbage pile.

The little black bear, however, thought Hah’Er was just playing. Not getting angry, it scrambled out of the garbage pile and tried to retaliate by pushing Hah’Er in, too.

But Hah’Er was a fastidious little creature who loved being clean. Besides, it was wearing the new outfit Scarf had just picked out for it; how could it possibly let it get dirty? It fought back with all its might, and the two creatures tumbled into a chaotic tussle.

After more than half an hour of wrestling, Hah’Er finally gained the upper hand. It managed to make the little black bear roll all over the garbage pile while remaining relatively clean itself.

Shen Yibin leaned in for a sniff. The pungent odor from that morning had returned to the little black bear. Figuring that was enough, he quickly stopped the two of them. "Alright, Hah’Er, its parents must be getting anxious. Let’s hurry back!"

When they reappeared at the entrance to Xiong Mountain, they could hear waves of roars from within. Peeking through the bars, they saw the two adult black bears pacing back and forth anxiously inside the enclosure.

"Hurry and let it in! If we don’t return their cub soon, I think these two might try to stage a jailbreak!" the zookeeper exclaimed. He quickly opened the small gate, letting Hah’Er and the little black bear inside.

The little black bear had missed its parents dearly and rushed toward them the moment it was inside. The two adult bears leaned in for a sniff. The familiar scent confirmed the little cub’s identity, and the three of them began to play together again.

One of the adult bears let out a couple of low growls at Hah’Er, as if scolding it for taking so long to bring their child back. Hah’Er looked completely innocent. ’I brought him back ages ago. Whose fault is it that you couldn’t recognize him?’