It was years until the winter got so cold
That the surface of the river froze
It lay so still you'd swear it was asleep
Yet swift dark water moved beneath
The animals were fooled and ran their best
Across the ice till one was left
A bear who knew his size and had to wait
Until his friends has reached the other bank
And when they turned and saw him looking poorly
They thought he was scared and beckoned warmly
But he just stood there as if made of stone
They couldn't hear his little moans
Then he slowly turned and walked away
And made like he wanted to stay
And he wandered all alone
Thinking all about his home
And the forest seemed to grow
With a fear he'd never known
And when he felt it safe he wandered back
And stood for a while on that bank
And seeing that his friends had gone on home
He stepped out on the ice all alone
Coz more than fear of death he could not bare
Never seeing his home or friends again
But they were still there on the other side
The falling snow had turned them white
And he got half way across
Before the ice just opened up
And in a second he was gone
Just like he'd never been at all
It was minutes till they realized he was gone
But still they waited coz the bear was strong
They'd seen him tear down fences and a barn
He'd even killed a man who'd had a gun
just like the sun comes back around
He'd poke his head up any minute now
And so they waited all on through the night And still they hadn't moved when it got light
And winter slowly melted into spring
Showing little bones where the animals had been
That the surface of the river froze
It lay so still you'd swear it was asleep
Yet swift dark water moved beneath
The animals were fooled and ran their best
Across the ice till one was left
A bear who knew his size and had to wait
Until his friends has reached the other bank
And when they turned and saw him looking poorly
They thought he was scared and beckoned warmly
But he just stood there as if made of stone
They couldn't hear his little moans
Then he slowly turned and walked away
And made like he wanted to stay
And he wandered all alone
Thinking all about his home
And the forest seemed to grow
With a fear he'd never known
And when he felt it safe he wandered back
And stood for a while on that bank
And seeing that his friends had gone on home
He stepped out on the ice all alone
Coz more than fear of death he could not bare
Never seeing his home or friends again
But they were still there on the other side
The falling snow had turned them white
And he got half way across
Before the ice just opened up
And in a second he was gone
Just like he'd never been at all
It was minutes till they realized he was gone
But still they waited coz the bear was strong
They'd seen him tear down fences and a barn
He'd even killed a man who'd had a gun
just like the sun comes back around
He'd poke his head up any minute now
And so they waited all on through the night And still they hadn't moved when it got light
And winter slowly melted into spring
Showing little bones where the animals had been