It was springtime in the mountains and mother bear Acorn was waking from her long winter's sleep. She could hear the birds singing and squirrels chirping from her den. It was time to wake up her two little children Blacky and Fernie. She was hungry and dreamed of fresh berries. She knew that it was too early for berries so she just had to see what she could find for herself and her two little cubs. "Wake up little ones" she nuzzled their faces. The cubs had grown since last fall, but they were ever so skinny from not eating for many months. Mother could hardly get up she was so weak, the bright light outside her den almost blinded her. She led the cubs to the lake to get a nice fresh drink of water keeping a lookout for a yummy fish for breakfast. They wandered through trees and bushes, mother remembering a stream where there were always lots of fish. They were very weak from hunger but Blacky saw a fish and he dove right into the water and found his breakfast. It was early spring and the valley was their home to roam for a while. Later in the summer they would make there way up to the top of the mountains where the berries were plentiful They met some of their relatives and together they fished and roamed and played in the valley of the butterflies, so happy that it was spring. Blacky found a playmate and they climbed a tree chasing a squirrel. Fernie found a friend called Twiggy and they had stories to tell. Twiggy's coat was the color of cinnamon with white spots on her face she had the cutest eyes. Butterflies loved sitting on her nose. Finding an ants nest in a fallen tree was great fun. They would first play and than eat the ants. They would chase a squirrel up a tree or just hang in a branch swinging back and forth, or chase butterflies or grasshoppers. The valley was a wonderful place; they could hide in the tall grasses smelling the buttercups. Now and than they saw grandfather Willow. A big brown woolly bear. He would tell them stories of the old days and their distant cousins the grizzlies. He was a nice and kind grandfather bear. The cubs all loved him. The berries were ripe now, their favorite were black chokecherries. It was summer now and the bear family had wandered into a lush meadow. It was also blueberry time. There was plenty to eat every day. Mother taught them how to move very quietly among the bushes and trees. There were also lots of nasty little flies and mosquitoes about, near the swamp Blacky and Fernie had to jump into a creek to get away from them and to cool off for it was a hot summer day. They had long naps in the afternoons and felt lazy and getting fatter. Every day they climbed higher into the mountains. It was a wonderful summer. Soon they would have to start looking for a winter den and that meant they would have to go back to the valley. They would sleep for five months hibernating during the long winter. Blacky and Fernie would cuddle up beside their mother to stay warm, and than one day in spring mother acorn would wake up her than grown cubs and tell them that it was spring time and to chase the butterflies and the journey would start all over again and they would go to the valley of the butterflies.