Bears Discover Fire, by Terry Bisson

[Omphalos]

Bears Discover Fire seems to be one of the world's most favorite short SF stories, but it is one of those tales that leaves me scratching my head every time I read it. Properly categorized, this one to me seems to fit into the categories of "down home tall tale" and "weird." I am not sure what this story means, though I am pretty sure that it means something. Four out of five stars.

Bears Discover Fire is exactly what the title suggests the story is about. One year in Appalachia all of the bears started burning bonfires in the wide medians of highways. At night they would gather in circles and stare into the flames all night long. None of them talked, though they would occasionally get up from the fire to forage for firewood and search for berries. The news media made a festival of the strange phenomenon, so the police redoubled their efforts to keep ordinary folks away from the bear's encampments. The story is about one family who...Please click here, or on the book cover above, to be taken to the complete review..