Great Bear Lake by Erin Hunter Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t get along with water,” he muttered.
    Lusa didn’t understand what he meant. After all, he had to get into the river to catch salmon, didn’t he? She’d never seen a grizzly catch fish but she was pretty sure the fish didn’t leap onto the bank to be eaten. “Just jump in,” she said. “Your paws will know what to do.”
    â€œCome on!” Ujurak called. “It’s easy! You’ll be fine.”
    With an impatient growl, Toklo crouched on the riverbank, his muscles bunched with tension, and threw himself into the water. His head went under; when he reappeared he was flailing his paws frantically, using far more energy than he needed, but making slow progress toward the opposite bank. Lusa swam over to keep pace with him, and saw that his eyes were wide with terror.
    â€œIt’s okay,” she said. “You’re doing great.”
    Toklo’s head whipped around to face her. “Leave me alone!” he snarled, swiping a paw at her.
    Alarmed, Lusa backed off. But Toklo’s attempt to smack her had broken the rhythm of his strokes. He took in a great gulp of water and sank.
    Lusa gave him a couple of heartbeats to resurface, but the grizzly didn’t appear. Icy fear, colder than the current, crept through her fur. Maybe he really couldn’t swim! What if Toklo drowned, after she had persuaded him to jump into the river?
    Lusa dove deep into the water, keeping her eyes as wide open as she could; swinging her head from side to side, she spotted a dark, bulky shape a short way downstream. It was Toklo being swept along by the current. He was floundering helplessly, his eyes and mouth wide open in alarm, bubbles of air streaming up to the surface from his jaws.
    Lusa’s stomach lurched. They couldn’t lose Toklo! All three of them belonged together, on the journey to see the spirits dance. One shadow, many legs.
    Swimming toward Toklo, Lusa gave him a hearty shove upward. As their heads broke the surface, she felt a stinging blow on her shoulder. Toklo had lashed out at her with his claws. She wasn’t sure if he was still trying to attack her, or just thrashing around in panic because he thought he was drowning.
    â€œStop it!” she gasped. “Swim, like I showed you.”
    Ujurak’s head bobbed beside her in the water. His snout was pointing upward, his neck crooked back to keep his nose in the air, and his legs paddled so hard he was making waves of his own.
    â€œCan I help?” he spluttered.
    â€œNo—keep back!” Lusa couldn’t imagine how she would cope with both of them in trouble. “Toklo, swim ! Move your paws like this!”
    Toklo coughed up a mouthful of water. “Don’t let me drown!” he begged.
    â€œYou won’t drown,” Lusa promised, shoving her shoulder underneath him to support his bulk in the water. To her relief, he started paddling again, though panic still glittered in his eyes. “I can manage now,” he gasped.
    â€œOkay.” Lusa wasn’t sure he could, but she let him go ahead, staying close and keeping an eye on him. He was tiring himself out with those clumsy strokes, and the far bank was still a long way away.
    â€œOver here!” Ujurak called.
    Lusa thanked the spirits when she saw a narrow spit of pebbles in the middle of the river. Ujurak was standing at the very edge of the little island with river water washing around his paws.
    â€œThat way!” Lusa summoned all her energy and thrust Toklo across the current, propelling him through the water with very little help from the grizzly’s feeble flailing paws.
    Ujurak had found a dead branch lying on the pebbles; he grabbed one end in his jaws and rolled it into the water. Gulping and choking, Toklo managed to sink his claws into the branch and drag himself toward Ujurak, while Lusa pushed him into the shallows where they could both touch the bottom and heave themselves out.
    Toklo