The small gray cat approached the large brown bear in the night under a crescent moon. At first, she thought the bear might be sleeping, but she could see his beady eyes opened where he lay.

The cat stopped a few feet away from the bear, keeping her distance. “Might I pass?” she asked in a soft yet clear voice.

“That depends,” the bear responded in a deep gravel. “Where do you seek to go?”

“Merely onward,” the cat said.

The bear shifted his weight but remained lying on the ground. “Have you no destination?”

The cat’s tail flitted about behind her. “Well, of course I’m going somewhere. Otherwise why would I be traveling?”

“Some might say that the journey is all that matters,” the bear said, giving no indication of whether he agreed with that sentiment.

“I do plan on arriving somewhere,” the cat said.

“Why travel at night?” the bear asked, lifting its head up onto a paw. “It can be dangerous. You might not be able to see where you’re going, and you could run into…creatures.”

“I travel during the day as well.”

The bear eyed her suspiciously. “Do you ever stop to rest?”

The cat looked away, her eyes glazing over for a moment as she stared up at the moon. “There are many times when I wish to rest…and sometimes I must,” she admitted, almost as if she were admitting to some great weakness. “But the more I travel without stopping, the closer I get to my destination.”

“Which is…?” the bear said, leaning closer to the cat.

The cat held her ground. “How do I know you won’t follow me?”

The bear stood up on his forepaws, looming over the cat, but he still did not stand all the way up — he seemed quite comfortable where he sat. The cat shrank back a bit, but did not move from where she stood.

“Do you fear me?” the bear asked, raising its head up proudly.

“Only if you’re a threat.”

The bear lowered its head until he was looking the cat directly in the eye, chuckling darkly. “How do you know I’ll let you pass?”

The cat trembled, but did not move otherwise. “I will pass.”

The bear snarled low.

It was then that the cat realized that whether the bear was a threat or not, he was delaying her progress onward. She had already wasted too much time talking with him already.

The cat took a step forward.

Immediately, the bear let out a terrible roar and lunged. The cat skirted beneath him and the bear hit the ground behind her. He growled again and turned, swiping his claws out at the small feline, but the cat dodged again and ran off into the night.

The bear roared after her, but did not follow. Instead, he resumed his stance from before—lying on the ground in wait for the next creature to pass his way.