Jonathan Nicklow

In the quiet mountain town of Evergreen, a bear named Hungry Bottoms woke up one spring day with an appetite far beyond his usual berries and fish. He wandered into town, sniffed the air, and paused at a house that smelled of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and cedarwood.

With one huge bite, he chomped off the front door. The walls were crunchy, the windows like sugary glass. Hungry Bottoms munched room by room—kitchen, then the living room, then the cozy bedroom with lavender-scented pillows.

​The townspeople stared in disbelief as the bear chewed through shingles like crackers. “He’s eating the whole house!” cried one older woman.

​When the roof disappeared into his belly, Hungry Bottoms gave a satisfied burp and waddled back into the woods, full and happy.

​No one ever built on that plot again. But the next spring, bright red mushrooms grew where the house once stood—shaped oddly like chairs, tables… and one smiling bear.

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