It is not uncommon for other creatures to sleep near me while I am sleeping. I think I might produce a considerable amount of heat compared to most things in the forest, so getting comfortable next to me is really more of a survival tactic than anything else.

I usually do not mind this sort of thing. Creatures come and go in my cave, and though they usually try to disguise themselves as to not alert me, I know when they are there. And, honestly, it is fine. In fact, I like being a big warm ball of heat for creatures who might need it, a more approachable sun, I think. That is a nice thought.

Some animals overdo it, however. A tiny mouse once slept in my ear for several days. I only eventually noticed because I had to shake my fur dry after a light rain. When I raddled my head back and forth, a small mouse was catapulted from my ear. He looked upset, and I am sure I looked confused.

The mouse was not the worst offender, however. That honor would go to the lizard who slept in my mouth… The first one anyway.

Surely, my mouth is quite warm. I understand this. However, I really do not think it would be considered an optimal place for anything to sleep in. This is mostly due to the teeth. I have accidentally bitten my tongue and the inside of my cheek many times, so there is not much stopping me from accidentally chomping down on anything else that might be in there.

This daredevil reptile must not have considered that, though. I suppose I must open my mouth during my sleep (perhaps for deep breathing?), so the first lizard must have found just the right moment to slip into mouth without me noticing.

When I woke up, I tasted a mixture of dirt and squirming (if squirming can even have a taste). I spat out whatever was inside my mouth, and there fell a lizard. I did not get time to ask who the lizard was or why the lizard was there since the creature’s tiny legs scrambled to get out of my cave before I could.

I thought it was a one time occurrence. Maybe the lizard was just so desperate for shelter that night that even the mouth of a bear was preferable to the elements outside of that bear.

It happened again, though.

Just recently, another lizard (I have no idea if it was the same one or not) crawled into my mouth while I was sleeping and rested there the entire night.

Wake.

Taste.

Dirt/squirming.

Spit.

Confused.

I was worried this would start a trend, but it was really out of my control. I cannot control what happens to my face while I am asleep, so I just had to accept that there might be some lizards in my mouth every once in awhile.

I hope they needed to sleep there. I do not think it would bother me so much if I knew that the lizards absolutely needed to sleep in my mouth for survival or something.

I hope they were not just playing a trick on me or intentionally making me feel uncomfortable.

Lizards are a strange mystery.

I am a bear.

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