Fruits are not a normal part of my daily diet. When I happen upon them, I certainly take the time to enjoy them, but those moments are so infrequent. Apple cores are the most common fruit I find. They are yummy enough, but the crunchy seeds get stuck in my teeth, making it an unpleasant experience overall. Orange peels are easy to find, too, but despite some entertaining chewability, there is not much enjoyment to be had with an orange peel. The juices that can be found at the bottom of dumpsters often taste like fruits, but there is usually so little of it to lick up and what little there is usually just gets my fur tangled into squishy clumps.

Fruits and I just do not mingle often. Too many restrictions. Too hard to find. Too sticky. So, when I stumbled upon the strange spiky fruit in the dumpster, I had few fruit experiences to help me understand this strange, new fruit. Perhaps that is why, at first, I had no idea it even was a fruit. I found the pointy fruit in a plastic bag among some greasy napkins and a very large bug. The bug did not seem interested in the fruit, being far too preoccupied with the napkins, so I pawed at the odd looking object, noting its pointiness. It had a very pointy tail, which alarmed the roof of my mouth as I began to nibble at it.

I figured that the pointy object I had found was some strange human artifact. Much like the plastic cords I found attached to a big shiny flat thing, this object was likely difficult to eat and, if eaten incorrectly, could even hurt me. With a frustrated swipe of the paw, I pushed the thing aside and continued my dumpster rummaging.

My pawswipe must have been strong enough to break it open, however. A sweet, lovely aroma came from where it had landed against the dumpster wall, and I began a second investigation of the strange spiky object. As any dumpster visitor would, I immediately licked the source of the smell. It was so sweet and pleasant. I chewed on the fruit, ignoring its spiky shell and tail. I devoured it.

It was a happy accident. This strange, potentially harmful object turned out to be my best fruit experience yet. It makes me wonder what else in the forest has an unpleasant outside despite a wonderful inside. Are snakes not the evil serpents they appear to be? Are they actually as harmless and caring as any other forest creature? Is the sun not just a boiling ball of hate and anger? Is it just disguised as so, masking a sweet, nourishing persona beneath its devastating shine? Maybe even the dee- never mind.

I suppose it is difficult to truly understand something until you get to know it or, at least, accidentally swipe it into the side of a dumpster.

I am a bear.

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