"So Masakichi got his paws full of honey—way more hohan he could eat by himself—a it in a pail, and do-o-own the mountain he went, all the way to the town, to sell his honey. Masakichi was the all-time No. 1 honey bear."
"Do bears have pails?" Sala asked.
"Masakichi just happeo have one," Junpei explained. "He found it lying by the road, and he figured it would e in handy sometime."
"And it did."
"It really did. So Masakichi went to the town and found a spot for himself in the square. He put up a sign: Deeelicious Honey. All Natural. One Cup ￥200. "
" bears t money?"
"Absolutely. Masakichi lived with people when he was just a cub, and they taught him how to talk and how to t money. Masakichi was a very special bear. And so the other bears, who werent so special, teo shun him."
"Shun him?"
"Yeah, theyd go, like, Hey, whats with this guy, ag so special? and keep away from him. Especially Tonkichi, the tough guy. He really hated Masakichi."
"Poor Masakichi!"
"Yeah, really. Meanwhile, the people would say, O.K., he knows how to t, and he talk and all, but when you get right down to it hes just a bear. So Masakichi didnt really belong to either world—the bear world or the people world."
"Didnt he have any friends?"
"Not a single friend. Bears dont go to school, you know, so theres no place for them to make friends."
"Do you have friends, Jun?" "Uncle Junpei" was too long for her, so Sala just called him Jun.
"Your daddy is my absolute bestest friend from a long, long time ago. And sos your mommy."
"Thats good, to have friends."
"It is good," Junpei said. "Youre right about that."
Junpei often made up stories for Sala before she went to bed. And whenever she didnt uand something she would ask him to explain. Junpei gave a lot of thought to his answers. Salas questions were often sharp and iing, and while he was thinking about them he could also e up with wists to the story he was telling.
Sayokht a glass of warm milk.
"Junpei is tellihe story of Masakichi the bear," Sala said. "Hes the all-time No. 1 honey bear, but he doesnt have any friends."
"Oh, really? Is he a big bear?" Sayoko asked.
Sala turo Junpei with an uneasy stare. "Is Masakichi big?"
"Not so big," Junpei said. "In fact, hes kind of on the small side. For a bear. Hes just about your size, Sala. And hes a very sweet-tempered little guy. When he listens to music, he doesnt listen to rock or punk or that kind of stuff. He likes to listen to Schubert, all by himself."
"He listens to music?" Sala asked. "Does he have a CD player or something?"
"He found a boom box lying on the ground one day. He picked it up and brought it home."
"How e all this stuff just happens to be lying around in the mountains?" Sala asked with a note of suspi.
"Well, its a very, very steep mountain, and the hikers get all faint and dizzy, and they throw away tons of stuff they dont need. Right there by the road, like, Oh, man, this pack is so heavy, I feel like Im gonna die! I dohis pail anymore. I dohis boom box anymore. "
"I know just how they feel," Sayoko said. "Sometimes you want to throw everything away."
"Not me," Sala said.
"Thats because youre young and full of energy, Sala," Junpei said. "Hurry and drink your milk so I tell you the rest of the story."
"O.K.," she said, ing her hands around the glass and drinking the wa