Liao Xiaoqin

Lao Dou was sound asleep， because it was the first day of summer vacation and she didnt have to wake up early. Her real name was Yin Dou， but her friends called her Lao Dou， which means “old bean” in Chinese.

The living room was quiet， and the cement floor was shiny， as if covered with charming beeswax by the sunlight streaming through the window.

But there was nothing on the table.

Lao Dou woke up and wandered into the kitchen， humming a little tune. The stove was cold and the machine used to make soya milk was unplugged. After fixing her short， messy hair， Lao Dou decided to get comfy with a bowl of delicious， hot porridge.

However， after eating the porridge， Lao Dou still didnt feel full， so she decided to fill her belly with some Chinese junk food — dried tofu， chicken feet with pickled peppers， and chips.

After eating， Lao Dou pushed open her dad Yin Ges door， but he wasnt in bed！ It was already 9 a.m.， so of course he shouldnt still be in bed.

However， there was a BEAR in Dads bed！

A BEAR？ Lao Dou slammed the door shut. She must still be dreaming！

Lao Dou paced around the living room until she was absolutely certain that she was awake and that she was not seeing things before pushing open the door again.

There was indeed a bear lying in her fathers bed — a huge bear. He was breathing heavily， grinding his teeth， and his stomach was moving. Lao Dou didnt wake him up because she knew not to disturb anyone who was sound asleep： she herself hated to be disturbed by others when sleeping. But she didnt just stand there. Instead， she checked the door and window to find out how the bear had snuck into Yin Ges bedroom， climbed into his bed， and snuggled down under his favorite blanket.

Before Lao Dou could figure out what was going on， the bear woke up.

He looked at Lao Dou and made a grunting sound in his throat.

“What are you muttering about？” asked Lao Dou.

The bear just answered with another grunt.

“I cant understand you！” said Lao Dou， annoyed.

The bear stared at her， as if he was gazing at a little monster who had come to life from his dream.

“Um... Are you from the forest？” Gardenia City， where Lao Dou lived， was not far from the forest and she had heard that lost bears and deer could often be seen nearby.

The bear didnt answer her. Instead， he lowered his head and peered at his thick brown fur.

“Dont worry. I havent plucked out any of your fur，” Lao Dou said loudly.

The bear just grunted.

“Hey， how did you break into my house？” She reached out her hand， wanting to push him， but suddenly remembered that even if he was a stupid bear， he could still hurt her， so she quickly pulled her hand back again.

Another grunt.

Lao Dou didnt know what the bears grunts meant， and she was sure that he had never learned human language， so she didnt ask any more questions but just walked out. She had to find her dad and tell him about the uninvited guest.

Her father always said to her， “If you have trouble， just ask me for help.”

So Lao Dou called her dad， but he didnt answer the phone， and to make matters worse， she heard the bear roaring from the bedroom.

She found her fathers phone in the bedroom.

“Oh no！ Did you eat my dad？” The flashing signal on her dads mobile phone made her panic. The thought flashed into her mind – her father never left home without his phone.

The bear roared louder.

“Are you saying you didnt？” Lao Dou didnt buy it. She jumped onto the bed and touched the bears belly.

It was flat.

“Where is my father？” Lao Dou demanded.

The bear stared at her sorrowfully.

“Did he abandon me？” Lao Dou asked again. But as soon as she asked this question she felt a little bit silly.

The bear roared at Lao Dou once more. She was starting to get cross： “Stop yelling. I know my dad wouldnt leave me！”

Lao Dou thought， maybe he was just running an errand and would soon appear at the door with a bag full of fried chicken， smiling at her and saying， “Greedy little girl， this is all for you.” But hed only do this on the weekend， and today was Monday， time for him to go to work！

Grr… The bears stomach grumbled and growled. Lao Dou glanced at his face and then down at his stomach. The bear hung his head as if he was sorry.

Lao Dou went to the fridge and took out some apples. Remembering that bears love honey， she went back and grabbed a full jar.

But the bear ate neither the apples nor the honey. Instead， he just stared sadly at Lao Dou and then looked sadly down at himself.

At midday， Lao Dou went out to buy two fish. She hoped the house would be empty when she came back， but when she pushed the door open the bear was still there.

Lao Dou fried one fish and put the other on a porcelain plate. She ate a bowl of rice and the fried fish， leaving just a pile of bones. The bear didnt eat the raw fish. He just looked at Lao Dou helplessly.

Lao Dou ignored him.

Lao Dou called her classmate， Ding Xiaoding. She said， “Theres a bear in my house！”

“Ha-ha， dont play such a silly prank. If I said there was an elephant in my room， would you believe me？” Ding Xiaoding laughed.

“Oh， come on， Im not silly！” Lao Dou replied.

“And neither am I，” her friend said.

So then Lao Dou called her friend Mei Ranran and told her the same thing. Mei giggled at first， but then suddenly became serious and said， “Can I go to your house and have a look？” Lao Dou glanced at the bear lying on the floor and said， “Forget it. I was just kidding.”

The bear was gesturing desperately to Lao Dou. Though she didnt understand what he meant， she got the impression that he didnt want anyone to visit him.

In the afternoon， Lao Dou went to her swimming class.

Her dad had signed her up for it. Lao Dou had wanted to learn Taekwondo， but he had said， “You are strong enough already. Youd better learn to swim instead — it can help keep you fit. And you wont be afraid of drowning if theres a flood.” Lao Dou had objected so theyd had a big argument and then held a family meeting of just the two of them as usual. In the end， her father won.

Lao Dou was worried that the bear would wreak havoc while she was away. But after figuring out that the most valuable thing they had was the TV， which was already three years old， she decided it was safe enough to leave.

She didnt do well in her swimming class and swallowed water several times. The coach said that she was absent-minded， and she retorted， “If you had a bear at home， would you be able to concentrate？” The coach said， “Even if there was a lion in my house， I would still concentrate， because I am not someone who indulges in daydreams.”

Lao Dou giggled at him， and the girl beside her also laughed.

“Stop giggling！ Try to move forward！ Move forward！ Forward！” Standing on the side， the girls mother was getting angry. Lao Dou curled her lip and thought， “I wouldnt want this kind of mother even as a gift.”

While she was gone， the bear didnt make a mess. He just lay back on her dads bed and covered his head with a quilt.

Lao Dou sat in the living room waiting for her father. Since she was sure that he could solve any problem， she was sure a bear would be no big deal to him. However， the evening passed and now it was late at night， but he still hadnt come back.

Finally Lao Dou had to admit that things might be more serious than she had thought.

“Have you eaten my father？” Lao Dou asked again as soon as the bear woke up. The bear shook his head desperately. After carefully looking at his furry paws and thick brown fur， he lay down again and slept soundly.

Lao Dou scrolled through the contacts on her dads mobile phone for a long time before she found a familiar name.

“Oh no！ You cant find your father？” the voice on the other end of the line sounded very surprised.

“Is he working overtime？” Lao Dou asked.

“Well ... wait a little longer; maybe hell be back in a while. Hes been? very busy recently...，” the speaker hesitated.

Lao Dou hung up because she was afraid that if she didnt， she would start to cry.

That night， her dad didnt come back and Lao Dou didnt eat or sleep. Instead， she stayed in his room and listened to the bears snores， which seemed to bounce between the ground and the ceiling.

Early in the morning， Lao Dou went to the Yitu Interior Design Company， where her father worked， hoping to find him hard at work at his desk.

“Your father？ Whos your father？” a middle-aged man with only a few stray strands of hair left pushed open the magnificent company gate and asked with a false smile.

On an ordinary morning， an earth-shattering event happened in the home of an 11-year-old girl， Lao Dou — her father， Yin Ge， disappeared， and a great bear slept on her dads bed！ Her dad had turned into a bear. With only a glimmer of hope， she took her father， who had become a big bear， without hesitation and embarked on a distant and arduous road of salvation and love.

The Daughter of the Great Bear

Written by Liao Xiaoqin

Translated by Xu Derong and Zhang Di

Dolphin Books

February 2023

88.00 （CNY）

Liao Xiaoqin

Liao Xiaoqin is a childrens writer and a member of Chinese Writers Association. Her works have won the 2010 Bingxin New Work Award， the Second Xinyi Picture Book Award， and the “Zhou Zhuang Cup” National Childrens Literature Short Story Excellence Award.