Bearville: a picture book

         Once upon a time, in a beautiful, honey-filled land called Bearville, there was an old bear named Fred. Now, everyone knows that bears love honey, right? Well, Fred didn't like honey; he loved strawberries. He would eat them with everything: ice-cream, bearcakes, chocolate, and even sandwiches!
         Fred lived in a village with a lot of other bears. His best friend, George, lived right next door. They did almost everything together. One day, when they were out fishing together, Fred brought out a basket of strawberries that he had picked himself. After eating some, he asked George, "Do you want a strawberry?" George shook his head, but Fred told him, "But they taste so good!"
         George sighed and told him, "I don't like strawberries. They taste funny!"
         "But...but...I love them! Are you sure? Maybe you haven't ever had real strawberries." Fred looked surprised, because he didn't think anyone could not like strawberries. Why, he loved them, so everyone else did also, he thought.
         When they went home from fishing, Fred was still thinking about what George had said. Making up his mind he decided, "I'll just cook him my strawberry recipes. He has to like one of them!" And, having decided what he was going to do, he stayed up most of the night, cooking everything he could think of that had strawberries in it. He cooked strawberry pie, strawberry jello, strawberry ice-cream, strawberry cake, strawberry brownies, strawberry sandwiches, strawberry pasta, and everything else he could, until the house was full of food.
         The next day, Fred waited, excited, for George to come over. When George finally knocked on the door, Fred opened it quickly. "Look what I did for you!" He said happily, pointing into his house. Everywhere George looked, he saw food, all with strawberries in it. George sighed.
         "Who is going to eat all of this?" George asked, still looking at the food.
         Surprised, Fred answer quickly, "You and me! I made it so that you could find something that you liked with strawberries in it." He smiled.
         George looked confused for a moment. "But I already told you, I don't like strawberries!"
         "I know, I just thought..." started Fred, but George had already left, going back to his own house. "Fine!" Fred said, angrily. "I don't want to share with you anyways!"
         But the truth was, Fred had really been looking forward to being able to share everything he had made with George. He didn't want to admit that he might have made a mistake by cooking so much, so he sat down in a chair, being careful not to sit on the strawberry pie that was also in the chair. "I'll eat it all," he thought suddenly. "I love strawberries!"
         So, Fred started to eat everything he'd made. He ate and ate and ate, and by the time he was done, he was so full that he could barely move. Then, the doorbell rang. Trying to get out of his chair, he finally just said, "Come in!"
         The door opened and there George stood, holding a small basket of peaches. "I was just...wait, where did all the food go?" George asked, amazed. Then he saw Fred, who had ate so many strawberries that he was starting to look like one himself. "Did you eat all of that?" he asked. Fred just nodded, miserable. "I think I'll come back tomorrow, then, and let you rest." George said, turning around and walking out the door.
         The next day, Fred was feeling much better. He took all of his fishing gear and went over to George's house, knocking on the door. When nobody anwered, he went around to George's backyard, where he saw George holding all his fishing stuff also. "Do you want to go fishing?" George asked Fred, laughing. Fred nodded with a smile.
         Once they were in their boat, George pulled something out of his picnic basket. After getting Fred's attention, he gave Fred a basket of...what else?...strawberries. George looked at them for a moment, turning green. "Well..." He started to say, then he threw the strawberries over the side of the boat, into the lake and pulled out his own picnic basket. "Would you like a peach?" He asked, taking a bite out of a peach and offering George a different one.
         Once, in Bearville, there was a bear who loved strawberries more than he loved honey. Now, there are two bears who love peaches!

So Easy Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

- 1 baked pie shell, or graham cracker crust

- 2 pints strawberries

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 3 tablespoons corn starch


Crush 1 pint ripe strawberries and place berries and juices in a saucepan. Add sugar and corn starch. Stir and bring to a gentle boil. Boil 1 minute. While mixture cools, slice remaining pint of berries and place in pie shell. Pour cooked berries on top and refrigerate until chilled. Good served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!