'I'm Not Scared, YOU'RE Scared!

'
Seth Meyers by storylineOline

Once upon a time, there was a bear who was easily scared. Each night before
going to sleep, he would tie a bell to his door that would make a noise if
anyone tried to sneak in (because even a bear who is easily scared is a very
heavy sleeper). He was even afraid of his own reflection. And because he
couldn't see himself, he never brushed well and always had food stuck in his
teeth. When you're a scared bear with food in your teeth, you don't have
many friends. Bear had one, Rabbit. Rabbit was never scared. She read scary
stories. She slept with her door wide open. And she brushed her teeth while
hanging from a tree branch by her ears. This gave her very strong ears.

One day, Rabbit made an announcement. "Bear, we are going on an

adventure!" Bear suggested that, instead of going on an adventure, they could
read a book about adventures. "That way, if anything goes wrong, we can just
close the book." Rabbit looked at her friend and asked, "Bear, are you
scared?" And Bear replied, "I'm not scared, you're scared!" And with that,
Bear walked past Rabbit and out the front door.

Bear stopped to make sure they had everything they needed. "Do I need a
bike helmet?" Bear asked. "No," said Rabbit. "Do I need oven mitts?" "NO!"
said Rabbit. "Do I need bear repellant spray?" "You're a bear." said Rabbit.
After walking a while, they came to a small stream. "It looks deep," said Bear.
"It's NOT deep," said Rabbit. "It looks cold," said Bear. "It's NOT cold," said
Rabbit. "It looks like it's filled with fish who have very sharp teeth, the kind of
fish who would like nothing more than to nibble at the ankles of a delicious
bear." Rabbit looked at her friend and asked again, "Bear, are you scared?"
And Bear replied, once again, "I'm not scared, you're scared!" And with that,
Bear walked along the stream until it narrowed enough that he could step
over it. There he found Rabbit who had fallen asleep waiting for him.

After a bit longer, they came to the edge of the woods. "It looks dark," said
Bear. "It's NOT dark," said Rabbit. "It looks spooky," said Bear. "It's NOT
spooky," said Rabbit. "It looks like it's full of trees that are going to fall down
and bonk us on the head," said Bear. Rabbit looked at her friend and said,
"Bear, are you scared?" And Bear replied, "I'm not scared, you're scared!" And
with that, Bear, realizing he would do anything to avoid the dark and spooky
woods, walked to the road, where he waited for the bus.

The bus picked him up and drove him all the way around the forest. When he
got to the other side, he woke up Rabbit, who once again, had fallen asleep
waiting for him. They walked some more until they came to a mountain. "It
looks high," said Bear. "It's NOT high," said Rabbit. "It looks slippery," said
Bear. "It's NOT slippery," said Rabbit. "It looks like one of the rocks will fall and
roll and land on my paw." said Bear. Rabbit looked at her friend and just had
to ask, "Bear, are you scared?" And Bear replied, "I'm not scared, you're
scared!" And with that, Bear, realizing he would do anything to avoid the high
and slippery mountain, walked to the nearest train station.

The train took him halfway around the mountain to an airfield. At the airfield,
Bear bought a ticket on a helicopter that flew him to the top of the
mountain... and dropped him off next to Rabbit, who, no surprise here, had
fallen asleep. "Rabbit," said Bear, waking her up. "Should we go home?" "I am
not going home," said Rabbit, and she bounced off with Bear following behind
her.

After a bit more walking, they found themselves at one side of a long rope
bridge. Bear stopped. "It looks rickety," said Bear. "It might be a little rickety,"
said Rabbit. "It looks old," said Bear. "It might be pretty old," said Rabbit. "It
looks like the board might break if you were heavy enough," said Bear.
"Mmhm," agreed Rabbit. Rabbit looked at her friend and said "Bear, are you
scared?" And Bear took a deep breath and said... "Yes! Yes, Rabbit, I am
scared! I was scared of the river, and I was scared of the forest, and I was
scared of the mountain, but I am the most scared about this long, old, rickety
bridge!" And with that, Bear turned around and headed home.

He marched back to the helicopter that flew him back to the airfield, then
took the train to the forest... where he got on a bus that took him to the
river... so he could cross where it was narrow... and then trudge all the way
back to his house, where he crawled into bed.

Rabbit went to the middle of the bridge and thought, See, this bridge isn't
dangerous. It's a good bridge. And to prove it, she started to jump up and
down. And then she jumped harder. And then she jumped harder than she
had ever jumped in her life. And then... the board she was jumping on cracked
in half! And Rabbit fell right through the hole in the bridge. Lucky for Rabbit,
she had very strong ears. But she knew she wouldn't be able to hold on
forever. And because of this, Rabbit, for the first time in her life, was scared.
Now, Bear and Rabbit hadn't noticed but throughout their journey, they had
been followed by a small bird. Bird realized she had to get help, so she flew as
fast as she could all the way to Bear's house. Bird flew in Bear's window and
started chirping as loud as she could, but Bear didn't wake up, because even
bears who are easily scared are very heavy sleepers. Bird was about to give up
when she saw the bell on the doorknob. Bird put her head inside it and shook
it as hard as she could. Bear jumped out of bed to hear Bird yell, "Rabbit has
fallen through the bridge and needs your help!" And in that moment, Bear felt
something he had never felt before - courage.

He was so worried about his friend that instead of staying home where it was
safe, he ran out the door faster than any bear had ever run before. When Bear
reached the stream, he ran right through it! (It only came up to his ankles.)
When he came to the forest, he ran right through it! (It was only three trees.)
And when he came to the mountain, he didn't even think about taking a train
and a helicopter, he just climbed right up it! (It wasn't very high.) Meanwhile,
Rabbit was now hanging on with only one ear. She could feel it slipping, too,
and just as she lost her grip... Bear grabbed her by the ear and lifted her to
safety. "Bear, were you scared?" asked Rabbit. And Bear said, with pride and
honesty, "Rabbit, I was scared." "I was scared, too," said Rabbit. And Bear
smiled and said, "Sometimes it's OK to be scared." That night when Bear
brushed his teeth, he didn't hide from his reflection. He looked right at it.
And do you know what he saw? A very brave bear. (With no food in his
teeth!) I wrote this book because I love bears, I love rabbits, and even as a
grown-up I sometimes feel scared, and I think that's okay.
1. Why was the bear afraid to look in the mirror?

2. Why didn't the bear have many friends?

3. Why did the bear feel safe reading adventure books?

4. Why was the bear afraid of approaching the river?

5. Why didn't the bear want to go through the forest?

6. Why was the bear scared of the high mountain?

7. Why did the bear decide to go back home when he encountered the

rope bridge?

8. Why did the rabbit feel scared when the bridge broke?

9. Why did the bird seek help when the rabbit fell off the bridge?
 10. Why did the bear feel courageous when going to rescue the

rabbit?

Vocabulary:
1. Anxiously - Lo lắng, lo sợ - Phó từ 12. Treacherous - Nguy hiểm, gian nan
- Tính từ
2. Reflection - Sự phản chiếu - Danh
từ 13. Strenuously - Mạnh mẽ, cường
tráng - Phó từ
3. Bonk - Va đập - Động từ

4. Ricketiness - Tính rời rạc, không 14. Perilous - Nguy hiểm, đe dọa -
Tính từ
chắc chắn - Danh từ
15. Hazardous - Nguy hiểm, có hại -
5. Narrowed - Thu hẹp - Tính từ
Tính từ
6. Trudged - Đi bộ mệt mỏi - Động từ
16. Bravery - Sự dũng cảm - Danh từ
7. Chirping - Tiếng kêu của chim -
17. Hesitantly - Lưỡng lự - Phó từ
Danh từ
18. Triumphantly - Thắng lợi, thành
8. Drenched - Ướt sũng - Tính từ
công - Phó từ
9. Screeching - Tiếng la hét - Danh từ
19. Astonishment - Sự ngạc nhiên,
10. Reluctantly - Miễn cưỡng - Phó từ
sửng sốt - Danh từ
11. Furiously - Mạnh mẽ, dữ dội - Phó
20. Determination - Sự quyết tâm, sự
từ
kiên định - Danh từ
21. Enthusiastically - Hăng hái, nhiệt 31. Intrepidly - Dũng cảm, gan dạ -
tình - Phó từ Phó từ

22. Startled - Bất ngờ, sửng sốt - Tính 32. Adversity - Khó khăn, nghịch cảnh
từ - Danh từ

23. Marveling - Sửng sốt, kinh ngạc - 33. Puzzlement - Sự bối rối, sự lúng
Danh từ túng - Danh từ

24. Steadfastness - Sự kiên định, vững 34. Grudgingly - Hờ hững, không vui
vàng - Danh từ lòng - Phó từ

25. Astounded - Kinh ngạc, sửng sốt - 35. Apprehensively - Lo lắng, đầy lo
Tính từ ngại - Phó từ

26. Perseverance - Sự kiên trì, bền bỉ - 36. Conquer - Chinh phục, đánh bại -
Danh từ Động từ

27. Overwhelmed - Quá tải, áp đảo - 37. Tenaciousness - Sự kiên trì, bền bỉ
Tính từ - Danh từ

28. Fortitude - Sự bền bỉ, sức mạnh 38. Consternation - Sự hoảng loạn,
tinh thần - Danh từ sửng sốt - Danh từ

29. Perplexed - Bối rối, lúng túng - 39. Intrepidness - Sự dũng cảm, sự
Tính từ gan dạ - Danh từ

30. Astonishingly - Kinh ngạc, đáng 40. Dauntless - Bất khuất, không nao
kinh ngạc - Phó từ núng - Tính từ
Đáp án:

1. The bear was afraid to look in the mirror because he was scared of his own
reflection.
2. The bear didn't have many friends because he was easily scared and had food
stuck in his teeth.
3. The bear felt safe reading adventure books because he could close the book if
anything went wrong.
4. The bear was afraid of approaching the river because he thought it was deep and
filled with dangerous fish.
5. The bear didn't want to go through the forest because he found it dark, spooky,
and potentially dangerous.
6. The bear was scared of the high mountain because he thought the rocks might
fall on him.
7. The bear decided to go back home when he encountered the rope bridge
because he was scared it would break.
8. The rabbit felt scared when the bridge broke because she was hanging on with
only one ear.
9. The bird sought help when the rabbit fell off the bridge to get assistance for her.
10. The bear felt courageous when going to rescue the rabbit because he was
worried about his friend's safety.