Located in the middle of a small town was an old, run down shopping mall. Because of its age there was only one light switch and one thermostat that controlled the entire building. This mall was well-known for its defective wiring and inconsistent temperature changes, and this was all because of two vendors who couldn’t get along.
One was a coyote who owned a coffee shop, and the other was a polar bear who ran an ice cream parlour. They both disagreed on the temperature of the building. The coyote preferred a warm, homey environment for his customers while the bear wanted a slight chill to keep her merchandise cold.
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As a result the two animals would constantly go to the control room and change the temperature to their tastes. This often resulted in arguments.
“Hey stop turning down the heat!” yelled the agitated coyote.
The polar bear growled back, “I can do what I want, and I own an ice cream shop. It needs to be cold in here!”
The coyote took a step forward and put a paw in the bear’s face. “Well I sell HOT chocolate and coffee. I need it to be warm!”
This went on for a few minutes before the two went their separate ways. However, both their customers became annoyed by the inconsistent temperatures in the stores and stopped showing up, causing their profits to decrease.
The bear was the first to approach the coyote with a compromise.
“We’re both losing money because of this feud,” the bear sighed. “Why don’t we just keep it cool half of the day and warm for the other?”
The coyote thought this over before nodding in agreement. “The temperature can be higher in the morning and cooler in the afternoon.”
The two shook paws and went to their respective stores.
The peace didn’t last long.
This time they began to argue over the levels of lighting in their stores. The coyote preferred the lighting to be dim, since he had an aesthetic to uphold, and he wanted to be the most “hip” shop in town. The bear on the other hand wanted it to be brighter to show that her store was friendly and welcoming to people of all ages. Once again they took turns changing the lighting before they finally decided to settle their differences.
The coyote was first to speak. “Okay. Whoever can guess the amount of customers in both our stores combined gets to be in charge of the lights.”
The bear agreed to this and guessed 21. The coyote said 17.
Of course the answer was 19. Exactly in the middle. They decided to compromise again.
“We can keep it dim for part of the day and bright for the other. Like last time.” suggested the coyote.
The polar bear agreed to this.
Afterwards the two were still at odds, but they no longer fought about the temperature or lighting of their stores.
Author's note: I based this on the "Grizzly Bear and Coyote" Story from the British North America Unit. In the original a bear and coyote fought over how long the days and nights should be, as well as how many months of the year should be cold and warm. I decided to change this slightly by having them be store owners in a mall where they have to share a thermostat and and light switch. I also kept the part where they tried to settle their differences by counting the feathers on a bird's tail. However, I changed it by having them count the number of customers in their stores. (I also turned the grizzly bear into a polar bear).
I really love this story. I think it's fun and still keeps the integrity of the original tale. Your writing is very fun and the dialogue flows so nicely. I like that the characters own two different shops and fight over the lighting and air, I feel like it's a really realistic scenario but it's whimsical because they're animals. Really great story!
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