It is dark in Arctic winter.
The sea is covered with ice.

On the land, inside a snowbank,
two polar bear cubs are born.
For months their drowsy mother rocks them.
Warms them with her breath.
Feeds them while they grow strong.

The cubs stumble out of their cozy den
for the first time.
They squint in the light.
Roll down the snowbank.
Tumble.

Soon the bears move toward the sea.
Mother Bear is hungry.
She hasn't eaten for months.
Her body needs food
so she will have milk for her cubs.

Mother sniffs the air.
She can smell seal from a long way off.
Seal fat is her favorite food.
The fat layer under their skin
keeps seals and bears warm.

Patiently, she waits by a hole in the ice
where seals come up to breathe.
She waits.
And waits.

A seal rises.
Quickly,
mother hauls it up.
The cubs get their first taste of seal.
They like it, too.

Spring is coming.
Each day the sun is warmer.
The bear cubs slip and slide on the ice.
Chase each other.
Bite.
Splash in puddles.

The ice pack is breaking up.
The bears ride the ice floes, hunting for seals.

The seals are sunning themselves.
Mother shows the cubs how to catch one.
She flattens herself like a rug.
The cubs watch as she wriggles across the ice,
pushing with her toes.
C-l-o-s-e-r, c-l-o-s-e-r.
She makes a dash—
she pounces!

With an explosion of barks,
the seals scatter.
Mother snatches one.

The ice floes shrink even smaller.
Mother swims with the cubs on her back.
Soon they paddle on their own
with wide, webbed front paws.

The bears must fatten up before the ice melts.
Mother sees an ice floe loaded with seals,
shoving each other to get more space.
She glides toward them,
only her face showing.

With a mighty heave,
she is on the ice.
Panic!
The seals dive in all directions.
They swim too fast for Mother to catch one.

Now the ice is gone.
For months it is warm—
too warm for bears.
Flies buzz in their ears.
Blur their eyes.
Get up their noses.

Sometimes they eat a little grass
and some berries,
a dead seal,
or a bird that washes up on shore.
This is a hungry time for bears.

When the days grow colder,
the bears move north,
where ice will be forming.
Passing a village,
they pick through its garbage dump for food.
People make loud noises
and frighten them off.

But the bears return,
bold because they are hungry
and mother needs milk for her cubs.
This time they come into the village,
where they smell food.

Children on their way to school
see the bears breaking into a house.
Wildlife officers come
to drug mother and her cubs
so they can safely move them
to a special jail for bears.

As soon as Mother Bear can stand,
she tries to escape from the cell.
But the walls are thick and the bars are strong.
She paces.
Moans.
Still, Mother is relieved
that the cubs are with her
so she can protect them
from the strange sounds and smells.

Wind shrieks through the long, cold night.
Ice cracks and groans
while the sea freezes over.
Now the bears can be set loose.

Free again,
the bears have one
overpowering need.
They set off at a trot,
following
the scent
of seal.

That night the snow drifts against Mother's back.
The cubs snuggle into the curve of her body.
Her milk is rich.
Their stomachs are full.
And tomorrow will bring more good hunting.