Doug MacLeod

Could I pick some flowers for Miranda?_ I asked.__ou cannot take these flowers,_ said Zoran. __hey belong to the government.

I feel like I__ going to die,_ he says.__ould we talk for a few minutes before you die?___nly if you do it quietly.___ met this girl last night. I need your advice.___ome back later.___o. You might be dead.

As it happens, I__ a terrible dancer. Bears are simply not made for dancing. We__e much better at sitting and sleeping and singing. But there are humans who catch bears and force us to dance. It__ agony. And there are other humans who pay to watch us.__annah sighed. __ suppose you__e right to distrust humans.___nd that is why I must eat you,_ said the bear forlornly. __or the benefit of the entire bear population of the world. I__ awfully sorry about this.___hat__ all right._ Hannah shrugged her shoulders. __s there any point in my trying to run away?___one. We bears may not be able to dance but we are experts when it comes to chasing things.___hat if I climb a tree?_____l climb up after you, or push the tree over. It all depends on what sort of tree you choose to climb. Either way, you__l end up eaten.___o be it,_ said Hannah. __ow should I prepare myself?___ beg your pardon?___ill you eat me with my clothes on?___f course. Otherwise it would be bad manners.

I__ not scared any more,_ said Midge. __hank you, Kevin. Sometimes you can be very kind.___es,_ said Kevin. __nd if you tell that to any of the other trolls I will pull off your nose and feed it to a bear.

No one here is allowed to die without my permission.

Are you sure this is a good idea?_ I ask.__o,_ says Amber. __et__ do it.

Life would be a great deal easier if dead things had the decency to remain dead.

You don__ understand,_ I said. __ need to be with her. With every fibre of my being I ache for her. I__ in love.___ do understand,_ said Zoran. __t was same for me with Mrs Zoran when I first meet her. But the feeling goes away after few hours.