Bow vs. Rifle

 

            The morning was still as Cora drew back her bow. Breathing out, she let the arrow fly, hitting the rabbit precisely where she had planned. She smiled when she thought about the delicious rabbit stew Mom would be able to make for dinner.

            After dressing the rabbit and putting it in her pack with the other one that she had shot earlier, Cora headed home. She wondered if Sam had had any luck hunting this morning. She loved her brother, but she knew he was hopeless with a rifle. Because she was a girl, she wasn’t allowed to take the gun, so she had turned to the bow instead. Hours and hours spent practicing had paid off for her, and she could put an arrow right where she wanted to every single time. When Cora went hunting, she hit whatever she aimed at. Sam, on the other hand, rarely brought back anything from his hunts.

            As she neared home, Cora heard a shuffling sound off to her right. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw that it was a bear. It was far enough away that it hadn’t noticed her, so Cora stayed silent, watching as it passed.

            When it had gone, Cora took a few deep breaths and continued on her way. She would have to warn her family about the bear. Maybe Dad would set some traps…

            “Aaargh!” The shrill cry came from where the bear had disappeared.

            Cora felt the blood leave her face. Was that…?

            “Get away!”

            Yes, that was Sam’s voice! He must have blundered into the bear. Moving quickly, Cora made her way to the shouts and looked down a hill just in time to see Sam fire the rifle at the bear, which was less than twenty feet away. Even with a huge target, Sam missed.

            Throwing down her pack, Cora nocked an arrow. Instead of being scared off, the bear seemed to become enraged by the gunshot. “Get out of there, Sam!” she cried, noticing that he appeared to be frozen. Cora sighted down the arrow and let it fly into the charging bear.

            The bear stumbled and fell only feet away from Sam. Cora ran down the slope to get to him. Grabbing his hand, she heaved him to his feet and started shoving him back the way she had come. Grunts and snorts came from the bear as it slowly got back on its feet. It let out a roar at the retreating forms of Cora and Sam, but then turned away and slowly shuffled deeper into the trees.

            Cora watched it, and knew that it wouldn’t get far. She’d tell Dad where to come and look for it. Turning her attention back to Sam, she was a little alarmed at how white he looked.

            “Did you see the size of that thing?” he whispered in awe.

            Cora nodded and said, “You’re lucky to have escaped from a bear like that.”

            Sam looked seriously at Cora. “I wouldn’t have escaped if it hadn’t been for you.” He gave her a hug. “Thank you!”

            Together, they walked back to the house to tell their story. It had been a tense few minutes, and Cora could see that Sam was severely shaken. She decided not to tease him about missing such a large target when it was right in front of him.

            After that day, Dad said that Cora could hunt with the rifle if she wanted to. She was able to shoot with it just as accurately as with her bow, but she didn’t use it often. “My bow is enough for what I need,” she told anyone who asked. “If it’s good enough to take down a bear, it’s good enough for me.”