Sometimes, communication is a matter of life and death. In the short story What Language Do Bears Speak?, y !

och "arrier, an #nglish$speaking circus performer arri%es to do a sho& in a 'rench community. (he performer, Dr. Shult), grandly steps out to greet the locals, ut here he and his audience encounter a difficulty* they do not understand each other in the slightest. (here is only one in the %illage &ho can act as a translator, ut his efforts turn out to e insufficient. (he main attraction, a large lack ear that Dr. Shult) &restles &ith, escapes from its cage and runs a&ay. +en from the %illage are sent after it, to ring it ack ali%e, ut the sho& must go on. Someho&, despite the language arrier, a lot of the local kids help &ith the set up of the circus tent. I can imagine that this e,perience &as frustrating for the organi)er, &ho &ould ha%e had to use signals and gestures to get help from the french children. When the performance egins, Dr. Shult) performs tricks &ith other animals, ut his act is interrupted y the entrance of the locals - dragging in a %icious lack ear. Dr. Shult) cries out ut the translator did not let the locals kno& &hat he said, so they released the ear, thinking that Shult) &ould simply &restle it, since he &as famous for this. (he ear attacks Shult), then runs from the tent, lea%ing the Doctor leeding and &eeping on the stage. (he translator approaches him and tells the cro&d &hat he is saying. (hat ear &asn.t his ear. (he men laugh at their mistake, and one man mocks Dr. Schult) saying (hat ear &as a ear that talked #nglish, though, ecause I didn.t understand a single &ord he said. (he %illagers &eren.t eing %ery sympathetic to&ards the mauled Dr. Shult). (his &as pro a ly due to their frustration at eing sent off y a foreigner to round up a ear. (hey &ere also gi%en little instruction other than to keep it ali%e, and e%en this &as pro a ly /um led ecause the translator had not practiced his #nglish for some years. 'inally, they disco%ered that Dr. Shult) couldn.t fight the ear that &asn.t his o&n, &hich made them not %ery sorry that they had unleashed the thing upon him &hich they did ecause they didn.t understand his #nglish outcry. 0ll in all, the story sho&s that &hen you are tra%elling to foreign places, it is est to come prepared for language differences that could cost you your life. 0t least e a le to communicate the ear necessities.