The mind at rest

I take great joy in wordplay and (sometimes terrible) puns, but always thought that was a waking phenomenon.

Two nights ago, I dreamt that I was out in the woods and stumbled upon four black bear cubs. They were all clustered together inside a hollow tree trunk, drowsily playful and very, very cute. My first impulse was to pet and snuggle them, but, having seen dozens of nature documentaries over the years, I had better sense than that. If there were cubs, there would be a mama bear not far behind.

And indeed it was so. A quick glance revealed mama bear on the horizon, heading my way, with clear intention in her gait. I yelped and took off as fast as I could go.

My friends, watching from a distance, didn't know what had happened at first. One moment I was peering curiously into a old tree trunk; the next, I was streaking across the field toward them at top speed. Then they saw the bear behind me and hightailed it on out of there after me.

In real life, a bear can run at a rate of approximately 30 m.p.h. Fortunately for us, this was apparently the world's slowest bear. We hurled ourselves through the doorway of a conveniently located wooden shack (love how these things appear just when you need them in a dream), slammed the door, and slumped to the floor, panting our sedentary lungs out.

Then I woke up... and thought how absolutely strange it was that I had dreamt of being chased by a bear. I hadn't been to the zoo. I hadn't even been in a toy store. My day had been entirely devoid of encounters with any kind of bear, real, fictional, or stuffed.

And then I realized my brain's inspiration: a conversation about mooning people and being mooned.

How does that fit?

I was streaking across a field with a "BEAR BEHIND."

O brain of silliness, I salute you!