Careless had come to Rumania for the first time. He had read about the Rumanian White Deer. It was high on the list of endangered species and he wanted to get pictures of it before it was too late. For days, his Rumanian guide had led him through one of the thickest forests he’d ever seen. He saw all kinds of wild animals but not one Rumanian White Deer. On the evening of the final day of the expedition, he was just returning to camp when he heard a horrible noise. it sounded like a large animal in great pain. He signalled to his guide to follow him as he moved slowly and quietly in the direction of the terrible sounds. A moment later, looking out from behind a bush, he saw what was making the noise. Some men had captured a bear in a trap and – using a pair of pliers – were about to pull out its claws. Careless was beside himself with anger. Without thinking of his own safety, he ran at them.

‘What do you want?’ the man with the pliers shouted.

‘You’re hurting the bear. What in God’s name are you doing?’ Careless said.

‘Just a little operation,’ said a second man. ‘To make him into a dancing bear.’

‘Stop this at once!’ Careless cried.

‘What are you going to do about it?’ said one of the others.

‘I’ll report you.’

‘Grab him!’ said the man with the pliers.

‘Dragomir!’ Careless turned to look for his guide but his guide had gone.

‘Take off his shoes!’ the man with the pliers said. ‘Let’s remove some of his ‘claws’. The others laughed wildly as they pulled off Careless’s shoes.

‘Now for some fun!’ said the man with the pliers.

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