I read the sign’s warning
When I got to the park.
“Please, BEWARE OF THE BEARS,
Don’t go out after dark.”

“The best way to scare bears,
We have found never fails,
Tourists are all advised
To wear little round bells.”

I went over and asked
The first ranger I found,
“So just how can I tell
When a bear is around?”

He told me bear droppings
Are a sure sign of bear
And if you see any,
It is time to beware.

So I asked how to tell,
If the droppings I find,
Are the droppings of bears
Or of some other kind?

“When you find them,” he said,
“While you’re walking the trails,
If they come from a bear
They’ll contain little bells!”

What do you want to bet that the fellow in this poem packed his bags and went to the beach? We’re always taught to obey warning signs but in this case it seems that one is being encouraged to ring the dinner bell for the bears with the ‘dinner’ being the bell ringer.

Maybe the ranger in Bear Sign was using this same type of psychology on the tourist.