Spring has come to the muntains, and the bears have emerged from their winter's sleep -- all but the Great Bear, who sleeps on in his den. 
In the Ute village, a boy called Short Tail worries that the Geat Bear will starve if he doesn't waken. So Short Tail heads off into the mountains to rouse the Great Bear. But on the way to the Great Bear's den, Short Tail too falls asleep, and slips into a magical dream in which the Great Bear teaches him a wornderful secret to share with his people.
Will Hobbs's lyrical text and Jill Kastner's rich, evoctive oil paintings bring the story of a Native American tradition ot vivid life.