Did you read that article in the paper, about that bear hunt in Romania? No? Well, it was about a German guy who was staying in one of those guest houses in Romania. He told the landlord he loved to hunt. The landlord wanted to boast a little and said that there were many bears in the environs. The German quite fancied the idea of a bear hunt, so he said he would return some day with a couple of friends to do some hunting. The landlord had completely forgotten about it, when some time later, a group of six or so Germans turned up on his doorstep with shotguns. Now it was too late for the landlord to say there weren't actually any bears in the area. So he went to the village to seek some advice.

He was told that there was someone in the area who kept an old circus bear. So they concocted a plan to give this circus bear its freedom. If it was shot that would be a pity, but it was an old animal after all. Should the Germans miss, then that wouldn't be too bad either.

So some time later, those Germans were lying next to a road with their shotguns. A Romanian cycled by and saw a bear a bit farther on. The shock caused the man to jump from his bike and run like hell. A few moments later, the German hunters saw a bear cycling past. After all, it was a circus bear. The Germans did not shoot, but went back home instead. I can imagine their faces. It was in the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant. When you read the beginning of such a story, you are willing to believe it, but at the end, when that bear comes cycling past .... "