Badger Story: The Badger Who Lost His Name
There was a badger named Peierbang, who was smart, lively, and a bit mischievous. One day, Peierbang’s mischievousness led to him losing his own name, which seemed somewhat absurd.
Now, everyone knows that it’s not unusual to lose things like food, belongings, or toys, but how could someone lose their own name?
—This story begins with Peierbang’s name.
Peierbang didn’t like his name. It sounded a bit odd, quite fancy, and even a bit foreign. Peierbang never understood why his father had given him such a name.
His father had since passed away, leaving Peierbang without the answer to the mystery of his name.
As a result, Peierbang never liked using his name.
One day, Peierbang, being playful, got into a fight with a much larger bear. The angry bear slapped him, causing Peierbang to feel dizzy and lose his balance. By the time he could stand up again, the bear had already run off.
Still feeling a bit dazed, Peierbang quickly recited the multiplication table to check if his brain was still functioning properly. He recited it smoothly, without any hesitation, proving his mind was just fine. But when he tried to recall his name, he couldn’t remember it at all.
He tried slapping his head, jumping up and down, and splashing cold water on his face, but still, nothing came to him.
Could he really be losing his mind? But how could that be when he could recite the difficult multiplication table so easily?
Peierbang saw a clever and agile little squirrel and asked it how he could make his brain smarter and more flexible.
The little squirrel swished its big tail and said, “Eat lots of nuts, as many as you can.”
Indeed, the little squirrel was always nibbling on pine nuts, walnuts, and other such nuts, which must be why it was so clever. So, Peierbang ate lots and lots of walnuts, hazelnuts, torreya seeds, and pine nuts. His brain became even sharper, but he still couldn’t remember his name.
A badger without a name—how strange!
Peierbang felt too embarrassed to ask others about his name, fearing they might think he had some strange illness.
Oddly enough, none of his friends ever called him by his name.
In the forest, there was a notice posted about Mr. Leopard’s upcoming motorcycle training class, which was now open for registration.
Peierbang had been eagerly waiting to sign up for this class for a long time. But how could he register without a name?
Peierbang was extremely frustrated and angry.
“Why did my father give me such a name that I could lose?” he thought.
One day, Peierbang met Mr. Leopard on the road. Mr. Leopard smiled and asked, “Why haven’t you signed up yet?”
“Who hasn’t signed up yet?” Peierbang asked.
“You, silly!”
Peierbang thought, “Silly” wasn’t his name. Disappointed, he ran off, not wanting Mr. Leopard to know that someone who couldn’t even remember his own name would dare to sign up.
There were only three days left before the registration deadline.
Peierbang was almost going crazy.
On his way home, he passed by the rabbit’s house and overheard a little hedgehog complaining, “Mrs. Rabbit, your little rabbit Jie Jie bullied me!”
Peierbang thought, “Aha! I’ll do something bad too, and when someone complains about me, my name will be revealed!”
That afternoon, Peierbang did several bad things—
He threw a hard walnut at the back of a little bear’s head.
He snatched away the rabbit Jie Jie’s carrot.
He kicked the hedgehog’s butt.
…
The forest was soon filled with complaints: “That bad badger threw a walnut at me!”
“That stinky badger stole my carrot!”
“That wild badger kicked me in the butt!”
“Dumb badger…”
Almost all of Peierbang’s nicknames were being tossed around, but not one person called him by his actual name. Peierbang was nearly driven mad with anger.
Doing bad things wasn’t working. He’d been too naughty all along, which is why he had so many unpleasant nicknames.
Peierbang changed his mind. He thought, maybe doing more good deeds would achieve the desired effect.
As soon as Peierbang stepped out of his house, he saw Mr. Hippo standing by his window, tilting his head and shaking his clock, listening intently. It seemed his clock was broken.
Peierbang politely asked, “Mr. Hippo, is your clock broken? Please give it to me, and I’ll make it work again!”
“Can you really do that?” Mr. Hippo was a bit skeptical.
“No problem, just watch!”
Peierbang had once taken apart three clocks at home and knew the structure of a clock and its common problems.
With a few quick adjustments, the clock started ticking again. Mr. Hippo exclaimed in surprise, “You’re amazing!”
“It’s nothing, just come to me if your clock breaks again!”
That afternoon, Peierbang fixed Mr. Hippo’s clock, helped Grandpa Bear push his cart of corn, and even took an injured frog from the forest back to the pond…
On his way home, Peierbang overheard Mr. Hippo talking with Grandpa Bear under a tree at a corner of the path: “That little badger is growing up. He’s really nice now!”
“Who are you talking about? The little badger who helped me with my corn today?”
“That’s right, the one named Peierbang. Don’t you remember? A long time ago, that old badger gave his son the name Peierbang, which in his hometown’s dialect means—”
“A really great badger—you’ve reminded me!” Grandpa Bear patted his head and said, “His very remarkable father once mentioned it to me!”
“Peierbang also fixed my clock today. He used to be quite mischievous, but now Peierbang has matured!”
“Indeed,” Grandpa Bear said, “Peierbang is really becoming the great badger his father hoped he would be. Although he might not be the best yet, he’s quite a remarkable badger!”
“He will be. He’ll become a truly ‘great’ badger, just like his father wanted. His father was such a good-hearted badger,” Mr. Hippo said emotionally.
“It’s a pity he’s gone, but his remarkable son is here!” Grandpa Bear said with a bit of regret.
The little badger Peierbang finally found his lost name. He almost wanted to jump up and shout, “I have the best name!”
But Peierbang didn’t jump or shout. He simply thought quietly to himself, “I want to be a truly great badger, just like my dad. I want to be the kind of badger that everyone loves, just as my dad hoped.”
“Peierbang, Peierbang…”
The little badger murmured to himself as he walked. Today, he not only found his name but also found many other things that he would treasure forever…
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
