Mickey and Richie were two polar bears. They lived near the Arctic Circle. This is a place where it is very cold and snowy all year round. They liked living there very much because they liked winter and cold weather. But because they were two restless and clever bears, they were always making something up.
One day they would race up the hill and slide down on their bellies, the other time they would try to see who could catch the most fish or who could hide best in the snow. They always found something to do, their imagination had no end. In short, they were never bored.
One day after lunch they were lying on an ice floe, slowly rocking on the cold water, wondering what they were going to do. “I want to see the world. To see faraway places. To know what it’s like in places it’s still warm,” Mickie said, dreaming. “That would be great! But how to do it? How do we get across the big cold water here, past the big icebergs around us?” Rickey thought.
As they were both lying on the floe thinking about traveling, suddenly Misha had an idea: “Let’s build a hot air balloon! It will take us wherever we want to go.” Richie was completely absorbed by the idea. He immediately jumped ashore and began to gather the things needed to build the balloon. He and Mickey had their own warehouse, where they put everything they could find and what they liked. And now the finds finally came in handy!
In a few hours, they were done. There was a hot air balloon in the snow. Slowly, the two bears climbed into it, lit a fire and began to let the air out to float. The first attempts were a little clumsy and awkward, but eventually they took off. They packed a map with them to get them exactly where they wanted to go.
They visited some beautiful places, met some unfamiliar animals and met new bears. They also discovered a place that was incredibly warm. They landed their balloon on the sand. It was a lonely beach. The sun was so hot that the bears could hardly breathe. They tried to stand on the sand, but it burned their paws so much they couldn’t stand it. They quickly jumped back into the basket, floated the balloon up into the air, and slowly made their way home.
A few miles before their home they flew into a thunderstorm. The clouds gathered around them so quickly that lightning and thunder fell one after another. They didn’t even have time to get ready. The wind was blowing, the balloon was flapping, and the rain was soaking their sail. Mickey and Richie tried to wait until the storm is over, but it only grew stronger. Fortunately, they were just above the water when lightning struck their balloon and they fell into the icy water. The cold water didn’t bother them at all, they were from the Arctic Circle. Mickey didn’t lose his head and found the big ice floe in no time. He climbed it and helped his friend Richie. They rode the ice floe all the way home before the storm stopped.
By evening, they were both lying in their beds, tiredly reminiscing about their adventures. They were happy to have seen so much and to be back home again. On the road, they realized that the best part of it all was that they had experienced it together.
