BB treks through the fragrant forest on a warm Summer morning. He looks up through the canopy of trees overhead and sees sunbeams peeking through the leaves and pine boughs, and he notices dappled patches of light as they flicker across the soft carpet of pine needles covering the forest floor. More than anywhere else, BB feels right at home among the old trees of the forest. As he walks along, listening to the singing of birds and buzzing of bees, BB takes a big breath of fresh morning air.

As he does, BB’s fuzzy nose picks up a scent on the breeze. It’s a mixture of so many different smells; smoky, sweet, woody, spicy… What could it be? BB immediately follows his nose through ferns and bushes, across rocky gullies and mountains until…

BB stands at the top of a tall hill overlooking a green valley. But the forest in the valley isn’t like anything he’s seen before. Poking up here and there among the treetops, BB sees roof lines, spires, tall wooden trestles, gleaming pipes, and one massive slowly spinning metal wheel. Is this some kind of human village built in the woods?

From here, BB can hear many new sounds, too; he can hear music, laughing, rumblings, clacking noises, and every now and then, excited humans yelling at the top of their lungs! BB clicks his furry heels and begins excitedly running down the hill toward the strange valley.

As he approaches the bottom of the hill, BB notices the dense forest opening into wide spaces. Here and there, he sees small wooden cabins, stone cottages, and lots of canopies and big boxes on wheels, all gathered around campfires and wooden tables. BB comes to a cool, babbling creek, with an old wooden bridge crossing it. This bridge, too, is different, it has its own roof! Here must be the start of the human village, BB thinks to himself as he crosses the bridge, but, where are all the people?

Just then, BB hears a thundering, clattering sound from overhead, as well as many humans yelling loudly. He looks up to see a tall tower of wooden pillars and beams, and far at the top, a train of boxes rapidly rolling along; up and down, around and around and around. BB sees people riding in the boxes.He thinks back to his adventure speeding around in a race car, and he thinks this looks like fun, too!

BB follows the train of boxes around the timbers until, with a loud hiss of air, it comes to a stop under a wooden canopy. He sees a long line of people waiting for their chance to ride along the big wooden track. BB takes his place at the back of the line, filled to the top of his furry head with anticipation and excitement.

As the line of people make their way toward the entry gate, BB hears a voice call to him, “Woah there, little guy! I think you might be a bit too short to ride the Phoenix just yet…” BB looks up and sees a human at the gate, holding a long bent measuring stick. “Come on over and see if you’re tall enough to ride.” BB walks over as the human holds up the measuring stick. He looks up to see the bend in the stick far above his little head. “Ah, sorry little guy, you’re not quite tall enough to ride safely. Maybe next year you’ll be big enough, though!” BB slowly walks away, his furry head hung low, as he looks at the pebbles on the ground in disappointment. And it looked like so much fun!

“It’s okay, I’m too small to ride yet, too.” BB looks up to see a young human girl, not much bigger than himself. “Some day we’ll both be tall enough to ride the big coasters,” She says,”There’s still lots more we can ride until then. Come and see!”

BB follows his new friend as they pass many other tall rumbling rides. One looks like a big eagle’s claw, swinging back and forth. Another is full of hollowed-out logs, climbing hills and splashing down into pools of bright, chilly water. Another still looks like the world’s biggest flower, with gondolas spinning round and round at the tips of its long leaves. And everywhere BB sees people! So many humans laughing, yelling, and having fun in this amazing village.

The little human girl leads BB through shady trees and over another old wooden bridge. All the while, BB hears the sound of music getting louder and louder. It sounds like a chorus of honking geese, twittering sparrows, and big, deep moose calls. They come to a stop next to a wide, round canopy, filled with what looks like a crowd of humans riding a galloping herd of horses! BB looks to find the chorus of animals, now louder than ever, only to find the music coming from a big, colorfully painted machine. “That’s the organ!” says the human girl, “I could stand and listen to it all day! Let’s ride the Grand Carousel!”

BB and the young girl line up at the gate, just as he hears a big brass bell go “Ding-Ding!” BB watches as the humans climb off of the horses and leave the canopy. Now BB can see that the horses, although they looked real from a distance, aren’t real at all, but statues bolted to a big, spinning platform, painted just as colorfully as the big, loud organ. When the gate opens, BB and the little human girl excitedly hop up onto the wooden platform. “Here!” cries the little girl, “This one is perfect for you, its mane and tail match your fur!” Sure enough, BB sees a horse with a mane and tail the same color as his own fuzzy coat.

“You’re a little smaller, even than me. Let me help you up.” The human girl gives BB a boost as he climbs up onto the back of the horse. The little girl climbs onto the horse next to him, just as they hear the brass bell ring again, “Ding!”

“Hold on to the pole!” says the little girl, as BB feels the whole platform begin to spin. Not only that, the horses begin to bounce up and down, up and down, as the Carousel spins faster and faster. BB can’t help but let out an excited giggle, as they spin round and round, and round again. BB hopes it never ends!

“Ding Ding!” goes the big brass bell, and BB feels the Carousel begin to slow down. As they finally come to a stop, BB and the little human girl climb down from their horses, following the crowd out through the exit gate. “That was fun, wasn’t it!” says the human girl. BB nods eagerly and hops up and down in excitement.

“My family is waiting for me back at the Knoebels campground,” says the little human girl, “thank you for riding the Carousel with me today!” She gives BB the biggest bear hug a little human can, and BB hugs her right back. “I hope I see you again someday!”

BB and the little human girl wave at each other as she walks off back across the wooden bridge toward the cabins and cottages. BB looks around and sees he’s standing under a big stone and metal archway, with a single word spelled out on it. BB slowly reads the human letters: K – N – O – E – B – E – L – S.

As he marches off to discover the next part of his journey through the human world, BB thinks how fun it would be to bring his Mamma Willow, Papa Thorn, his Grandsquatch and all his Bigfooted cousins for an exciting day spent in the park in the beautiful, tree-filled valley.