Larson has always been willing to personify animals in his cartoons and does so with particular glee when drawing bears.

In this story, and throughout his works in general, bears are recurring characters who try to understand important things about humans. Often, as in this story, the bears are asking two questions: how dangerous are humans, and are they any good to eat?

Larson is always willing to work with the faintly repulsive and, on occasion, the downright repugnant elements of life. Usually he does this by lampooning human behaviors, as in his drawing of a worm dancing with a slimy slug at their high school prom.

Throughout his career, Larson has shown more interest than any other artist or writer has ever shown in depicting insect and invertebrate life in his cartoons. The biggest fans of Larson's cartoons are entomologists, who have honored...