Freedom postponed. An unfriendly heat and a kerosene odour pushed him to shade and away from his appetite for casualties' flesh.
At sundown into glittering sand did he plod. Dune by dune by moon and starlight on an intuitive trek toward water.
Intuition paid. In a palmed oasis he chewed figs and took in his reflection: black nose, white fur—his unmistakable polar bear self.