(The sturdy forty-five-year-old had once used a shovel to beat off an attack by a large, vicious weasel.) In 1999, the bears of Grafton were not bold enough to attack a woman of Soule’s stature. Instead, the bear blew right past her and continued on into the forest, the rustling of the dead leaves beneath its feet a counterpoint to the sudden frantic mewlings of two kittens—Jessica’s kittens—now in its mouth.
