A Bear's Lunch

I believe the boy in this painting is Paul, the hero of D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Rocking-Horse Winner." (If you haven't read it, this is a wonderful, creepy tale of a young boy who rides his toy horse to learn the winners of future horse races.) Paul is eventually 'devoured' by the greed of his mother. (Mother Bear?)

My mom took a gentler, sweeter view of the outcome. The Bear isn't a terrifying predator; it's Ursa Major, the constellation of the Big Dipper. Joining other spirits in the river of souls, the boy rides gleefully out into the Universe. One bright pearl amidst countless others.