It's often said that if you can't beat 'em, join em, and this was certainly the case for the man who allegedly decided to enlist bears as his taste testers after they kept stealing his honey.
And don't worry, you're not the only person who immediately thought of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. But hey, I guess if there's any truth to that tale, at least some bears have gotten vengeance.
This story, however, doesn't take place in a wood, but Turkey's northeastern province of Trabzon. There, until he decided to make their penchant for honey useful, beekeeper Ibrahim Sedef had a real problem on his hands (and hives).
The bears were more than happy to taste test the honey too:After the first robbery, Sedef did what most of us would do and tried to hide the hives from the bears. But no matter what tactic he tried, they found a way of getting into them - even when that meant climbing trees.
NTV reported Sedef as saying:
"After all the trouble they went through by climbing that tree, I'll just let them. I promise, from now on I will feed them. In spite of what happened, when I watch the recorded moments, I forget all the damage they caused me and I love them."
Now, Sedef has turned his problem into quite a useful system, allowing hungry bears to tell him exactly what honey is the tastiest.
According to his findings, they're big fans of his Anzer honey, an expensive nectar, but aren't so keen on his cheaper cherry blossom honey. Clearly, the bears have good (and expensive) taste!
A story that would have Whinnie the Pooh rubbing his belly in glee. Some fairy tales are that bit more magical when they're brought to life.
