The bear's hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despair, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear's memory and renews his search with a vengeance.

A picture-book morality play about dishonesty.