Awesome!

Way better than the reject I got from Clarkesworld! He told me my prose was flat.

tha sad thing is, after looking at the story, I found myself agreeing.

First let me add my congrats to Jordan's pile of smiles. It's always a great feeling to get a rejection that makes you grin.

Second, I must say that while I don't know the editor in question, and do not read Clarkesworld much, I read and enjoyed The Third Bear.  I thought the pov character was heroic, and not just cause he intentionally occupied the bear while his family escaped (and I'm puzzled as to why that does not qualify as a heroic deed?), but also becuase he tries to keep the villagers wits together, find the witch, etc.  Not every hero has to be massively successful.  His wife is also a hero, in her own way.

But the story also brought up such issues as who is the real enemy?  And why is that person the enemy?  It was rather a grim story, but I appreciated the irony of the villagers falling into the hands of this bear which was brought into being through their own cruelty.