Bankrupt following black bear (5)
I believe the answer is:
bruin
'bear' is the definition.
(term for a bear in children's stories)
'bankrupt following black' is the wordplay.
'bankrupt' becomes 'ruin' (synonyms).
'following' says to put letters next to each other.
'black' becomes 'b' (abbreviation as in pencil classifications).
'ruin' put after 'b' is 'BRUIN'.
(Other definitions for bruin that I've seen before include "Archetypal name for a bear" , "Conventional name for a bear" .)