A bear's tale

Once upon a time there was a sweet little teddy bear.  He was given to The Boy when he was a baby, and teddy lived in The Boy's messy little bedroom with all his other soft toys. 

The Boy did play with teddy but no more than any of his other soft toys.....in other words, this teddy wasn't The Boy's favourite, can't-live-without softie ~ which is what all teddies hope to become when they go to live with their particular boy or girl.  Still, teddy was played with often enough to wear out the pads on his paws ~ so The Boy's Nanny very kindly knitted him some lovely new ones, and sewed them in place.  Teddy thought he looked very smart with his new knitted pads but still The Boy didn't choose him as his most favourite softie.

The Boy grew older and eventually almost all the softies were relegated to the loft in a big black plastic sack ~ including poor teddy.  They all lived up in the dark, too-cold-in-winter/too-hot-in-summer loft for many years until one day The Boy's parents decided the time had come to have a jolly good clear-out.  Lots of things were discovered up in that loft, some of which The Boy's parents had even forgotten they had put up there!  

One-by-one the bags and boxes in the loft were opened and the contents examined.  A few things were kept and put back, but everything else was taken to the local charity shop or put out on the drive with a big sign beside them saying "FREE!  Please help yourself!" ~ it really is quite amazing just how much stuff will be taken away if it is accompanied by a sign saying "free" 😉

The time eventually came for the big black plastic sack to be opened up and examined.  The Boy had a quick look through all his childhood soft toys and decided that he really didn't need them now that he was a Young Man.  So The Young Man's Mum sorted through the softies; some went to the charity shop and some went out on the drive.  She came across the poor sad teddy and saw that he still had a sticky patch on his lovely yellow fur from way back when The Young Man was, well, a little boy.  Hmm, thought Mum, it looks like poor teddy must have had some juice spilled on him.  And then Mum remembered that teddy had been given to The Young Man by her aunt and uncle when he was just a baby.....and had been made by her cousin.....and The Young Man's Nanny had knitted new pads for teddy's paws.

Mum decided that with such a family history the sad teddy couldn't possibly be sent away.  So into the washing machine went teddy to make him lovely and clean again, then he did some sunbathing on the clothesline to dry off.  Mum did feel a teensy wee bit guilty about pegging teddy on the line by his ears but he didn't complain ~ after all, he had just been through a wash cycle in the big metal drum!  

After teddy had been spruced up, Mum wondered what she should do with him.  First-things-first, she decided, teddy needs a name as he had never had one when he belonged to The Young Man.  Mum thought about it for a moment, looking carefully at teddy, and the name Archie just popped into her head.  So teddy now had a name for the first time in about 23 years.....he was so happy, even though he still wasn't anyone's special, favourite bear.  Mum explained to Archie that even though she had grown very fond of him indeed, she still had her own teddies from when she was a baby ~ and so it really wouldn't be fair to have a favourite teddy.

       So now Archie lives in the bedroom which belongs to The Young Man's parents, and spends his days relaxing on their bed.  He has two new friends, Arthur and Fred, who were Mum's teddies when she was a baby over 50 years ago!  They are very kind to Archie and he now feels very special and loved 💖

This little tale happened quite a long while ago now but a couple of years back, all the teddies had a Big Adventure together.  It all began one winter's day when they were rather alarmed to find themselves packed into a box!  "Oh my goodness", Archie said to Arthur and Fred, "what is happening?  Are we all going to be given away?".  Before they knew it, their box was put in a big lorry by Jolly Men with strange-to-their-ears accents.  Suddenly the engine of the big lorry was started and a very long journey had begun.

The Jolly Men drove and drove for hundreds of miles.  The poor teddies were very frightened, especially when the big lorry stopped and they were left in their cold box all night long.  The next day The Jolly Men started the engine of the big lorry once again and before they knew it, the teddies were on a boat crossing the deep blue sea!  Poor Archie was so very frightened but Arthur and Fred, who are much older and wiser, reassured him that Mum would never just give them all away.  They were sure everything would work out for the best in the end.

And, of course, they were quite right!  The big lorry soon pulled up outside a new house, in a little town on a Scottish island.  The Jolly Men took that box into the new house and before long Mum had unpacked all the teddies once more.

So Archie still spends his days relaxing on Mum and Dad's bed with his best friends, Arthur and Fred.  They now have a lovely view out of their bedroom window of wide open skies and the beautiful sea.....and Mum would never part with any of them 😍