Kid's Story -- Theodore Bear

 Kid's Story -- Theodore Bear

Theodore J. Bearington sat in the corner of the open window, his head against the screen mesh, exactly where Alex had left him.  Alex was his 8 year old human. Theodore liked Alex very much. He was rarely ever rough with his stuffed toys.  Theodore was 5 years old.  He still had both his dark blue eyes, and their painted on twinkles.  In all that time his dark blue plush fabric hadn't needed one single mending.  He almost looked brand new.  From where he sat, he could see the driveway below. The family car had just left the driveway, as the family headed out for dinner.

He turned around to jump down from the window onto the closed toy-box bench. From there it was easy to jump down to the floor. As he landed on the green area rug between the bed and toy-box, he was joined by two of his friends.
Princess  Sarah Amanda Margerita Twinkletoes, or just 'Sam' for short, approached Theodore.   Sam belonged to Alex's younger sister Nora, who was always leaving toys in Alex's room. Sam was a plump, stuffed ballerina. She wore a pink tutu, and satin slippers. She also had a yellow felt crown, that was held on by velcro to her brown yarn hair.

"What shall we do while the family is gone, Theodore??"  asked Sam
Before Theodore could answer, Sheriff Dan interrupted. "Theodore, where is your sweater??"
Sheriff Dan was also stuffed. He had changeable cotton clothes. Over the cotton he wore a brown felt vest and chaps.
a yellow plastic star shaped badge was permanently glued to his vest. His orange yarn hair was permanently stuck under a sewed down brown felt cowboy hat.   Dan's painted-on freckles gave him a whimsical appearance.

"Alex had put my sweater on Crumpet earlier", Explained Theodore. Crumpet was the family's small Yorkshire Terrier.
Crumpet wasn't as sweet as his name. Alex had to be sure to keep his toys picked up, or Crumpet would chew them until they had to be thrown away. Theodore had lost a few friends that way. He still shuddered to remember the time when it was almost his turn to be chewed up. Luckily, Alex had stopped Crumpet in time. They were all thankful that Crumpet had gone with the family, when they left for dinner.
"Why don't we go look for it??" added Theodore.
"An adventure!” cried Sam exuberantly, as she twirled.
"Are you sure they had taken it off Crumpet before they left??" asked Dan.
"No, I hadn't got a good look at him as they left. But I am hoping they did"  replied Theodore.
"Then let's get this rodeo on the road", Said Dan.

Dan whistled and a stuffed yellow horse with painted-on tan spots emerged from under the bed. The horse trotted over to Dan. Dan climbed into the red plastic saddle, and they galloped from Alex's room. Sam and Theodore followed from behind.  They checked the laundry room first, as it seemed to be the most logical choice. The washer and dryer machines were as big as mountains to the three of them. Dan checked behind the machines.   With a little boost from Dan and Theodore, Sam hopped up on top of the machines to check inside. Theodore checked the hamper. All three of them came up empty-handed.

They walked down the hallway quietly as they could, hoping Snowball the cat was asleep.  
Dan's horse nuzzled Theodore's arm. "Thanks, I like you too Tea-biscuit" , said Theodore in a whisper, as he patted her muzzle. At the end of the hallway, door slightly ajar, was the parent's room. Sam cautiously peered inside the room.
Then she whispered, "Snowball is asleep on the bed."
They quietly crept into the room. The three of them thoroughly checked under the bed and dressers. They found  nothing  under any  of them, not even Dust Bunnies. Good thing, because the bigger Dust Bunnies get, the meaner they get.  Little ones are just annoying.  Dan was in no mood for a Dust Bunny round-up.

Standing on Tea-biscuit's back, Dan climbed on top of the trunk at the foot of the parent's bed as silently as he could. He stood for a moment   staring at the sleeping Snowball to be sure she wasn't going to wake up. Then he put his hand up to his eyes, index finger to his brow, almost like a salute, but not quite. The gesture was meant to help him see better.  Dan visually scanned the tops of the nightstand and dressers. He didn't see anything that might be Theodore's sweater.  He hopped down, and told Sam and Theodore it wasn't there.  They all tip-toed quietly out of the room.  Dan lead Tea-biscuit by the reigns.

Once back in the hallway, they all heaved a sigh of relief. " I am so glad we  didn't wake Snowball", said Sam.
"me  too", said Theodore and Dan at the same time, then they both chuckled.
"Jinx, you owe me a coke", said Theodore.
"What's a coke?" asked Sam.
"I don't know, but Alex says that when he and someone else says the same thing at the same time", explained Theodore.
"Oh", said Sam, still not getting it.
The next room to check was the kitchen. Dan and Sam would hold the lower cupboard doors open, while Theodore checked inside. He checked one after another, but did not find his sweater. Sam was then helped up into a kitchen chair to check the table, and look at the counters. But she did not see it there either. They had no way of checking the upper cupboards, but doubted it was in there anyway.
As they walked from the kitchen, Theodore said "maybe it's still on Crumpet".
"Maybe", replied Sam, "But, we still haven't checked the Living Room".

As they entered the Living Room, they heard the unmistakable noises of the family returning!! They hadn't been gone long. They must have just gotten take-out instead of going to a restaurant.
Dan pulls Sam onto Tea Biscuit with him to race back to Alex's room. But Theodore lagging behind, realized he wasn't going to make it in time, and dove under the couch.  Realizing Theodore wasn't behind him; Dan stops in the doorway of Alex's room.  He turns Tea-biscuit around to go back. But Theodore looking out from under the couch tells him to go ahead.  Tea-biscuit, Dan, and Sam, barely manage to get back into the places they were when the family had left.

The family had only gone out for take-out.  The unmistakable aroma of pizza wafted about the place as the family entered.  It's a good thing toys only eat pretend food, or the aroma would have made Theodore very hungry.
Crumpet scampered around underfoot yapping as usual. He was still wearing Theodore's sweater. Theodore at hearing him scooted all the way back against the wall.

The family ate dinner while telling each other about their day and Alex teased Nora.  After dinner, Alex's mother told him to bathe Crumpet.
Alex was washing the dog. His father was in the den.  His mother was reading Nora a story in her room. This meant that the coast was clear for Theodore to return to Alex's room. But Theodore was having trouble getting back up into the window. Sheriff Dan and Tea-biscuit had to help him up. Finally they were all back in their places, without anyone the wiser.

After a while, Alex came into his room.  Alex must have taken a bath also, because he was in his jelly-bean print pajamas. He picked up Theodore and sat on the bed with him.  He pulled a new sweater out of his pocket and dressed Theodore in it.
"There you go Theodore, a brand new sweater", said Alex.
Alex slipped under the covers, and turned out the lamp on his nightstand. Lying on his side and holding Theodore close to him, Alex went to sleep. Theodore was glad for his new sweater, and thought about today's adventure, before going to sleep also.

The End
June 28, 2009