Katie And The Teddy Bears

Katie woke up with a start. She looked across at the bed next to her but her older sister, Megan, was fast asleep. Katie didn’t want to turn the light on. It might wake up Megs and her parents. She sat up in bed and looked about the room. The dim passage light was always left on at night and because the bedroom door wasn’t closed, she could see quite well in the dark room.

Something moved amongst the stuffed animals that were arranged on the bedroom chair. Katie looked harder. She .saw the old teddy bear, Eddyardo, struggle down from the chair and limp cautiously across the carpet. Katie was not really surprised to see him moving. She had always thought that Eddyardo was a special bear, and different from the other stuffed animals. He always looked as though he understood everything she was saying to him when they played together. He had belonged to her father, and before that, to her grandmother. Originally, he had been called "Edwardo"” but when her father was little, he found it hard to say “Edwardo”, so he called his teddy “Eddyardo”. Katie liked that; she thought the name really suited him.

Katie leaned forward and called very quietly to the old bear “Eddyardo! Where are you going!”
Eddyardo stopped halfway to the bedroom door and looked towards her.
“Katie – you should be asleep!” His voice was nice, thought Katie, deep and growly. Just like a bear’s voice should be.
“I was, but you woke me up. Can I go with you? Please?”
Eddyardo hesitated. He didn’t really want to take the little girl with him, but neither did he want her to make a noise and wake the rest of the family. He sighed. “Alright. But you must be good and do as I tell you.”
Katie scrambled eagerly from her bed and put on her warm pink dressing gown over her pajamas and furry slippers on her feet. She followed Eddyardo out of the room. He shuffled along the passage carefully, and she copied him, walking as quietly as she could. They didn’t want to wake up Rocky, the little dog who slept in a basket in their parents’ room. He would bark and then everyone would wake up.

Katie helped Eddyardo down the stairs. He was such an old bear that a lot of his stuffing had come out, and his right paw was floppy and empty. He limped, too, because one of his legs was much thinner than the other leg. Eddyardo held tightly to Katie’s hand with his good paw. When they reached the front door, the little girl lifted Eddyardo up in her arms and held him up as high as she could so that he could unlock the door and open it. It took him a little while, as he only had one good paw to use, but with Katie’s help he managed to do it. Together they slipped out of the door, and carefully pushed it closed.
“Thank you, Katie”, growled Eddyardo quietly, “I don’t think I could have done it without your help.” He was glad now that he had let the little girl come with him.

The moon was very bright in a clear sky. The two small adventurers had no problem in seeing where they were going. Eddyardo led Katie out of the garden gate, across the road and into the quiet meadow opposite the house. There was a small wood further ahead, and Katie and Eddyardo set out towards it. Soon they could see pretty, coloured lights twinkling in the trees, and hear voices. Katie thought she could also hear music and singing. Holding tightly to Eddyardo’s good paw, she was bursting with curiosity and excitement.

The two came out of the trees into a small clearing. Katie blinked as her eyes got used to the bright lights strung up in the trees. Still clinging to the old bear’s paw, she looked about her – and gasped. The clearing was full of teddy bears. Bears of all shapes and sizes. Some were playing in a band, and singing. Others were dancing to the music and there were bears just sitting on the grass and talking to each other. One of these bears, an big old Panda with a red scarf round his neck saw Katie and Eddyardo, and got up as the two approached. He was even taller than Katie. The old Panda smiled down at Katie. She liked his twinkly brown eyes and smiled back. The Panda turned to Eddyardo and took hold of Eddyardo’s empty paw with both of his own paws.

“Eddyardo my dear, dear old friend. You are most welcome. So are you, young Katie. We are very pleased to meet you. Eddyardo has often talked about you.”

Katie wondered how he knew her name. The old Panda took them to sit with the other bears, and they all shook Eddyardo’s paw. Some of them even hugged him. They all knew Katie’s name and told her how glad they were to meet her. A little brown bear approached, carrying a tray of sausage rolls, nuts and other tasty snacks. Another small bear staggered up carrying a tray with drinks of all different flavours and colours. Shyly, Katie took a sausage roll and little glass of lemonade. Soon she was laughing and chatting with the other bears. A handsome grey and pink teddy bear, wearing a black striped waistcoat, came up to her and politely asked her to dance. They twirled and whirled to the music until Katie was laughing and breathless. Eddyardo smiled happily at her when she sat down, pleased that she was enjoying herself.

“Eddyardo.”
“Yes, Katie?”
“What is this place, Eddyardo? Why are all these teddies here?”
“Why, Katie, this is the Teddy Bear’s Picnic. We have it every year. We meet all our friends, and talk and have fun together.”
“Is it always here?”
Eddyardo shook his head. “No. We go somewhere different every year.”
Katie was puzzled. “But how do you get there?”
Eddyardo smiled at her. “Why, we ride on the moonbeams. They take us wherever we want to go.”

Katie nodded. Of course. She understood. Then she yawned. And yawned again. Eddyardo looked at her, and got to his feet. The music faded away and the bears busied themselves packing things away and tidying up. No trace of the picnic could be left for strangers to find.
“Katie – it’s time to go. Say goodbye to everyone.”

Katie politely thanked the bears and said good night to them. The old Panda picked her up and hugged her, putting something into her hand: “Something to remember us by. A little gift from the Teddy Bear’s Picnic.” It was a tiny teddy bear pin with jeweled eyes. The Panda closed her fingers over it. “Look after it,” he said. The other bears laughed and cheered, calling their goodnights to Katie and Eddyardo.

Eddyardo took Katie’s hand in his threadbare paw and they walked back the way they had come. No one was disturbed by their return, and Katie fell fast asleep as soon as she was in her own bed.

The next morning, she was awoken by Megan. “Come on, Katie, breakfast is ready. You have to get up and get dressed, sleepyhead.” Reluctantly, Katie got out of bed, washed, and put on her favourite pink blouse and matching pink trousers.

Katie’s parents were already at the breakfast table. Her mother gave her a “good morning” kiss. “You look tired, Katie. Didn’t you sleep well? The moon was bright last night, I found it hard to go to sleep.”

Katie knew that nobody would believe that she and Eddyardo had gone to the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. She wondered if it had all been a lovely dream. So she just smiled at her mother and poured milk over her cereal
.
Katie’s father looked thoughtfully at his little daughter for a while. Then he smiled at her.
“The moon is always especially bright at this time of the year,” he said. Katie looked at him wonderingly.
“Magical things can happen on such nights,” he went on, putting his arm around Katie and giving her a hug. He smiled understandingly into her eyes. “Eddyardo and I used to get up to all sorts of tricks on bright moonlight nights.”

Megan and her mother weren’t listening to them. They were busy talking about other things. With his finger to his lips, Katie’s father reached into his pocket. Silently, he showed Katie what was in his hand. A tiny teddy bear brooch with jeweled eyes. Just like the one that was pinned to Katie’s pink blouse.