BENNY BEAR By Gloria Moress

(The task was to compose an original tale with an animal as the main character).

It was a bright autumn day, and an extra special day, too, because it was Benny Bear’s birthday.Mummy and Daddy Bear had decided to let Benny choose his own present this year, as he was a big bear of five years old.

They set off straight after breakfast and walked deep into the woods, Benny frolicking around his parents in excitement.When they reached the wood’s deep heart, the trees parted and in the huge clearing stood the bustling village of Grizzletown.It was a busy day, and the streets were full of bears with baskets, bears with babies, bears on bikes with baskets and babies.

Benny held tightly onto his Daddy’s paw as they walked to the toy shop in the center of town.The double doors swung wide, and Benny found himself in a bright, shiny, colourful world full of wagons, scooters, swing sets, trains, balls, and blocks.

His tiny eyes widened in wonder as he looked around, not knowing where to go or what to try first.

Mummy and Daddy Bear smiled at each other. They knew they would be there for a while.

Benny Bear wandered up and down the shop, gazing in awe at all the lovely things.

When he reached the very back of the store he stopped. “What are these?” he wondered.

The wall was lined with shelves, and on the shelves sat the strangest things he had ever seen.There were so many, and no two were the same. Each was a different shade of brown, tan or pink, their eyes were all different colours, like river pebbles, and each had it’s own special fur. Red, black, brown, yellow – straight as dried summer grass, ripply as water over rock or as curly as wispy summer cloud. Benny picked one up. It was smaller than the rest, with pink skin, brown fur and red cheeks. Its eyes were as blue as the autumn sky, and besides the fur on its head, it was soft and smooth all over. Its paws were long and thin, with no real claws to speak of, and its mouth looked as soft as a deer’s.

Benny cradled it in his arms, stroked its furry head and spoke to it.

“What are you?” he said. “Would you like to be my friend?”

He brought the toy to where his parents were chatting with the shopkeeper Mr Ursus. They looked at him, smiling, but the smiles fell from their faces as they saw what he held in this paws.

“Oh, Benny,” his mother sighed, “I’m sorry, but that’s not really the sort of toy Daddy and I want you to have. It’s not appropriate.”

“Is there anything else you like?” asked Daddy.

“No, Daddy, I really like this! Why can’t I have it? What’s wrong with it?” Benny asked, puzzled.

It’s a toy human, son,” replied Daddy gravely, “and humans aren’t like that at all. They are very dangerous.”

“Yes darling,” continued Mummy, “they look a little like these: they are smooth, with silky head fur, little mouths, cute little ears, big wide eyes, and legs and paws with many moving joints, but they are no good.”

“Why?” asked Benny, tearfully, clutching the toy.“Their smoothness means they need the fur of other animals, like us – so they take ours,” said Daddy.

“The food they like to eat means they clear our forests to grow strange grasses, and they out fish our streams,” said Mummy.

“They don’t just find a cave to live in, they have to build huge caves from little rocks and branches they bring from other places, then surround them with plants no one can eat!” continued Daddy.

“They have no teeth or claws to fight but with those clever paws they make tools to hurt us from far away. Sometimes we don’t even know they are there, and we are struck down,” said Mummy.

“But it’s just a toy!” wailed Benny, “It can’t hurt me. I love it! I want it! You said I could choose, now you won’t let me have the only thing I really want!”

Mummy and Daddy Bear looked at each other and sighed. “What do you think Daddy?”

“Well, we did say he could choose, Mummy.”

“As long as you understand, Benny, that it is a toy, and if you ever see a real one….” began Daddy.

“Stay hidden, stay perfectly still, don’t move, and don’t try to catch it,” continued Mummy.

“And if it sees you, run into the thickest part of the forest as quickly as you can,” finished Daddy.

Benny regarded them solemnly, his tiny bear eyes opened as wide as they could be, his little round ears taking in every word. “Yes Mummy and Daddy.Thank you very much.”

Daddy turned to the shopkeeper and handed him the toy.

“Well Mr Ursus, I guess we’ll take the Bare Teddy.”

Gloria Moress © 2007