THE TEDDY BEAR’S PICNIC

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 92, 12 January 1935, Page 23

THE TEDDY BEAR’S PICNIC

“ —fir that’s the way the Teddy’ Boars have their pic-nic” ended the record, but in Margaret's mind, this began quite a new train of thought. To-night was Midsummer Night—the night Mummy had told her when everything that she played with came to life. Would her Teddy come to life and go to the picnic? ’There were plenty of children who lived near her place who also had Teddy Bears. If she could keep awake till a quarter to twelve she could take her Teddy to Hamels Wood, just a little way from her place, and see the Teddy Bears having their picnic. The nursery clock had struck ten, one whole hour and threequarters to wait. It wouldn’t really be hard to wake up at half past eleven if she went to sleep now. “00-oo,” cried Margo. She had read in a book somewhere that a most inflective —no it wasn't, infective? —effective then, no, well it didn’t matter anyway. A most—this Word —way’ to keep awake was to tie your big toe onto the head of your bed. Margo had done this and the piece of string which she bad tied to her toe was hurting—horribly. Somehow she slept until eleven struck. Half an hour more. Instead of passing slowly that half hour went very quickly, so quickly in fact that Margo begun to suspect that something or somebody was meddling with the clock, so she lay as still as she could. And there was something wrong. In some strange way half past eleven had been missed out. . +„. r ,i T . Q Dong—one, two, three, four, live, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve Bang!!! Something flew out of the clock onto the floor, leaving the hands wriggling helplessly. “Ow, ow,“oh, oh, oh!” “You shouldn’t have moved the hands so quickly. The little brown figure that was on the mat stood up gingerly and felt himself and looked into t e kindly face of a bigger brown shape. ’ “My Teddy,” gasped Margo. Margo's Teddy it was. I didn t think Teddys lived in docks,” she thought. "There’s everything in a clock from th? works to a ‘big bud wolf’ ” said a little small voice. So these little people could read vour thoughts—Margo started into a sitting position. The room was lull or Teddy Bears. Old and dilapidated ones, new ones, small ones, big ones, lat ones, thin ones, tall ones, stumpy ones, every Teddy of every kind was there. "Friend’s,” called Margo’s Teddy. "Please, quiet.” “SU-li-h-h ” went round the room. No one had noticed her, thought Margo, and no wonder, for when she looked at her hands, they weren t there. lin no yes you are,” contradicted the voice. "You’re invisible and you can yell but they won’t hear you. Try,” it invited. Margo did try, but the Teddys went on playing. “Let us play 'Blind Man’s Buff,’ ” suggested Janet Browns Teddy, who was minus an ear, an eye, and an arm. “I’ll go blind man.” The bandage was tied round his eyes and he was turned round once, twice, three times "Careful 1 ” The party had well and truly started, and Janets leddy trod on a top and broke a vase. On and on went the game accompanied by squeals and thimble," “Twos and Threes,” “Puss in the Corner,” “Proverbs,” and many other games besides, were played that evening until a clock struck five. Then, out the windows, up the chimney, through the door rushed a stream of black and brown shapes and in a few’ minutes there wasn t a bear to be seen. Margo lay back in bed and went to .sleep. Next morning at the breakfast, table she told her mother and father about it. Her mother looked at her father who dismissed it with, Only a dream, MUI “Perhaps it was a-dream,” grumbled Margo, "but I wish it had taken place in the wood and not in the nursery.”—Original by Tinky Barret, aged 14, Hawera.