Chapter 1
George was a bear that nobody loved. He lived all on his own in a caravan down by the seaside. George was a lonely bear.
It hadn’t always been like that. A long time ago George was loved. He used to live in a big house in the country with two children Ben and Lucy.
George belonged to Ben who used to play with him every day and took him to bed every night. George was a present for Ben when he was born and he was a bear who was loved very much indeed – but that was a long time ago.
Ben was now grown up and he thought he was too old to play with bears, so George was taken to the caravan by the seaside and used as an ornament. He was put on a shelf high up in the caravan and that’s where he stayed –
day after day,
week after week,
month after month and
year after year.
George didn’t like being used as an ornament, he wanted to be played with and loved by a child. He wanted to have adventures and be a brave bear. He wanted to have cuddles at night-time. No one cuddled George any more. He just sat on the high up shelf in the caravan down by the seaside.
Ben’s family did not visit the caravan any more, so it was very quiet all the time. In the summer it was very hot and in the winter it was very cold. Sometimes George could hear the seagulls walking on the roof of the caravan. Even the seagulls had friends, but George had no one. He was a very lonely bear.
Sometimes George thought that if he were more handsome perhaps a child would love him again. George only had one eye and the one eye he did have was all scratched and George couldn’t see very well.
If you cover one eye with your hand and screw your other eye up you will have an idea what it was like for George as he sat on the high up shelf in the caravan down by the seaside.
One day everything changed – one wonderful, glorious, happy day. George had been sitting quietly on his high up shelf. It had been a hot sunny day and just as the sun was setting George heard a car pulling up outside his caravan. As he listened, he heard the car doors being opened and the sound of children’s excited voices. Then he heard the most exciting sound he had heard for a very long time – it was the sound of the keys being put into the caravan door.
Suddenly he heard the door opening slowly….
Ramblings of a retired teacher 