Grubby Bear Must Find a Home
Grubby Bear
Jacob scratched his head as he stood in the back of the toy store wondering what to do with a box of old toys that never sold. He picked up a teddy bear and shook his head. This grubby bear must find a home, he thought.
“Why, if I were a little kid I would love to have a nice soft bear like this to sleep with at night,” he mumbled to himself. “Tis a shame kids now days don’t know what real comfort is.” Marcie, his new employee, had just walked by behind him and stopped to look at the bear. “Well, Jacob, if you put a nice red ribbon on him it might sell. With Christmas coming up it would be a nice gift for a little kid. And you know how mothers love to buy seasonal stuff. You could even put one of those cute Santa hats on him that you have up front. Bet you a dime that grubby bear would sell then.”
Jacob considered Marcie’s idea then went to the gift wrap counter. He tied a red ribbon around the bear’s neck and made a nice bow on it. He walked up front, chose a small size Santa hat and put it on the bear, slanting it just enough to cover one ear. He took it up to the cash register and handed it to Marcie. “Perfect!” she said and sat it on the counter.
Along about closing time Marcie called to Jacob, “You owe me a dime, Jacob!” He looked over and saw the bear was gone. “You sold that grubby bear?” Marcie smiled proudly. “Sure did! A young mother bought it for her little boy. She was quite impressed with it.” Jacob saluted her, pulled a dime out of his pocket and tossed it to her. “Good job, Marcie!”
~
Christmas morning little Andy picked up his new bear and hugged it. Then he took the hat and bow off. His mother said, “Oh! You took off its cute hat and bow!” Andy looked at the bear and hugged it again. “It’s softer without the hat and bow and he was all sissified. Now he can sleep with me.” His mother laughed and said, “Well now he is just grubby.”
“Yes and that is what I will call him.” That night Grubby Bear settled down in his very first bed with his boy.
~~~
© 2016 Phyllis Doyle Burns
I began writing content online in 2007, starting with BellaOnline - A Voice For Women, where I was the Native American Editor, Folklore & Mythology Editor, and the Appalachian Editor. I also wrote articles forThe Examiner, Daily Two Cents, and Yahoo. I am a freelance writer for Fiverr. I am currently an author on HubPages, a member/author of the Maven Coalition, and Senior Editor and an author for The Creative Exiles.
Most of what I write takes a lot of research and I love it. Even if it is a fictional story, I will research for accuracy in whatever it takes to make my characters, their era, their location, etc. become realistic to the reader.
I hope you enjoy my works. Thank you for visiting.
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Guess I am much like Andy..more of a grubby lover than sissified..enjoyable to say the least
Well thank you, grubby Kurt. LOL Glad you enjoyed it.
You know I still have a huge box in my garage filled with soft toys from each of my 5 kids. Can’t get rid of them. What joy they brought my kids. Now my daughter is 40. Time flies. Great work Phyllis
How precious – I still have some toys from my two kids. I love those old toys. Thanks for that nice compliment, Tony. Take care.
So beautiful Phyllis…when I go to toy stores to buy something for my daughter even now i cannot help myself from admiring those cuddly teddy bears and so I adore old grumpy bear in your story too..thank you so much for sharing..
You are welcome, Anjana. I love teddy bears, too. Thank you for reading and commenting. So glad you adore Grumpy Bear.
A nice little tale, Phyllis. I expected there was going to be a twist at the end with Marcie having bought grubby bear and taken it home for her son.
Thanks, John. Yeah, Marcie should have done that – never thought of that. Glad you like Grubby Bear.
This is such an endearing and adorable story, Phyllis. I liked the part about Andy saying the bear was “sissified”… LOL.. So cute!
Thank you, Tamara. Teddy bears are so special and I just had to find a home for him. Glad you enjoyed the story.