“When I was a younger bear, I was one of the fastest bears around,” I said to Boo Boo Bear. “I entered all of the bear races and left the other bears behind in the dust! Can you imagine such a sight? Can you imagine how fast I was running? Before long, no bear would compete against me. Probably because they couldn’t bear it.”
Boo Boo Bear’s groans at my perfect pun were very loud and were accompanied by eye rolls.
“Really? You don’t believe me?” I asked Boo Boo Bear.
“Not a word,” said Boo Boo Bear. “I’ve never seen you run, and the only place you walk fast to is the honey pot.”
“Oof,” I said. “You’re right. I love the honey pot. And I’m lazy now. But, when I was a younger bear, I was so fast that I ran against gazelles and cheetahs… uh, no. I watched them run and imagined that I could compete against them. Hey, speaking about races, the Big Bear Races are today. You want to go?”
“Well, sure. Let’s go now, before Momma Bear comes home!”
Just at that moment, Momma Bear walked into the den.
“Berry Bear, were you telling Boo Boo about all of those races that you had with cheetahs and gazelles?”
“Why, yes,” I said, a little sadly. “I thought that Boo Boo would believe me. Maybe I told too many crazy stories, like that one about hugging the boa constrictor and the other one about a long battle with a mouse that was bigger than a house. Buuuuut, the bear races are real! You want to go watch them with Boo Boo Bear and me?”
“Nope,” said Betty Bear. “You two go and have fun.”
And so we did. When we arrived at the bear races, we saw Ricky Raccoon, who did all of the announcing for the races. He was very enthusiastic about everything!
“Did you see how those polar bears jumped through the ice and swam in that freezing cold water? Wasn’t that something? Now we have the Bear Broad Jumping contest! Watch the bears jump straight up in the air! Sort of like this!!!” Ricky Raccoon attempted to jump high in the air but, in the attempt, he dropped his microphone into a mud puddle. “mfeokjhffdoiukjedjh,” Ricky Raccoon mumbled. The audience began to laugh.
“It’s not very nice to laugh at Ricky Raccoon, just because he can’t jump,” said Boo Boo Bear. Boo Boo started running faster than I did in my racing with a cheetah days. Just as Boo Boo returned the microphone to the very muddy Ricky, one of the race officials took the microphone again and said, “And what is your name, young Bear?”
“My name is Boo Boo Bear,” said Boo Boo, a bit shyly.
“Well Boo Boo,” said the race official. “You won a very special prize. It’s the Be Kind Award. Sometimes, when someone least expects to win anything, they win an award. They win because they have done something very kind and they didn’t even know that there was a contest. Just like you did. Congratulations to you.”
And, after that, Boo Boo Bear and I got to meet the polar bears, who invited us to go on an adventure with them. But that’s another story for another day.
What a cute story and such great characters! When Lia gets home tomorrow, I’ll read it to her!
Thank you so much, Martha! I hope that Lia enjoys it!!!
I fell in love with this story because it caused the most warm emotions, transferring me to childhood on a mental level. I really like your writing style because it is really creative and original, capturing people’s attention. To tell the truth, all these bears stand out with their own unique distinctive features and have such a fascinating concept, amazing you with their individuality. Also, it is a really cautionary tale which has an absolutely important sense conveyed through Boo Boo Bear. This cute bear demonstrated to us how important it is to always remain human and kind because it will pay off afterward. God always observes us and notices all our selfless good deeds, rewarding us for them. I think that it is a great story for children and adults. It will teach kids the right things and can show them the right behavior model. Also, this story reminds us that we need to be decent people and keep our best qualities.
Thank you so much for your very kind and thoughtful comments, Marina. I appreciate them so much. Boo Boo Bear will be back in other stories!!!!