Benjamin and the bear

One day, while the wind moved the curtains softly and the sun shone through the small window, Benjamin woke up from his afternoon nap and heard a strange voice. It was rumbly just like Grandpa’s. Benjamin looked inquiringly around the room. Again the rumble, quite close this time. It was Benjamin’s new teddy bear. It was sitting at the foot of Benjamin’s red painted bed looking content. Benjamin wanted to grasp the bear but it growled: “Hey! What are you doing?” The teddy bear looked at Benjamin closely. Benjamin returned the look with wide eyes. Never before had he experienced a speaking toy bear. He did not dare make a sound. The bear continued: “Hm, well, you have a nice place here. Let me see...” The bear looked all around the room. “Is this your bear cave?”, he asked.
Benjamin nodded.
“Oh, your floor has fur, too”, exclaimed the bear and looked at the carpet. “And that is a nice picture on the wall”, it smiled and pointed with a paw at the photo of Benjamin in his honey coloured romper suit with a teddy bear face on the front.
“Hey, I still need a name”, said the bear suddenly.
Benjamin’s grandmother had only just given it to him this morning.
“Bert would be a good name”, the bear explained and Benjamin nodded.
“And what is this?”, asked the bear and leapt from the bed to the baby changing table. By doing so, he knocked the baby monitor over. It crashed to the ground. Benjamin was startled and began to cry. With lightning speed, the bear was back at his place in the bed, just before Benjamin’s mother opened the door.
“Benjamin”, she said softly. “Everything is fine. I am here.” She took him in her arms and stroked his hair. Benjamin stopped crying. One tear rolled silently down his face. “Your new friend will look after you”, said his mother and put the teddy bear in her son’s arms.
Benjamin held the bear in its arm and looked intently at it. The bear did not move and was completely quiet – Benjamin, too. “Bert”, said Benjamin and it sounded like “Bear”. It meant: “My friend.”
Only if you looked very closely, you could see the smile on the bear’s face. Benjamin saw it and hugged the bear close to his body. From this time on the two were inseparable.