Teddy Bear Lost

Does your child have a special toy? The sort that they can’t be separated from?

My son Luke had one of those when he was about three. He was simply called “Teddy” and he and Luke went everywhere together.

One afternoon something happened with Luke and me and Teddy that became something of a family story. You know, the sort that get told over and over.

In fact, this morning in the car, Luke wanted to hear it all over again.

How Luke Lost Teddy

It happened in the middle of a long road trip. We had been driving for a couple of hours and stopped at a service station. As we tumbled out of the car and made for the toilets and shops, Luke said “Can I bring Teddy?”

“No!” was my immediate response. “If we lose him in a shop we might never find him again!”

“But I won’t lose him!” Luke protested. “I’ll hang on to him the whole time! I won’t let him go! I promise!”

“Hm…. Okay. But you promise you’ll hang on to him?”

“Yes, yes, I won’t let him go!” he insisted.

We went to the toilets together. As we left, I checked on Luke. He still had teddy tucked under his arm.

That small reassurance might have been why I didn’t think to check again. Or maybe it was the distraction of the large shop, filled with all kinds of goodies for all ages: snacks and sweets and toys and car accessories! We browsed a bit, fended off entreaties from the kids for various treats, and paid for our petrol.

But as soon as we were back in car, it happened. Luke suddenly convulsed, “Where’s Teddy!!” he shrieked.

I quickly scanned the car. No Teddy.

I checked Luke’s pockets. No Teddy.

I looked around the garage forecourt and under the car. No Teddy.

Which meant that Teddy must be somewhere in the shop. At which my heart sank. Because the shop was huge, and Luke had walked all around it. Teddy could be anywhere!

I went back inside. I tried to retrace our steps from the toilets to the shop, but still felt daunted at the thought of finding that little furry being in such a huge place.

But after a few moments, by some good fortune, I found him!

He was in a fridge.

You know, those fridges where they keep cold drinks and sandwiches and boxes of sushi? Yeh, Teddy was sitting on a shelf, next to a bottle of water.

“Oh yeh….” mused Luke, when I later told him where I’d found Teddy. “I left him there.”

I never got a good explanation why. The sheer absurdity of it is what made that one of our favourite stories.

Teddy became the inspiration for several little stories that I later told Luke and Lara. They are some of the sweetest, simplest stories on Palace of Stories, ideal for young children just beginning to listen to audio stories. You can find the first one here: Teddy Bear Lost in the High Street.