CUDDLE BEAR COTTAGE

I guess it's a tradition if you do it 4 times? At our parish Christmas fair I search for something to write a story about.  It takes a little imagination when one writes backward from the object or the illustration!

By Great-Grandma “Bubi Lee” Leona Choy for Makenna Lee Humes on her Fourth birthday

Once upon a time a friendly bear family named “Cuddle” lived in the forest. This was not the bear family that Goldilocks visited in the story of the Three Bears. There were Four Bears in the Cuddle Bear family and they lived in a different forest neighborhood.

Papa Cuddle Bear and Mama Cuddle Bear had two little bear cubs. Little Girl Cuddle cub was about 4 years old and the other was a newborn baby cub still in a cradle.

Papa Cuddle Bear built a beautiful little house for them and made a sign above the front door. It said “CUDDLE BEAR COTTAGE.” They wrote the word “Welcome” on the door step. They wanted to invite all of the creatures who lived in the woods to visit them. But no one came. They were not sure if the bear family was friendly.

Papa Cuddle Bear climbed on a ladder and put a gold heart above the entrance to their house to show how much they really loved everyone. They wanted to give their visitors a big bear hug and invite them in. But no one came. They were not sure if the bear family was friendly.

The Cuddle Bear family even left the back door open in case visitors wanted to come in through that door. They put a heart with the word “LOVE” on the door so that visitors would know they would be loved even if they wanted to come in by the back door. But no one came. They were not sure if the bear family was friendly.

Mama Cuddle Bear loved flowers. She loved to plant them. She loved to smell them. She wanted to give her flowers to visitors who would come to their cottage. She loved to decorate their house inside and outside with flowers. She planted flower boxes under the windows of the cottage. They bloomed in different beautiful colors. She planted flowers all around the outside of the house. She even asked Papa Cuddle Bear to put flower-shaped windows in the roof. But no one came to visit them. They were not sure if the bear family was friendly.

“There is one more thing I want to try, Papa Cuddle Bear,” said Mama Cuddle Bear. “Please find a flower seed that will grow into a really BIG flower like the one Jack-in-the Beanstalk planted. Then everyone in the forest could see it. Then they would come to visit us.”

Papa Cuddle Bear looked in every flower shop in the woods and finally found the rare special seed that Mama Cuddle Bear wanted. The sales person promised that it was a magic seed. Mama Cuddle Bear was so happy and asked Papa Cuddle Bear to plant it at once at the outside corner of the cottage.

That night the Cuddle Bear family went to sleep, each cuddled in his cozy, warm bed. Newborn Baby Cuddle cub had warm blankets to cuddle under too. During the night it rained little pitter-patter rain drops on the roof but in the morning the warm sun shone brightly. The whole family hurried outside to see whether anything happened to the magic seed while Baby Cuddle cub was still sleeping.

SURPRISE! The magic seed had popped out of the ground and the green stalk grew up and up and UP until it was taller than Cuddle Bear Cottage! At the top was the most beautiful blossom that the Cuddle Bear family had ever seen. It opened up its petals like a tulip.

 

“Look!” said Little Girl Cuddle cub. “Friendly Bumble Bee has come to visit! She is perched on the top of the blossom!” Everyone looked up and sure enough there was Bumble Bee with her yellow and black stripes and big wings tasting the delicious pollen from the magic flower. The Cuddle Bear family was so happy that the very first visitor had found their cottage! Now she would buzz around and let the rest of the woodland creatures know that they should not be frightened to visit and were always welcome at Cuddle Bear Cottage.

And so it happened that Bumble Bee buzzed the good news everywhere she went. Almost all of the creatures in the forest came to visit the Cuddle Bear family day after day. They came to see for themselves the magic flower that grew at the corner of their cottage and to get a friendly bear hug. They found out that the Cuddle Bear family really loved them.

Inside Cuddle Bear Cottage Mama Cuddle Bear gave visitors a slice of homemade bread spread with peanut butter and honey, a favorite snack of Little Girl Cuddle Cub. And each time visitors left, Mama Cuddle Bear gave them flowers from her garden to take back to their homes.