The two little bears had been mislaid by a freak. Eva had very carefully wrapped them in one of her favourite silk scarves, and placed them just inside one of the boxes which was going to her home. As she packed, Eva talked to the bears telling them she would be away for a time, they were not to be worried and would be well looked after.

Heavy with books and paperwork, one of the removal men stopped to take some of the items out of the box worried in case the bottom fell out. This happened someway down the corridor from Eva’s room, some moments later a girl came out of a close by room, saw the items, recognised the scarf thinking is was hers, scoop everything up and dashed out to put them in a box in her mothers car.

Not a favourite scarf, the girl left it together with the bears inside it and many other articles, to be stored in the loft of her parents house.

A dark and draughty place, that was at least dry, but as summer turned to autumn, and autumn to winter, became very cold. The two little bears cuddled close to each other, the silk scarf keeping our some of the cold and preventing them being coated with dust. They were frightened as the winter gales raged outside, rattling the tiles on the roof of the house.

In the depth of the winter there was some activity as the loft hatch was opened and someone climbed in to search for Christmas decorations, but the boxes were completely ignored.

Clearly there was a party, the house was alive with music, people talking and laughing. The bears knew quite a bit about such occasions and wished they could join in. At one time they thought they could hear Eva’s voice, but put it down to pure imagination. Indeed they were quite right she was there with her boyfriend, being a friend of the other girl. Oddly, it had never occurred to Eva to inquire if her friend had seen the scarf or teddy bears had been seen before leaving college.

Soon Christmas and the New Year celebrations were over, the decorations returned to the loft and the house returned to its usual quietness.

One day the girl returned home, the bears saw her climb up the ladder into the loft with her mother, and felt certain they were to be collected. After looking through most of her things, she told her mother they could be thrown out.

Several days later strange people arrived and started moving the boxes and many other items down to the hall, where they were being sorted out. Picking up the scarf to place it with other clothes it unrolled and the bears fell out onto the floor.

"What lovely little bears" exclaimed one of the helpers "they are in fantastic condition, think they can go with the charity shop stuff!"

"Stay close together" they whispered to each other, setting off on another journey.

As luck, or maybe more than luck, would have it, the little bears did remain together eventually finding themselves on the shelf of a shop with many other homeless bears.

One morning a lady came in, she picked up one of the little bears and turned to go to the cash desk, something stopped her and she returned to the shelf where the other bear was sitting ……..

The two little bears then set out on another journey, found themselves amongst many more bears, were named Toby and Tara, and adopted by Harry and Jillie.

Jillie, Harry, Tara and Toby

© Susan Hopgood

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