The new bear at school

The new bear at school

The day that Miss Cluck said there was going to be a new animal in the class, everyone was very excited. When Miss Cluck said that the new animal was a bear, the other animals squealed with delight.

Leticia the rabbit wondered if it might be a fluffy pink bear, like the one on her lunch box. Maxwell the mole wanted a floppy brown bear with velvet paws.The mice hoped for a bear in Wellingtons and a blue coating. Fergus the fox cub thought any teddy bear would be just fine. So, when the classroom door opened and Miss Cluck introduced Boris, everyone….

Screamed! For Boris wasn’t a teddy bear. He was an enormous, hairy, scary grizzly bear! Miss Cluck told Boris she’d give his uniform tomorrow, and found him a seat next to Maxwell. But as he sat down, there was a loud crack. It made Maxwell hide his face in his paws. ”oh, Boris!” said Miss Cluck. “why don’t you sit on the floor instead?”

Miss Cluck gave Boris a new book and a pencil. He was very proud indeed. With a big, friendly grin, Boris turned to show the

mice. But Boris forgot how fierce his teeth were. He forgot how big his paws were. And he forgot how sharp his claws were. Somehow, the mice got scattered across the classroom. Somehow, the pages of his new book got ripped. Somehow, there was panic everywhere. “Boris is too big!” cried one little mouse.“Boris is too hairy!” yelled another. “Boris is too scary!” they all squeaked together. “oh, Boris!”said Miss Cluck. “ please try to be more careful.”

At lunchtime everyone sat together. There was not enough room on the bench for Boris, but nobody moved over. So he sat all by himself and dipped his big paw into the large jar of honey his mommy had packed for him. When lunchtime was over Miss Cluck said everyone could go off and play.

The mice began a game of hide-and-seek.”1….2….3” Everyone ran to find a place to hide. But Boris was too big. So Boris hut his

eyes

and

counted

instead

“One…tow…three…”Borisboomed. Eeek, stop, no! Maxwell ran crying to Miss Cluck.

“Let’s go inside and play some quiet games” said Miss Cluck,

“and Boris, please try to be less scary, dear.” The animals sat together in a circle. There was no space for Boris.Boris had nobody to play with and nobody to talk to. Tears filled his big, brown eyes, rolled down his long nose, and splashed to the floor. “I’m a scary bear,” he sniffed.“I’m a hairy bear,” he sobbed. “I’m just a big grizzly bear.”It seemed like a very long afternoon.

At last it was time to go home. Miss Cluck stood and waved as the animals set off through the woods. Leticia hopped alone the bank. Maxwell scampered through the leaves.Fergus chased the little mice around a tree. Boris plodded along far behind.

Suddenly, from a hollow tree leapt the rat pack! rat pack.“Well,Well, if it isn’t the cry babies,”said the meanestrat.Leticia, Maxwell, Fergus, and the mice trembled while the rat pack circled around them.The rats didn’t see Boris plodding along the path. All Boris could see was lots of excitement ahead. He wanted to join the fun.

Boris stood up tall to greet the new friends with his biggest, widest bear grin and …“Yikes! It’s a hairy bear!”“Help! It’s a

scary bear!”“Quick! It’s a hairy, scary grizzly bear!”

The rotten rats ran away as fast as their skinny legs could carry them. “But I only wanted to say hello…” called Boris. When Boris turned around, the other animals cheered.“Boris is a hairy bear” they sang. “Boris is a scary bear,” they chanted.“We’re so glad that Boris is our grizzly bear!”

Suddenly, Boris felt very shy. “If you’re going to be a bear,” he said very gently,“then it’s probably best to be a hairy, scary grizzly bear.” The next day at school, the animals couldn’t wait to tell Miss Cluck how Boris had saved them from the nasty rat pack. “Oh, Boris!” said Miss Cluck. “what a good bear you are.”

At story time everyone rushed to gather around Miss Cluck. There wasn’t much room once Boris had sat down. But the rest of the class didn’t mind one little bit… they all had a soft, warm place to sit, after all!