Barney Bear

by Sharon
(London)

Barney With Sharon

Barney Bear was nervous.

He would have liked to have seen where he was going but because he was only an average sized bear he couldn’t see out of the window - he could only see the back of the seat in front which really didn’t tell him anything at all.

He knew he was going to a fair and he knew that the idea was that hopefully someone would give him a home but that was all.
He wasn’t really sure at this stage what a fair was either!

All of a sudden the engine noise stopped and a pair of hands reached out and picked him up.
He found himself squinting in the bright sunlight and for a few seconds he couldn’t see where he was.
On rubbing his eyes with his paws his first view was of people and colours.
He could also feel sunshine, which he especially liked because it made his fur feel nice and warm.
He saw himself carried along a large expanse of grass and upon reaching a rather high shelf, found himself sat upon it, gazing out across the heads of rather a large number of people.

What was going to happen now?
Would he have a new home by the end of the day and who would it be with?

As he looked around hopefully, his eyes alighted on a little girl with lovely blonde hair.
As his eyes met hers, her eyes met his and he saw her face light up.
This was looking good.
“Mummy, mummy, look at the lovely teddy bear! Please can I have him?
Please?”
Mum looked down at her daughters excited expression and for a split second, Barney thought he had found his new owner,.
However, it wasn’t to be as mummy gently said, “No dear, you have enough teddies.
We don’t have room for any more”.
At that point it was hard to say who was more disappointed and with a sad backward glance at Barney, the little girl disappeared into the crowd.

Barney tried hard not to be upset because the day had only just started and there was bound to be an owner for him somewhere in the crowd so he decided to settle back, enjoy the view and the sun and wait and see.

The morning passed and although many people had cast him an admiring glance, no one had had even picked him up.
Until now!
And Barney was nervous for the second time!
Why?
Because just a few seconds earlier he had been spotted by a most unusual looking person, dressed all in black with long hair and lots of silver jewellery!
No one else looked like him and quite frankly Barney hoped he wouldn’t spot him!

But, he did and as Barney saw him move towards his stall he wondered what sort of a home a person like this would provide!

The first thing that surprised him however, was how kind the voice sounded that came from this most unusual looking individual, and the minute Barney was placed into his hands, his nervousness all but disappeared.
The hands that held him were gently and firm and his spirits lifted considerably.

As money was exchanged and Barney was placed into a carrier bag, the first thing that happened was that his new owner ensured that his head was actually sticking out the top of the bag because he’d actually been placed in it upside down, so that was a good start.

As his new owner wandered around, looking at the various stalls, Barney looked around excitedly at everything, marvelling

at how different things from this level looked compared to his view from the top shelf just a few minutes ago.

And now, things were going to get even more exciting!
Barney had travelled to the fair in what he knew to be a car and he assumed that this would be the way he got to his new home but no!
There was no car but a big black and silver two-wheeled machine with no roof or sides!
What was it?
Where was Barney going to sit?
Would he fall off?
And if he did, would his owner notice?
Barney was VERY nervous now!

“Nice bike mate!” someone called out and Barney realised that this is what this strange vehicle was.
As he was gently placed on the bike and secured, he wondered when his tummy was going to return to where it was supposed to be.
It had lurched into his mouth when he first saw this ‘bike’ and it was still there!

As the engine kicked into life with the loudest roar that Barney had ever heard in his life, he saw the ground either side of him start to move.
Slowly at first as the bike moved across the grass but faster now, as the grass gave way to the road.
Barney closed his eyes because the ground moving faster and faster made him feel queasy and that combined with his tummy still being in the wrong place, made him feel quite ill.

But, as Barney sat there with his eyes closed, he got a surprise.
The bike might be fast but it was very smooth.
Cautiously, he opened one eye.
Not too bad.
Cautiously, he opened the other eye, kept very still and waited.
Hooray! His tummy felt more like it was back where it should be and the queasy feeling was going.
He felt a comforting hand on the top of his head and felt better still.

This was going to be a lot more fun than he thought it would be!
The sun was warm and the air blowing across his face was lovely and fresh and he could actually see things.
Not for very long admittedly because they flashed past him in an instant but they were immediately replaced by other things but even so they were a lot more exciting than the back of the car seat he’d seen earlier.

By the time the bike had slowed to a stop, Barney was really enjoying himself and didn’t want the journey to end.
It had however, and he felt nervous again as he wondered what the house would look like and whether there would be other bears in there.

He felt himself gently lifted off the bike and carried toward his new home but at the sight of it, his heart sank!
It was a block of flats on a busy main road and it was tattiest and most uncared for looking building that he could ever imagine!
As Barney was carried up the stairs he looked at the peeling paint and the crumbling brickwork he wondered what on earth his home would look like on the inside!

As the key was turned in the lock and the door opened, Barney was really surprised to find himself in a cosy blue and gold living room with nice pictures, other bears and …another owner!

The black and silver man who had bought him had bought him for his partner and as Barney was passed to her and heard her exclaim how pleased she was to receive him, he knew that he was really home!