The Bear on Lullaby Lane

In a tiny toy shop along Lullaby Lane
Lived a bear with brown eyes 
And the softest foam stuffing
He wore a red ribbon
And had fur made for fluffing

He sat there at sunrise
And was still there come evening
When dusk filled the skies
And long shadows came leaning

He sat with a frown 
In a sort of a slump 
He had a cross face
You might call him a grump

Other toys they would say
It had long been this way
That no customer had ever
Sought to buy this lost treasure

On a day like today 
When the shop was closed tight
And no passers by saw them 
For they were hidden by night

The toys came to see him
This sad old brown bear
They all tried to cheer him
Raise a smile if they dared

Sometimes he shrugged
Or warned them away
Told them to go
No interest in play

Now most times the toys
His orders obeyed
But today was much different
Today they all stayed

Daisy Doll had put candles
On top of a cake
She had spent a whole day
Learning to bake

‘Dear Bear’ she said softly
‘It has now been a year
You have sat in that window 
So alone now please hear’

‘We all want to help 
For you look so alone
We all long to see you
Find a snug home’

‘If you spend one more summer
On that dusty shelf
The sun’s rays will fade you
And be bad for your health’

The bear he then shrugged
As he was often to do
Gave his grumpiest look
But his cake he then chewed

‘Oh grumpy bear’
Said Dan Soldier Man
‘Why don’t you smile
Once in a while?’

‘The children will love you
All of the day
If you just show them
That you want to play’

There came no reply
Except a big sigh
And a sad look of pain
As he looked to the sky

Peggy the Poodle 
Asked him then fondly
‘Are you unhappy because your shelf is so dusty?’

‘Or is it you’re lonely?’
Asked Tommy the Truck
‘You are the last of your family
And down on your luck’

‘Is it the window
With its daily glare?’
Asked Rita the Robot
To his grumpy stare

‘Or the cold
Or the heat?’
Asked they all
In defeat

And the bear 
Shook his head
Did not answer 
But instead

Leaned down from his shelf
For one more piece of cake
But he had eaten too much
And he made the shelf break

He tumbled and rolled
The toys they all gasped
He rolled round and round
And his bottom he grasped

Then they all saw
A curious thing
A small flash of silver
As bright as a ring

Not a ring, no
But metal
So long 
And so thin

And so sharp
And so sticking
In his furry
Bear skin

‘Oh my!’ yelled them all
‘Now we see why
The answer
To why you are sad all the while

For there is a needle
Still with its thread
It should have been taken
But was left there instead

Oh bear, poor sweet bear’
The toys they all sang
‘Let us now help you
How lucky your prang’

‘For it has revealed
What your sitting concealed
A sharp nasty pain
Well it won’t hurt again’

Grumpy bear gave a smile
As they pulled it all out
It took barely a while
And the bear lost his pout

He sat up and laughed
For the first time they’d seen
‘I have been daft’ he said
‘and terribly mean’

‘I am sorry for all 
My grumpy old ways
The ouch in my bottom
Ruined my days’

‘But now I feel happy’
And he gave a huge grin
It lit up the toy shop
For his hug they squeezed in

All of the toys 
And the girls and the boys
The very next day
When they came to play

Heard talk of the bear
Who was over his slump
The happiest plaything
No longer a grump

It was then very soon
That a girl and her mummy
Purchased the bear
One afternoon warm and sunny

He was carried away
In her arms with a cuddle
To his friends the bear waved
As in the window they huddled