50. The Next Plan

That evening after supper the bears were relaxing in Merlena's lounge and it seemed to be so quiet without Ferdinand Bear.  They were all missing him.  "Ferdinand has a long way to go home and will be travelling all night.  I wonder if he is asleep on the train already but I am sure he has eaten all the cookies by now," said Merlena Bear with a smile and the others laughed.  Theodore Bear sat up a little straighter in his chair and asked, "What have you planned for tomorrow?  Could we all go to town together again and go to the very top of the tallest building to get a good view over the city?"  "Good idea," said Merlena and Hernando almost together.  "The tallest building here is only 14 storeys high but it has a public viewing area on the roof," said Merlena, "and the view is lovely." 

49. The Good-byes

The train should be arriving any minute now.  Ferdinand held out his paw to Merlena first and then gave her a big hug.  "Thank you, Merlena, so much for everything. I will never forget this visit and the wonderful day with Shelley.  Take care till we meet again."  "Come again soon, Ferdinand," said Merlena.  Then he shook paws with Hernando and Theodore.  He smiled and said in a deep growly voice, "I hope you will all visit me one day.  I have enough space and would really like to show you where I live."  The loudspeakers crackled again and a voice said, "Attention, Platform 24, train pulling in!"  The big engine with a long line of coaches slipped slowly to a halt and passengers disembarked first.  All the bears spoke together, "Good-bye, good-bye," they said and Ferdinand Bear climbed up the steps into the coach.  He quickly found an open window and reached out a paw to shake with the other bears before the train slowly moved away and picked up speed.  The bears waved and waved until they could not see the train any more.

48. Ferdinand gets organised

The ticket office at the station had a big sign saying TICKETS HERE above the counter window. An arrow with flashing lights pointed to the sign.  The lady was friendly and helpful and in no time Ferdinand Bear had his ticket.  Theodore was so impressed.  "This has been easy," he said and the other bears all nodded in agreement.  Merlena led the way to a large board where they could find out which platform to go to and they made their way to Platform 24.  They had to go down the stairs, along the tunnel under all the train lines and up other stairs where the sign pointed to Platform 24.  There were many other passengers already waiting there with friends and family who had come to say good-bye.  Excitement was in the air as everyone had an eye on the big clock hanging on a chain and listened to the announcements on the loudspeakers. The train would be coming in about ten minutes so Ferdinand would not have long to wait.

47. The Station

The bears walked quickly to the tram stop and had hardly arrived there when the tram came around the corner.  They boarded and each bear found a seat at a window.  Theodore enjoyed looking at the city as they went along and soon the first train lines and trains could be seen heading for the station.  "I had almost forgotten that a train is so long.  The engine has to be very big and strong to pull all those coaches," he thought.  Ferdinand Bear held the little bag of cookies tightly to make sure it did not slip off his lap.  Hernando and Merlena were sitting next to each other and did not say much.  Theodore guessed they were feeling rather sad that their cousin was leaving again.  The station was a beautiful big building with many arched entrances for the trains and another arched entrance for the travellers.  The bears got off the tram and Merlena Bear said, "I have been here often before and know my way to the ticket office.  Follow me and don't get lost.  It will be busy inside there."

46. Going to the Station

The hours passed quickly and soon it was time to go to the station.  Ferdinand Bear looked very smart with his fur neatly brushed and his blue tie straightened with a newly tied knot.  Merlena Bear came in and said,  "Ferdinand, this is for my kindest cousin in all the world to eat on the train in case he gets hungry along the way" and she gave him a cheeky wink as she handed over a little blue bag full of cookies.  Ferdinand peeped into the bag and his face lit up as he said, "Why, thank you, Merlena, you are my kindest cousin in all the world!"  "Time to go now," said Hernando Bear, "it is quite a long way to the station and the next tram leaves in a few minutes."   Theodore Bear was looking forward to seeing all the trains.  "I will watch very carefully what all Ferdinand does," he thought to himself, "It is a very long time since I have been on a train and maybe I will do that again soon."

45. Ferdinand Bear's Decision

The next morning Theodore Bear was the first one in the house to wake up.  He got up, stretched and tip-toed quietly across to look out of the kitchen window.  The sun was shining brightly again and the neighbor's cat was sitting on a fence post watching their dog digging for a bone.  It did not take long until all the other bears were up too and they sat in the garden to eat breakfast.  They stayed chatting for a good while about all they had seen and done and then Ferdinand Bear spoke up.   "Merlena", he said,  "I am so glad I was able to come and celebrate your birthday and spend these few days with you but now it is time for me to go home again.  I need to attend to my garden and my fish pond.  I must catch the train this afternoon."  "Thank you so much for coming, Ferdinand, it was lovely to have you here," Merlena Bear said.  "We will all come to the station with you and see you off."

44. Good-byes

Shelley took her Mummy's hand and said, "Good-bye, Merlena Bear, good-bye Hernando Bear, good-bye Ferdinand Bear and good-bye Theodore Bear.  I hope you will enjoy the rest of your holiday in the city.  I will have to go to school again tomorrow but I will tell all my friends in the class about this lovely day."   "Good-bye, Shelley, we enjoyed having you come with us" the bears all said together and their sad voices sounded extra deep and growly.  Shelley and her Mummy slowly walked away.  Before they turned the corner to the next row of shops Shelley turned around to wave to the bears for the last time and then they could not see her any more.  "Let's go home now," said Merlena, "somehow I don't feel like sight-seeing any more today."  The other bears nodded silently and they walked out of the shopping mall together.

43. Back at the Mall

The little group walked briskly back through the Mayor's Arcade and found their way to the same shops where they had been when Shelley came and spoke to Merlena Bear.  "Phew!  At least we are not late," said Ferdinand Bear and looked around.  "Look, there is my Mummy coming now.  She is also not late," said Shelley and waved to her.  Then she turned to speak to the bears.   Her face looked sad but she bravely tried to give them a bright smile.  "Thank you, all my Special Bear Friends, for a wonderful, wonderful day that I will always remember.  Thank you for taking me with you and sharing your lunch with me.  Thank you for all you told me and thank you for so much fun playing games together.  I love you all," and she gave each bear a big, tight hug and they hugged her in return.  Ferdinand just nodded his head but Hernando Bear saw Merlena wipe a tear away. Theodore gave a weak smile and said, "I guess that is what you would call a bear hug."

42. The Race

All of a sudden Ferdinand Bear held up his paws and said,  "Oh my, look at the time. We have all enjoyed being here so much but in a few minutes we have to be back at the mall to meet Shelley's mother.  It is very rude to keep somebody waiting when you have an appointment."  The bears quickly brushed all the little grass pieces out of their fur and Shelley shook the dust off of her skirt.  Theodore Bear picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.  "Let us have a race to the bottom of the steps," Ferdinand said and they all set off at a fast pace.  Shelley reached the steps first and poor Theodore came last!  "I could not run so fast with this backpack on my back," he said sheepishly and they laughed and hurried up the steps all out of breath.

41. Let's play

"Hmmm" said Merlena Bear and sat up too.  The bears and Shelley had been relaxing in the shade while listening carefully to all that Theodore and Hernando had to tell them. "I think it is time to stretch our legs and play some games," Merlena said.   Shelley jumped up.  "Ooo, that would be lovely," she said, "what would you like to play?"  Merlena suggested the game "Dropping the Handkerchief" like they had played at her party and they all sat in a circle.  Theodore got his red spotted handkerchief out of his backpack again and was the first one to run.  Everybody had so much fun and then they played "Oranges and Lemons" and "Catch me if you can".   Hernando Bear was an expert at dodging out of reach and Theodore just could not catch him.   Shelly laughed and laughed as she watched.  She clapped her hands with excitement and said, "Catch him, Theodore!   Oh no, he escaped again!"

40. Hernando Bear tells some more

Hernando Bear went on with his story.  "There on the doorstep stood his rascally nephew and he said, 'Hello, Uncle Edward, I have come to live with you now'."  And that was that.  This nephew's name was Beau-me Bear and he was always in all sorts of trouble.  He would sneak out at night to go and steal honey from the neighbors but he never got it right.  Their dogs saw him and barked so loudly that the farmers came to see what the matter was.  Then he got scared so ran away and tried to climb through the fences quickly.  Most times he got stuck on the wires and left pieces of his fur behind.  It did not take long until he looked very scruffy.  That earned him the nickname Scraps and, as far as I know, he is still stuck with that name today."   "Ha, ha, ha," the other bears and Shelley laughed, "serves him right," they said, but added, "Scraps was very naughty to go stealing things that belonged to others."

39. Hernando Bear's Story

Hernando Bear sat quietly for a moment and then he smiled.  "I was just thinking about my Great-uncle Edward," he said.  "He did not live in a desert though, he did not like company much and he lived way back in a thick forest all by himself.  There was a lake nearby where he caught plenty of fish to eat for breakfast and harvested the big, juicy berries and fruit that grew all around his place.  Not many of his relatives went to visit him and if they did it was usually just for an afternoon."  Hernando sighed and then he went on.  "Great-uncle Edward was very happy living there and then, would you believe it, one day somebody just turned up on his door step.  Poor Great-uncle Edward, he thought he was not seeing correctly."

38. Living in the Desert

Theodore Bear smiled again and took a deep breath.  Then he said, "No, you would not have to worry about being too hot in the desert.  All the houses have air-conditioning in every room to keep them cool.  The cars and buses are all fitted with air-conditioning too so driving is very pleasant.  And then it is much cooler in the winter and sometimes one could even see snow on the high mountains.  Oh, yes, there are mountains in the desert where I live.  Pretty gemstones can be picked up, if you look carefully, and people use them to make necklaces and bracelets.  The ladies like to wear those.   Not all deserts have mountains, some only have sand dunes.  There you will find camels with their big humps." Shelley hardly knew what to say but Hernando Bear had sat up again to listen carefully and he was the first one to speak.  "That is very different to where I live too", he said.  "Maybe one day I will go and have a look at a real desert."

37. More about the Desert

"Oh, yes, but a big tree like this will only grow if I dig a very large hole and fill it with good soil before I plant it and then water it every day," said Theodore Bear as he went on to tell Shelley more  about the desert.  "The birds that live there also know how to sit in the cactus plants without getting caught up on the long thorns.  They are able to find food and water and materials to build their nests.  Animals live in the desert too.  Wolves and pumas and bobcats, but they mostly stay in some shade when it is so hot by day and come out at night to hunt.  There are also lots of bunnies that come out at night in the desert and they can run very fast.  Reptiles like lizards and snakes prefer the hot days and you can see them at anytime."  Shelley and the other bears all listened carefully to what Theodore had to say about the desert.  "Thank you, Theodore," said Shelley, "but I think it would be too hot for me in the desert." and the other bears all nodded their heads in agreement.