Teddy Bear Time

When a visitor to Bearborough last year forgot to put on her watch, she asked some local bears the time and she got some strange answers.

"Half past three," the bear who sells fruit and vegetables said, glancing up at the Town Hall clock.

"A quarter to nine," the bear in the bakery replied, looking at the clock high on the church.

"Nine minutes after fi ve," the bear who sells ice cream on the corner of the main street said, peering at the clock in front of the train station.

You have probably guessed that all the clocks in Bearborough were wrong. That was because old Mr Minim, the only clock mender in town, had become a little shaky on his legs. Although fi t and well in every other way, he simply could not face climbing up a ladder to mend clocks high up. As you can imagine, the clocks really were a problem. The trains were never on time, and the shopkeepers didn't know when to open their shops.

Then, one day, Bearborough had two very special visitors. They were bears called Alfred and his friend Jumble-who was an elephant! Now most bears in Bearborough had never seen an elephant before, so they all gathered round. And the elephant, pleased to show off his size and strength, wrapped his trunk around each of the little bears in turn and lifted them up high, squealing with excitement.

"Excuse me, Jumble," said Mr Minim, tapping him lightly on the toe with his walking stick. "Could you lift a grown-up bear, like me, for example?"

In seconds, Mr Minim found himself dangling above the crowd, yet he felt as safe as if he was standing on fi rm ground.

And that is why, if you visit Bearborough these days, all the clocks are exactly right, for Jumble visits every twelve months, and Mr Minim always says that's the highlight of his year!

Taken from My Treasury of Five Minute Stories, 2000