Ben and the Teddy Bear

　　Once upon a time, there was a little boy. His name was Ben. On his first birthday, his parents got him a soft brown teddy bear. The little baby boy carried his teddy bear with him everywhere he went. At night he always got the teddy bear sleeping next to him.

　　Ben grew up and got his own bedroom and a big bed to sleep in. He still took his teddy bear everywhere he went. He took the bear to zoos, parks, and even to school. The teddy bear was Ben’s favorite toy.

　　Ben became a teenager and he got more and more interested in video games, and going out with his friends. He stopped taking his teddy bear with him, which made the bear a little bit sad. Still, he would put his teddy bear next to him in bed every night.

　　Ben graduated from high school and had to go to a university in the big city. The boy was now a young man. He would come back home a couple of times every year for just a few days. Mom took all of Ben’s toys and put them in a big box in the attic(閣樓) . But, the teddy bear was always special so Mom decided to put him on one of the empty shelves so that when Ben was back home he could see his favorite bear. Ben’s visits were too short and he spent most of his time with his old friends and family. He would go to bed late at night, and often forgot to put the bear in bed. The bear was so sad and missed the nice old days.

　　Ben, now a young man, graduated from the university and got a job in the big city. He had his own place there and would only come home for a few hours on the weekends. Some weekends the teddy bear would not even get to see his friend. The bear was so lonely. Many nights, the teddy bear would sit alone crying in the dark. He always hoped that his best friend would come to take him to the big city, but it never happened.

　　Later Ben got married. After a year he and his wife had a little baby boy of their own. They loved their baby and often brought him over to his grandparents’ house.

　　One day Ben remembered his favorite teddy bear and thought that his own little baby would love to have it. He ran to his old room, went straight to the shelf and grabbed his old friend, the teddy bear. The bear was thrilled!

　　When Ben gave his old bear to his baby boy to play with, the baby was so happy that he wouldn’t leave it alone for the rest of the day. This time Ben took the teddy bear with him and his families. That night, and every night after that, the teddy bear got to sleep next to Ben’s baby boy.

　　Just like his father, the baby boy would take the teddy bear with him everywhere he went. The teddy bear was so happy. Now he had a new family, and both his old friend and his new firend loved him very much.