The Teddy Bear Stories: A Collection

By Tom Germann

The Teddy Bear Stories Collection 1 is a group of 7 short stories about those adorable stuffed animals that are with every small child. The love they feel from their little cuddlers has brought them alive and they act to defend their little charges from the Night Terrors. Fears that have been with mankind since the beginning of time slowly brought to life and now hide in Underbed

What do they want? Who knows!

The Teddy Bear Guardians are all that stand between the children and the Night Terrors that hide beneath the bed.

Follow “Commando Bear The Fearless” as she prepares to deal with the Terrors on its own turf.

See “Teddy Bear Goes To Sick Kids” as his cuddler is threatened by illness and the fears that lurk in every hospital.

“Lone Bear” is the story of a single Guardian holding out against all hope as there is no hope, just love.

“My Little One Almost Grew Up” what do you do when the child you gave your all for does not need you?

“The Night Terrors” who are they and what do they want?

“Robot Bear, Destroyer Of Evil” what do you do if you can’t be a Guardian?

“World War Bear” The Guardians have established a line of defence in Underbed to hold the Night Terrors away from the children they guard. Can they hold given the fears of a modern world?

There are also three teasers from the next short story collection:

“The Little Boy Who Should Not Have”

“Meeooowwww!”

“Bears And Squirrels”

25% of the author’s proceeds on this will be donated to Fanconi Canada, the Canadian Fanconi Anemia Research Fund is a charity funding research into an effective treatment and hopefully one day a cure. They also serve as a support network for Canadian families. In the month of August 100% of the author’s proceeds on this collection will be donated.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Germann
• Release date: Jun 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311154606

Tom Germann

Born and raised in Grimsby, Ontario Tom grew up in a century home enjoying the open space of living on a fruit farm. He began writing as a youth but then put it aside. After College then University for Business Tom worked as an instructor. In 2005 he followed in the family footsteps and went into Real Estate. After several years working away at learning the different elements of Real Estate focusing on residential and first time home buyers Tom mentored his first new Realtor. There are so many things that people who want to go into real estate do not know or understand. New realtors often waste a great deal of time on the wrong activities. This was frustrating. So in 2014 Tom wrote his first book as a guide on what to do as you are going through registration courses. This led to several other books which are works in progress. Starting that one book though opened the floodgates and the writing just kept happening. Tom is writing some charity books and science fiction along with the "So you want to go into Real Estate" guides. Tom has a lot of projects on the go. A licenced Realtor, A serving member of the Canadian Forces Reserve for over 26 years, married with 2 great small boys. Life is busy. The different books and massively different genres? All different facets to Tom's personality. His personal motto? "STAY POSITIVE!" Enjoy the books and check out the website for more information.

Book preview

THE TEDDY BEAR STORIES

A COLLECTION

BY Tom Germann

Copyright © 2015 Tom Germann

All rights reserved.

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Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

OUT NOW

THE TEDDY BEAR STORIES:

A COLLECTION

TEDDY BEAR DISCRIMINATION

THE NEW GUARDIAN

COMING 2016:

THE TEDDY BEAR STORIES:

A COLLECTION PART 2

TEDDY BEAR DEDICATION

I wrote this book because I have seen some truly horrible things happen to children. I have NOT seen the effects of living in a warzone. I have NOT walked through wards where babies born to addicted mothers are struggling to survive.

I have been to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto with both my children, and that is much more terrifying for me because it is so real for me.

Sick Kids Hospital is not what people picture hospitals looking or smelling like. It is warm, with a huge number of windows to let in natural light. The colors are cheerful and there is no antiseptic smell trailing through the halls like in most hospitals.

It is busy, vibrant, full of life and smiles.

Yet it is also horrific. Not because it is a hospital, but because it deals with terrible problems that little ones have.

In 2013, we found out the reason that our four year old son Nate was so small is that he has a rare genetic disorder called fanconi anemia. Initially, we went in to Sick Kids weekly, and that has extended to every six weeks as they track his progress.

Fanconi Anemia is very rare (approximately 1 in 350,000 children are affected) and not well understood. Research is always underway on this illness and while they are making progress it is slow.

Every time doctors advance knowledge in one field it can have a carry over effect to another, so a breakthrough in transplant can push advances in other areas.

I have been to Sick Kids hospitals many times and seen all the kids there. This is the first teddy bear short story collection. It is NOT the last. I want and need to do something for those children today and in the future, so will be donating part of the proceeds from this book to the Fanconi Anemia Canada organization, next years book is likely going to be Sick Kids Hospitals. If I can manage it there will be three books at least in this series. Donations will happen hopefully forever.

I hope that you as the reader can feel uplifted by what some of these Guardians do as they protect their cuddlers — the little ones who give love so unconditionally to their furry friends. Those friends in turn defend them from the bogeyman or Night Terror that waits in the dark to come forward when we, the adults, look away.

If you are interested in this book and would like to hear about future ones I am working on in this series, let me know and I will add you to my subscriber list. Just drop me an email at [e-mail] and put TEDDY BEAR in the subject heading. Or head over to www.tomgermannauthor.com and check out the slowly growing site under the bears heading.

Acknowledgements:

My work would never be finished if I did not have assistance from others. Sometimes it is a kick in the rear, sometimes it is a kind word.

Thank you to Robin Schroffel for having the patience when editing this work and the kind words.

Thanks to Shawna Smoke for the cover art and to Angie Zambrano for creating the front cover (nice job!)

And to the company that formats my work www.ebooklaunch.com keep it up!

To my awesome boys no matter how they drive me nuts. Nate, Ben I love you and would give you the world. (Now get back to that homework!)

Thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMMANDO BEAR THE FEARLESS

TEDDY BEAR GOES TO SICK KIDS

LONE BEAR

MY LITTLE ONE ALMOST GREW UP

THE NIGHT TERRORS

ROBOT BEAR, DESTROYER OF EVIL

WORLD WAR BEAR

CONCLUSION

NOW FOR A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME!

THE LITTLE BOY WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE

MEEOOOWWWW!

BEARS AND SQUIRRELS

COMMANDO BEAR THE FEARLESS

The female of the species can do amazing things when it comes to defending her own. Guuuuurrrrllllssss are not as helpless as society sometimes paints them. Sometimes they can be quite over-the-top.

I was born and raised as a soldier. I am fast and strong and able to do things that normal bears just can’t.

In fact, I do more before my gorgeous little cub wakes up than most other bears do all day.

I have to let you know that I cut an impressive figure in my form-fitting camouflage uniform with belt. My black boots complement my black beret, with the black belt in between. You won’t find a better sample of bear good-lookingness anywhere!

Now everyone seems to want to know why a top bear like myself with decorations from the War and more courses and commendations than anyone else in existence chooses to stay with her cub.

Well, I will tell you right now that my cub is the most precious little one in existence in these four walls and I will keep him safe all day, every day!

Why, that little delicate flower needs me to keep an eye on his very own parents! They don’t seem to realize that he hates carrot mush. He also hates peas. Yet they keep feeding him carrot mush and peas!

I swear, if I was not in this household, he likely would not even have been born. Nice people, really, but just not very smart and they need help.

Worse than that, though, are those Night Terrors. They just won’t stay away. I have cleared out cities’ worth of them and they still come back.

I tell you, it feels like a combat bear is just not getting it done.

I see you want me to get to the point. Why is there such an amazingly talented and bloodthirsty commando bear here in this house?

Well, then, here you go.

I never thought it could happen to me. I was sitting there in the specialty store surrounded by construction bears, space bears, your standard teddy bears and everything else you could imagine.

The old shop was not into mass assembly-line techniques. Oh no. The owner was a nice lady who had several friends and they created most of us as one-offs. I remember Nancy made me. They were all together having coffee that was fortified, as it was a cold winter morning, and all sorts of bears were being made up around me.

I was starting to come around like the rest. It was nice to be created, to feel the warmth of human contact. Even though my Nancy was old, she was fiery!

I had a bit of an attitude problem at first, but I let that go pretty fast. The rest of the ladies were commenting on how good I looked with the long braid.

I remember their voices. Ooohh, what a pretty princess she would make. Another said, No, a mother bear cooking for her cubs. Yet another one added, No, a business bear in a power suit showing all those other business bears that female bears are as good as the rest of them.

I saw Nancy reaching for this really frilly pink dress, and there was a tiara next to it with a wand. She was looking at the fairy bear and considering it. Of all the outfits, in my mind that was the worst. It was so, so… girly.

I growled, but was sure that no one would hear me. I was just barely aware and I was horrified that I was going to have to go and have tea and crumpets like some delicate little house frau.

Nancy stopped her hand, froze for a second, and then she leaned forward and grabbed a bundle next to the fairy and brought it next to me.

All I could really see was it was sort of green with some browns and blacks. I was really hoping that I was not going to end up a woodland sprite bear or something. I was barely aware and I had pride already.

Nancy may have been older and with several grandchildren, but she moved you around with her fingers like no one else.

The other ladies were watching and drinking their coffee.

Nancy dressed me carefully, putting me into a tunic and pants, then put boots on my feet and a hat on my head. She strapped a belt on me last and attached something to it. I couldn’t move, and still did not have a lot of energy.

But when she was finished, she stood me up in front of a mirror on the table so that I could see what I looked like—I looked AWESOME!

My beret looked new and even shiny. My uniform was crisp and made me look sharp. The boots gleamed and shone. I was wearing a belt with dagger on my hip. I couldn’t turn, but I looked very smartly turned out.

One of the other ladies, Charlea, said, That looks amazing, Nancy, but whoever heard of a female soldier bear? Soldiers are male. That braid looks all wrong. Are you going to cut it off?

I was horrified. My hair and my uniform defined me, and they wanted to convert me to a sort of male bear?

I thought about running, but couldn’t move.

Nancy laid all my fears to rest, though. No, of course not! She is not just a soldier. She is a special commando bear. She takes all those bad guys out and beats them to a pulp, or worse if she has to.

Nancy looked around at the other ladies. My girl here is going to show all the boys in their fancy uniforms that she is as good, and even better than they are.

They all chuckled at that.

Then Susan finished it for them. She does look good, and I tell you, I bet she does show those boys what for. Girl power? Hmppph! Bear power!

They all laughed and then carried on working.

Along with the rest of the bears and a few other types, I was taken into the store the next day.

We were set up after-hours and I sat next to a police bear and a construction bear. Hydro bear was checking his tools and rock-star bear was always ready to rock.

There were tons of us there, and after we were set up, the humans left and we could finally talk freely.

We still had to be careful as it was a very small shop. It felt like the size of the dining room where most of us were made, and there was so much stuff in boxes and display cases that the place seemed no larger than a closet. With those big windows, we had to be careful that no one saw us moving.

We checked each other out carefully and were quickly establishing the pecking order. I, of course, being special, was at the top of the chain as most of my fellow bears were quite namby-pamby. Some of them looked like they could not even stand on their own feet without help. Of course, many of those were the girl bears with their big flowing dresses.

I stopped worrying about anything other than keeping our perimeter secure and the store cleared of unauthorized personnel at night. That, along with the realization that I must always be ready for parade, meant I was always busy. Thankfully the police bears were able to assist, as were the rest of the emergency response bears.

I must say I was sadly disappointed in the other girl bears. Those dresses were not reasonable or realistic to move around in. Don’t get me wrong—some of them tried quite hard to help out, and wanted to learn. They knew what was out there. But they really were more qualified at holding high tea than wrestling with the evils out in the world. I kept working on them all.

We had a visit from some of the senior bears from Picnic Land, of course. I mean, this is a store that specializes in handmade teddy bears for children. It only made sense to have a regular visit or two from the bigwigs, as we were crucial in the big war.

We were all introduced at an early age to the enemy: The Night Terrors. I have always looked forward to going up against them and taking them down. It’s what we do. We protect the young cubs that cannot protect themselves. I look forward to the day I can stand in defence of the children and kick those Night Terrors back