Teddy

By Swapna Dutta

Clever Teddy! He is the real hero!
When Teddy, an adorable and naughty Alsatian comes to stay with Ina, Tina and their grandparents, their uneventful lives take an exciting turn. The girls love their pet immensely, but the other members are in for a surprise.
From startling the girls at their school to participating in a dramatic play with them, Teddy is a bundle of joy that lands these girls into some pretty unexpected adventures.
Join Teddy as he takes you on a roller-coaster ride, filled with endearing moments of love, laugher and lots of mischief.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Srishti Publishers
• Release date: Aug 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9789390441778

Book preview

A note from the author

The stories of Teddy, the naughty dog, hold a very special place in my heart as they are the first among my original stories, published at the beginning of my career as a writer. Teddy Comes to Stay appeared in Children’s World, the only magazine for children in India in those days, and was an instant hit with the readers. The editor, Mr K. Ramarishnan asked for more stories of Teddy and the naughty dog firmly made a place for himself in the hearts of my readers.

People often ask me why I didn’t try to get the stories published as a book. It was a tough choice in those days. No publisher accepted stories that had already been published before, including Children’s Book Trust, which brought out Children’s World. The editor asked me frankly what I wanted. Did I want to make a collection and try my luck with the existing publishers of children’s books? Or would I be content to write them for Children’s World? I could not have both.

I thought about it. There was no guarantee that children would buy it, even if the stories came out as a book because one rarely got to see Indian books for children in bookstores in those days. On the other hand, my stories would reach children all over the country if I wrote them for Children’s World. The magazine had a wide circulation - in not just the metro cities, but in smaller towns as well. And I made my choice.

When HarperCollins opened an imprint in India in collaboration with Rupa & Co in 1990 the practice of not publishing previously published stories was waived and they brought out my Teddy and Juneli stories as books in 1992. But unfortunately, the books published under this banner vanished when the portal shut down.

Many of my readers, who are grown up now, still remember me as the writer of the Teddy stories. They include teachers, librarians and even principals of the schools I visit. Doctors, lawyers, journalists, professors, government officials and even a police officer, who tell me how much they enjoyed the stories as children and ask me if the Teddy stories are still available.

I am perpetually coming across such people, many of whom are famous writers today and meeting them is always a moving experience. Because it only proves what I have always believed. A book can go out of print and remain out of print, but it does not necessarily mean that the memory of a dearly loved book or character can be driven out from the heart of the reader.

I was really delighted when first Jayanta (the original publisher of Srishti) and then Arup told me that they wanted to republish the Teddy stories. I believe that the stories of Teddy will interest my present readers as much as they did the past. My heartfelt thanks to both of them for giving the heady childhood days with Teddy a new lease of life.

Swapna Dutta

Bangalore

July, 2022

1

Teddy Comes to Stay

N o! said Dida.

Oh Dida, why not? asked Ina, my sister.

Oh please, Dida, I said as beseechingly as I could.

But Dida shook her head firmly. Ina sighed. I knew it won’t work. Dida hated dogs. She always had. And Teddy was a handful!

Ina swore that he was the smartest, cleverest and the most handsome pup alive. Dadu and I felt the same. He was indeed adorable with his creamy-white coat, the patch of black on his shoulders, his ever-wagging tail and his melting eyes. Everybody loved him, except Dida.

Dida liked everything to be quiet and peaceful. She liked things to be tidy and in order. She hated confusion and noise. And, things could never be quiet with Teddy around!

Honestly, Teddy was not really ours. Some time ago, Dadu had let out his outhouse to a gentleman named Mr Rao who was the son of an old crony. He had no place to stay. Mr Rao had a pair of Alsatians, King and Queenie. King was a mixture of brown and black, and Queenie was white.

Ina and I loved them. In spite of their huge size, they were very friendly. We were even more thrilled when the puppies arrived. There were five in all. Two were brown. One was black and the other two had mixed colours. Ina and I had names for all of them. But both of us were most keen on the one we called Teddy because he looked like a cuddly teddy bear. We spent most of our free time with them. It was so funny to see them all huddled up together. Funnier still to see Queenie so wrapped up in them. She hardly let them out of her sight, while King looked bored. All that aside, we were more interested in the pups.

Ina and I lived with our grandparents. When our father got posted abroad for a long project, our mother went with him to look after him. They wanted us to come as well and join a new school there. But we did not want to leave our school and friends here. Besides, Dadu said he’d feel very lonely without us and Dida said she would take care of us and see to our studies. So we stayed back with them happily. Baba and Maa came on long leave to visit us every year.

Wouldn’t it be fun if one of the puppies belonged to us? asked Ina for the umpteenth time.

Dida would never allow it! I replied in a glum voice. And then, Mr Rao was suddenly transferred to Chennai.

He could not possibly take five pups with him. So he started looking out for new homes for them. Four of the pups were taken at once. But no one wanted Teddy.

I can’t understand why he wasn’t grabbed first, Ina wondered out loud. He is the cutest of the lot!

I thought so too.

v

As the day of his departure arrived nearer and nearer, Mr Rao got very worried. He did not know what to do with