The following story was sent to me by Paul Lakeman of www.teddybearspersonalised.com I think it's a lovely story and hope you do too!

Cookie Bear and the Small People.

There is to the very North of China a small land mass surrounded on three sides by water and joined to mainland China by a long narrow causeway.

When the tide is high or the winds strong it is nigh on impossible to get to mainland China. The inhabitants of this land mass used to be very small people. The authorities at that time had deemed them to be too small to be of any use to society. Before these small people arrived the area was inhabited by large brown bears.

"You are of no use to anyone!" bawled the government officer, "You are too small. From this day on you and your like will be sent to a region in the far north of China, a region known as The Royal Kingdom of Bears."

(The Bears that lived there had all been rounded up years previously and taken to Bile Bear Farms).

What will we do there?" asked Lee Hung Fat, one of the small people. "Do what you like," said the government officer, "but don't you little people bother me, just go away."

When they reached the Royal Kingdom of Bears the little people all felt cold, unhappy and unwanted. What were they to do with their time? Suddenly, as if someone was listening to their thoughts a large roar came from deep within the woods.

"I will tell you what you can do," roared a very, very large Brown Bear, "Follow me." And follow him they did, through the dense undergrowth, until they came upon a clearing that housed a large wooden building.

"How is it that you can speak like us? asked Lee Hung Fat.

"Because I have special powers," replied the Brown Bear. "I have been sent here from a distant star, called the Great Bear, in order to save all the bears that have been rounded up and sent to the bile farms, come with me, I have something to show you."

Inside the building was a large machine made of brass.

"What is that?" asked one of the small people.

"That my good friend - is a love stuffing machine!" said the large bear. "This is where we make little bears, you humans call them Teddy Bears, and we stuff them full of love!"

"Stuff them full of love! is that possible?" questioned one of the small people.

"Yes indeed it is, in fact we stuff them so full of love that humans all over the world want to buy them!" answered the large bear. "Then with the money we make we are going to save all of those poor bears that have been taken to the bile farms, or should I say vile farms. "Look" he went on, "I'll show you how to do it."

From a large wooden box, the bear took out what looked like a very small bear that had been squashed flat.

"This little chap is called Cookie, named after a little bear that lives on Ursa Minor." He switched on the brass machine and placed a little tube into the mouth of the little squashed bear.

"This is the only tube that should be placed into bears" he said, "and only into toy bears". Unlike those at the bile farms that take the life OUT of bears, our tube stuffs the bears with love and life."

As the love was stuffed into Cookie, a strange thing happened. Cookie's nose changed into the shape of a heart and a smile appeared on his face!

"Look!" said one of the small people, "Cookie has a heart and the 'love stuffing' has made him smile!"

"Yes indeed," said the large bear. "If more humans had been stuffed with love, you wouldn't have been sent here, and the bears would not be on those bile farms."

Under the guidance of Lee Hung Fat, the small people worked day and night producing Teddy Bears that were loved and cherished the world over and one by one, the large bears were saved from the bile farms.

On a clear night if your look up at the stars, in the direction of Ursa Minor, you can sometimes see Cookie's smiling face looking down on the planet, his little red heart shaped nose glowing in the dark and a smile on his face.

All of the bears that have been saved from the bile farms now inhabit the Royal Kingdom of Bears; and the small people have gone to live in The Kingdom of Heaven as a reward for all theirhard work in saving the bears.

Find out more about Paul's Teddy Bears here

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