" the Hamburgler " a tiny tale for Kristine and my little friend Finn

  One sunny summer afternoon, the Bear paid an unexpected visit to Dolly's house, and walked straight into her garden.

 

Dolly was just getting ready to have her lunch when the Bear showed up unannounced.

"oh, .... hello",  said Dolly in dismay when she saw the Bear, "how nice to see you again ... and so soon".  But she wasn't really glad to see the Bear at all.  The last time the Bear had dropped in unannounced, he had eaten all of Dolly's lunch and then everything else in Dolly's house that he could find.  Dolly's mother had been quite upset; and now here he was once again, and looking just as hungry as before.

  

"Were you on your way somewhere," she said hopefully * hint hint*, to the Bear, because I see that you have on your best hat today?"  Dolly tried to be polite even though she was not feeling very hospitable.  

" Well, ... I always wear my best hat when I go out for lunch... and so... here I am!" the Bear said. "And I see that you have picnic basket with you today Dolly; I wonder what's inside?" *hint hint*

 "Nothing much" , said Dolly lamely,...  "Well, ... actually, I don't know Bear, because my mother made up this basket as a surprise for Me"  Dolly put great emphasis on the word 'me' so that the Bear would perhaps get the message and shove off.   But the Bear said  "How Wonderful!  I LUVVV Surprises, so maybe I will just wait and see what kind of surprise your mother has packed for US."  The Bear made certain to stress the word 'us' and then he climbed up onto the garden chair and waited quietly for Dolly to begin.

Dolly reluctantly lifted the lid of the picnic basket and peeked quickly inside.  Swiftly she closed it again and looked intently at  the Bear.

"Ummm.... there's not much.." Dolly said hesitantly, then paused.

She added quickly, "That is...  there is nothing here that I think you would like to eat, Bear"
"Oh, dear!" said the Bear looking crestfallen. Then he said,
"But Dolly,... what don't I like to eat?" 

 Desperately, Dolly tried to think up something that sounded awful; something icky like turnips and cabbage. Personally, Dolly did not like either turnips or cabbage, but she wasn't quite certain if the Bear disliked them.  In fact, she was convinced that the Bear would eat just about anything, whether he liked it or not. Still, she didn't want to tell a lie so she decided to say nothing at all.  She decided to try and stall, instead.  Hopefully, the Bear would get tired of waiting and simply go away.

But the Bear was quicker than Dolly and  knew just what to do next.
"LET ME SEE!"  he demanded and reluctantly Dolly opened the lid. She tried to put her head in the way so that the Bear couldn't see inside.  But the aroma of big, juicy hamburgers with all the fix-ins and golden, crispy chips with ketchup, wafted up out of the basket past her head and right into the nose of the Bear.

" IT'S HAMBURGERS!"
the Bear exclaimed joyfully.

"I LOVE HAMBURGERS, Dolly!!!!"

 

The Bear looked in and counted TWO plates!  "What luck!" he thought.  If he ate his hamburger quick enough, then perhaps Dolly would still have some left by the time he was finished, and then he could have her hamburger too!

The Bear sat back down and made room on his lap, then he said, "Okay Dolly,... I'm ready for mine now! The Bear's mouth was  already watering.

 Dolly slowly lifted the plates out of the basket and set them on the table.  She knew from experience the speed that the Bear could eat.  Hadn't her mother called him "Dyson the Hoover"right after his last disastrous visit?
She doubted that she would even get one bite of her meal before the Bear asked for hers as well.  She tried desperatley to think of a solution.

"Just a moment please Bear, while I say grace" 
The Bear reluctantly bowed his head as
Dolly said her prayer over the food as-- slowly-- as-- she-- could, but she could hear the Bear fidgeting in the background.  "Amen" said Dolly finally.
"Amen!" repeated the Bear very loudly

"Which plate would you like Bear?" asked Dolly politely
"Why the biggest one, if you please." replied the Bear impolitely.
By now The Bear was, very,very hungry!

 Reluctantly, Dolly handed over the biggest plate of hamburger and chips to the Bear, but just before he could take a bite, Dolly's best friend, Sweetie Pie showed up.

"Hi Dolly, Surprise!" Sweetie Pie said.  "Your mother just phoned my mother and your mother said that she had packed 2 plates of hamburgers and chips, in a picnic basket just for the two of us.  She said that we could have a lunch out here in the garden.  I came over just as soon as I could.  I am so excited,
I JUST LOVE HAMBURGERS!"
Then Sweetie Pie looked over at the Bear, just to say "hello" and that's when she saw the plate with the big juicy burger perched on Bear's lap.

"Hey!... Sweetie Pie exclaimed, "Is that BEAR Going to Eat MY HAMBURGER?!!!"
"uh oh", thought the Bear fearfully "I'm in for it now."  Just the week before, he had been invited to Sweetie Pie's birthday party and while everyone else was playing games outside and having fun, the Bear had gone inside to eat all of the candy in the goodie bags, drink all of the punch on the table,  and then he consumed all of the ice cream in the fridge. After that he ate all of the birthday cake including the wax birthday candles, just because they looked so pretty! Poor Sweetie Pie didn't even have the chance to blow them out!

"Welllll,".... Sweetie Pie tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. She looked first at Dolly and then glared angrily at the Bear.

"I think... maybe?" said Dolly in a small helpless voice 

 " I think, Maybe Not" said Sweetie Pie firmly, and she lifted the plate away from the Bear, before he could utter a single word of protest.

" I'm taking my hamburger inside the house!" announced Sweetie Pie. "Good-day, Bear!" and away she went in a great huff.
Then she called back over her shoulder
"You come too, Dolly!   And don't
forget your hamburger!" 

Dolly acted fast, and before The Bear knew what had happened, Dolly had snatched up her plate and was gone.

"Rats!", said the Bear once the shock had subsided. He was now all alone in the garden, friendless and exceedingly hungry. 

He looked at the now empty table and he felt very sad.
" Oh dear," he said to himself, "I behaved very badly at Sweetie Pie's birthday party. I know that I should have had better manners and not eaten all of the birthday cake or any of those pretty wax candles, especially since they did not taste very good. I should not have been so greedy and cleaned out Dolly's fridge either, then perhaps Dolly and Sweetie Pie would have invited me inside for a hamburger too. Oh dear, I have been such a naughty bear."
The Bear sighed deeply and was feeling so miserable, that he even shed a tear.

He sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes with the back of his paw,
and again looked wistfully towards the empty table ...
 That's when a miracle happened!
There, on the table, was a huge dinner of all of the Bear's most favorite things to eat in the whole wide world!
There was a big serving of a thick grilled steak, succulent roasted potatoes and sweet green beans.
The Bear thought he must be dreaming, where did all of this food suddenly come from? Then he saw a tiny little ant sitting on one of green beans who said to him:

" Hello Bear, my name is Ant Kristine.   I was sent here from above hoping that you would soon see the error of your ways. Have you learned your lesson that Greedy Bears will always be unwelcome and  that when you are a guest, good manners are the best?"
The Bear bowed his head in shame. " Yes, Ant Kristine I have learned my lesson, and I shall never act that way again."
"Very well Bear, because you have decided to mend your ways,  you shall have this delicious meal of your favorite things to eat,... and it is all just for you!" 
" All for me?" said the Bear in wonder.

And in a flash he had the plate sitting on his lap.

The Bear looked down at the food for just a moment and then a smile lit up his furry face,

 and before you could say 'Bob's your uncle', the Bear had eaten up everything and licked the entire plate clean.  "Yum, yum, yum! that was sooo tasty! Thank you Ant Kristine," but Ant Kristine was nowhere in sight.  The Bear got down from the garden chair and placed his empty plate on the table, he paused for a moment and then quickly picked his plate back up again. He headed straight toward Dolly's house. 
 "I wonder, he thought greedily, as he left the garden, " if Dolly has finished all of her hamburger yet,.... it sure smelled good! And I wonder if perhaps she might have something more to eat in her fridge?....  And you know what else....? I still haven't had my dessert.  I do hope she still has some cookies...."

                                            ** *** *** **
 Oh dear,... (sigh)
 I guess some bears
 will just
  never
  learn.

                                                  The end

This story was my way of saying "THANK YOU"
to Kristine of Paper Doll Miniatures. 
 I was the winner of her most recent Giveaway
Whooo hooo!

Here is everything that that I won with an extra plate of cookies as a bonus.
What a Treat!
but don't tell the Bear 
Again, Thank You very much Kristine 

this blog post was written....

 and for my little friend 
Finn
:D
elizabeth