The Bear in the Net, by Gina Harris

Once there was a store, and in that store was a bear.

He was not the biggest bear in the toy aisle. That was a big, brown bear in the corner. He was four feet tall, and a child could sit in his lap and read.

Our bear was not the prettiest bear in the shop either. The prettiest was a bear on the top shelf with curly blond fur, a big blue bow, and arms and legs you could pose.

Our bear was also not a famous bear. He had never been on a cartoon or a t-shirt or a lunchbox, and he had never been in a storybook until now. He was just a very normal, average bear with a worried face and a simple dream: to be loved by a child.

Christmas was coming. He could tell by the decorations in the store, and the conversations of the customers. Maybe he could be a Christmas present. Each night when the store closed and the bear was still on his shelf, he looked for a star to wish on. He was not near a window, but there was a row of Christmas trees with star decorations, and he wished on those instead.

One day was especially busy. People were everywhere, buying everything. Finally, one man grabbed the bear and took him to the register.

The little bear wondered whom the man was shopping for. When they reached the man’s apartment, there were no children. He was not wrapped or put in a box. He was just left by the door, still in the bag. A dog came and sniffed him, which was very scary, but then the dog walked away.

The bear stayed in the bag all that night, and all through the next day. The next night, the man picked up his bag again as he headed out the door.

They rode through the city on the train, getting off at the arena. There were people carrying bears everywhere.

The man joined friends, and they took their seats at the end of the rink, waiting for the game to start. 

Everyone stood up and a little girl sang. People became excited. The players whooshed out onto the ice.

The game began. People cheered and groaned and booed, then cheered again. Suddenly, the home team scored. With that, bears began to fly everywhere. 

Bears filled the air like confetti. They hurtled towards the ice like furry meteors. The announcer said they would be collected and given to children. The bear heard that and was thrilled as he flew from one hand to another, getting closer and closer to the ice. 

Then he got stuck. 

A little plastic hook he had never thought about got caught on the net, and now he was hanging above the crowd.

Help me, he thought. I need to go to my child!

Someone did notice. They tried to knock him loose by throwing another bear. That one got stuck too.

A player was able to knock the second bear down with his hockey stick, but the first bear was up too high. He stayed there.

Thousands of bears were on the ice now. The players were scooping the bears into bins they had rolled onto the ice. They filled the bins up, rolled them away, and brought them back empty as more bears continued to arrive. There were so many bears!

Finally, all of the bears had been collected and rolled away. Except for one.

The players got back to the game while the bear hung patiently from the net. He was stuck with his back to the ice, so he could not even watch the game. He could still kind of tell what was happening though, by watching the fans.

The bear tried to be brave, but he was feeling very lonely and forgotten. 

Maybe no one will ever come get me, he worried. They don’t play hockey all year round. What will happen after the season ends? Will I be locked up in a dark room?

Maybe they use the net for other things the rest of the year. What else do people use nets for?

The bear felt very sad. He looked at the crowd for someone to rescue him, but everyone was watching the game.

The game ended, and people began to leave. The staff started to clean the rows. The bear saw them, but they did not see him.

The arena became very quiet, and the bear felt like his heart was going to break.

Just as it seemed hopeless, machinery started to whirr, lowering the nets.

As his net slowly came down, the bear noticed a man in overalls waiting below. 

The man had a kind face. As the bear got closer the man reached up and gently untangled the bear from the net. 

 “Hey, little fellow,” he said. “You didn’t think we’d forget you, did you? You have someplace important to be.”

And he did.