The Mud Monster & the Teddy Bears (3-6)

The Mud Monster & the Teddy Bears

By: Micaela Vitello

Three teddy bears sat on the edge of a mud puddle where Amy was playing.

Her dog, Rover, ran to greet her. His bushy tail wagged happily. It hit the bears and knocked them into the mud.

“Amy! It’s time for your bath,” Mother called.

Amy scooped up her bears and ran inside. Her squishy footsteps sounded down the hall. Mother looked shocked at Amy’s appearance. Her blond hair was brown. Mud splotches covered her rosy face. The teddy bears looked like they’d been painted with mud.

“What has my mud monster been doing?” asked Mother.

“I was making mud pies,” Amy said. She plopped the bears down and climbed into the tub.

Amy splashed in the bubbles. The bears were shocked to see how easily the mud came off. Amy was transformed from the ugly mud monster into the little girl everyone loved.

The bears wanted to be clean, too.

After Amy’s bath, Mother refilled the tub. “I’ll have to clean the tub and your muddy footprints,” she said. Mother and Amy left the room.

“They’re gone!” the first bear said. “Let’s take a bath!” He made a huge splash as he dove into the water.

“I want a bubble bath,” said the second bear. He poured the bubble bath into the water.

The third bear walked to the tub and carefully put a paw in. “The water is too cold for me. I’m sure once the mud dries it will just fall off.”

The other two bears pulled him in. Soon the third bear said, “It’s not so bad in here,” and he splashed with the others.

Once again they had shiny, light-brown fur. The water was almost black.

“Listen,” said the first bear, “I hear footsteps. We can’t be caught. If they see us, we will freeze forever. Hurry!”

The doorknob turned slowly. The bears ran to the corner.

Mother and Amy walked in. The bath toys were scattered across the floor. So was most of the water.

“Mommy, look,” said Amy. She pointed to the muddy paw prints on the bathroom floor.

“The water is dirty again,” Mother said. “Who did this? Was it the dog?”

“Nope, not Rover. He’s outside,” said Amy.

Amy followed the paw prints. “Mommy, my bears wanted the mud off. They had a bath too.”

Amy picked up all three bears, and squeezed them in a great big bear hug.

~The End~

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