Christmas Day!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It's Christmas morning. We woke up real early.  Merry Christmas came to our house last night! She brought Santa with her. Santa ate the gingerbread persons we left him. Rudolph ate the carrots.

We had gummy worms in our porridge. Then James read us the Christmas story.  Mary and Joseph had to go to Ottawa and pay their taxes. They got there really late so they had to sleep in the barn on Sussex Drive.  The shepherds brought sheep and the little drummer boy and more sheep. The three wise guys followed the OnStar to the barn. They gave the newborn Baby Jesus gold and frankysense and Mir. I don't know why they gave him money 'cuz all the stores are closed on the Baby Jesus' birthday. I know what frankysense is. It smells good. I know what Mir is. It's dish soap. We find it in aisle four at the grocery store.

Then we opened our presents. I got Smarties. We got Spiderman spaghetti, too. We got paints and story books and I got a really BIG Canada flag to put on my blue bike. Chance got a soft blankie.

We gave James his presents. We gave him Merry Christmas sox.  I wrote a poem about the sox. Ready?

Sox
I like sox upon my feet,
They keep me warm,
I think they're neat.
The End!

I always say 'the end' so you know the poem is finished. James liked the poem and the sox, too.We gave James a bathrobe and chocolate from Belgium. Maybe we should have given some to all those poor starving children in Belgium. I bet they're really hungry. Belgium is pretty far away. It's not in O Canada. It's in YourUp.  We have to fly there. I don't know how to fly, yet. We don't learn to fly until Grade Four. I can't wait to learn to fly. Then I can be Charles, Supercub!

We visited our buddies Lulu and Lily. They're very special. They taught us new songs. They let us sing with their new microphones.

We got to sleep over with our friend Indy. That's short for Indiana Jones. She's a cat. She let us play with all her new toys. Indy is a calico cat. She likes to play Hide and Seek with us.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noel, good citizens! Peace on Earth. Mr. Tallyban has to sit on the Time Out Chair until he says 'sorry' for fighting. Sorry means he won't do it again. Enjoy Christmas. Eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can eat Spiderman spaghetti. I'll share! Okay! Over and out!"

Four Days 'Til Christmas!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what I'm doing? I'm wrapping a Christmas present. Wrapping presents is fun but it's hard work, you know. It would be easier if I had thumbs. Oh! Maybe Santa will bring me thumbs for Christmas! I'll write it down. I'll ask Santa if I can have thumbs for Christmas.  If I had thumbs I wouldn't need to use both paws when I drink out of my sippy cup.

Here's how to wrap presents. I have to have wrapping paper, scissors and tape, too. Thumbs are useful for wrapping presents. We fold the paper and cut it to fit the box. Then we tape the paper to the box. When I'm all done I put a bow and some ribbon. The last thing is to write the name of the friend or buddy who's going to receive the gift. Wrapping is hard work but it's fun, too.

I know why we wrap presents. It's a surprise. I like surprises, don't you? I like the shiny wrapping paper best.  Christmas is not just about getting presents, we give them, too. It's nice to give presents. Good citizens give presents. We don't expect one back. Giving presents is fun. I always try to give a gift that my friend or buddy would like to have. We wrapped presents for Lily Bug and Lulu. I'm wrapping a present for Angus and you, too.

Chance is trying to help me. He's really too little to be a good helper but he has to learn all about Christmas and that means wrapping presents for our friends and buddies.

Mostly Chance sits on top of the presents and licks the shiny wrapping paper.  Chance makes the packages all wet. I look at him and say, "My son! Don't lick the presents!" I give him Christmas tree balls to play with. Chance licks them, too.  Good thing he doesn't have any teeth, Chance might bite the gifts!

Oh! Look! Look at Chance! He's so silly. Chance put on his Santa toque and climbed into a gift bag. He thinks he's going to be a Christmas present! I don't know if newborn bear cubs make good gifts or not. If Chance was under our Canadian Tire Christmas tree I'd unwrap him and keep him, even though he's a handful to look after!

Someone left Chance on our doorstep in a basket one morning. There was a note that said, "Please look after me." I think it was angels who brought Chance to our house. He was so tiny. He just had a little green blankie and a baby bottle so he could drink condensed owls' milk.   Know what? Chance was the bestest gift ever and he wasn't even wrapped in pretty paper and it wasn't even Christmas!

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Do nice things for your friends and buddies, too. Then you can eat bakeapple pie and drink egg nog. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can wrap presents together!

Okay! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. No, wait! Not good night!  It's not bedtime. I don't want to put on my Spiderman jammies. Not yet. I want to stay up. Please, James. Can I? Can we stay up a little longer?  I'm not sleepy. Chance isn't sleepy. I'll be as nice as pie. I'll be as good as bakeapple pie. I promise.  I want to wait for Merry Christmas and Santa, too. Please? Over and out!"

The Time Out Chair is NOT a Fun Place to Sit

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

This is me sitting on the Time Out Chair. I have to sit here because I did a naughty thing. I called Chance a 'chubby cubby.' I was just teasing him but it made him cry. I didn't mean to make Chance cry. Now, I feel really bad for what I did. I really am a very good bear cub. I just did a bad thing. I'm really sorry for what I did. I know what sorry means.  Sorry means I won't do it again.

I thought chubby cubby was  a funny name. It made me laugh 'cuz it rhymes, you know. Chubby Cubby! Chubby Cubby! We always call Chance 'cubby' 'cuz that's his nickname. Grandpa James says we don't say 'chubby cubby' because we don't make fun of the way our friends and buddies look. Chance can't help it if he's chubby. He's a newborn baby bear cub. He's supposed to be chubby. Grandpa James showed me my baby pictures. Know what? I was chubby, too. I said, "Sorry" to Chance and I hugged him but Grandpa James says I need to sit on the Time Out Chair and think. I have to sit here for five minutes. That's 'cuz I'm five years old. Five minutes is a long time.  I don't like to sit on the Time Out Chair. Thinking is hard. Thinking hurts.

Oh! No! I sure hope Santa Claus doesn't see me here! If he does, I might not get any presents. I don't want to be a naughty cub. Naughty cubs get lumps of coal for Christmas. I don't want coal for Christmas!  I want to be nice. Good citizens are nice. Good cubs get presents. I asked Santa for a Canada flag to put on my blue bicycle. I asked Santa for Smarties. Oh! Wait! I asked Santa for Spiderman, too.  It's only six days before Merry Christmas comes to our house. I'll have to be extra nice.

I know! I will be as nice as pie. I wonder what kind of pie is nicest? I could be as nice as apple pie. No! Wait! Banana cream pie!  No! Cherry pie is nicer. So is chocolate and peanut butter pie. Yeah. What about being as nice as lemon meringue pie?  Oh! Wait! Pumpkin? Raspberry? Strawberry? There are lots of different pies, aren't there?

 I'm thinking real hard. I know! I'll be as nice as bakeapple pie. Bakeapple pie is full of bakeapples. That's my favouritest pie in the whole wide world!  Bakeapples have a nickname, just like Chance has a nickname. Some folk call Chance 'Cubby' and some folks call bakeapples 'cloudberries.'

I l-o-v-e bakeapples. They're yummy and sweet. That's two of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. Okay, I'm done thinking, now. That was hard! You can see how hard it is to think when I have to sit on the Time Out Chair. When I get down I'll tell James I'm gonna be as nice as pie and ask him if we can make a bakeapple pie so I will share some with with Cubby. I hope my five minutes is up soon. Oh, wait! Chance doesn't have any teeth! He just drinks condensed owls' milk from his bottle but I can eat bakeapple pie for him! Yes, I can!

I know all about bakeapples. Miss Jackie taught us about them at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Bakeapples are good citizens who live in  Newfoundland and Labrador. I know where Newfoundland and Labrador is. It's the first province on the right. Newfoundland and Labrador are in O Canada, our home and favourite land. Bakeapples come to Windsor on the MV Clara and Joseph Smallwood. Cloudberries have to come here on the boat 'cuz they can't swim, you know. I don't think they have arms.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Five minutes is up! Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles!

That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Don't call your friends and buddies names that aren't nice. That's not what good citizens do. Good citizens get to pick bakeapples and eat bakeapple pie. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can bake a pie together. We can watch for Merry Christmas to come! Okay! Over and out!"

Seven Days 'Til Christmas!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Santa Claus is sitting on top of our Canadian Tire spruce tree. He's up there so he can see who's naughty and nice. Santa has another name, too. Some people call him Father Christmas. I just have one name. Charles. I can spell it. Look. C-h-a-r-l-e-s. It's the same name in French, too. That's good because I might get mixed up if I had a whole bunch of names. What if Santa got mixed up and gave my presents to somebody else? That would be awful!

Chance just has one name but sometimes I call him 'cubby.' That's his nickname. I call him cubby 'cuz he's an, eensy weensy teeny tiny little bear cub. Newborn baby bears are called cubs. Newborn baby cats are called kittens. Newborn baby dogs are called puppies. Newborn baby houses are called trailer homes, you know.

Know what? We're going to have company! In seven days Merry Christmas comes to our house. We're getting ready for her. She's bringing Santa and Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus and the wise guys who follow the onStar to Windsor and the little drummer boy and the shepherds and the sheep. The sheep have to stay outside on the balcony 'cuz they poo everywhere and don't clean up after themselves. We'll have lots of guests and lots of fun. We can all climb the sugar maple in the back yard and sing Christmas carols and eat Smarties. We get to drink egg nog. That's chicken milk. Chance drinks condensed owls' milk in his bottle. Oh! I can show the baby Jesus my baby pictures!

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Santa will bring you presents. Come over to our house and play with us! We can have fun together. Okay! Over and out!"

A Time to be Sad

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

This is a picture of me with my bestest friend, Cassidy. Today Chance and me don't feel like playing or making gingerbread beings or getting ready for Merry Christmas to come to our house. Chance and me are very sad. James is sad, too. Our friend Cassidy got sick and he stopped breathing. James says that Cassidy is at rest. Cassidy was our friend. He was a bunny rabbit who lived with his brother Tanner, the big 'ole yeller dog. Their buddies Jay and Shaun are very sad, too. Tanner got sick last Christmas. He had  cancer. He fell asleep and didn't wake up, either. We were sad then, too.

Know what? It hurts to be sad. It hurts way inside. Being sad is worse than being sick. We don't want to play hide and seek. We don't want to play Snakes and Ladders. We don't want to play I'm a Gonna Get You and race around the house. We just want to sit very still and think about Cassidy.

Cassidy and Chance and me always had fun together. We'd race and chase each other in the back yard and I could hop like a bunny rabbit. Sometimes Cassidy shared his carrots with us. Cassidy was a vegetabletarian, you know. He didn't eat meat. He didn't even eat Smarties! We'd rock together in the big rocking chair and sometimes we'd sit in Cassidy's window and watch the clouds and birds. Now, Cassidy is gone. We will always remember him. We have lots of pictures and we will always share our memories of him with our other friends and buddies.

James taught us a song to help us remember Cassidy.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal ... a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance ... a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to lose and a time to seek; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

So, when we sing this song we will always remember Cassidy and Tanner, too. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Good-bye Cassidy. Rest well. We will always love you and remember you.

We're really sad. We're gonna go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. We are gonna sit on his lap in the big rocking chair and he can hold us tight. We will get out the picture album. The three of us will remember our bestest friends Cassidy and Tanner. We'll sing our special song.

Guardian Angel Kitties

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so little he doesn't even have any teeth or a tail!  I look after Chance, too. He climbs way up high on thinks and then he can't get down. He makes little squawky noises, 'cuz he's afraid. Chance is a handful! 

Chance and me love to play games after lunch. Games are fun. Our favourite board game is Snakes and Ladders. I have to watch Chance. He tries to eat the markers.

 We play other games, too. We play Hide and Seek. That's the funnest game of all. I hide my eyes and count to 100 like this--one elephant, two elephant, three elephant. I count 100 elephants and then I holler, "Here I come! Ready or not!

Chance is supposed to hide while I count  the elephants and then I am supposed to go look for him. I found him right away. Chance climbed up high. He was hiding in the china cabinet. He thinks I can't see him through the glass.  Chance is a wee little thing and he's not a very good hider. Know what? He thinks if he closes his eyes, he's invisible but he's not. Chance also thinks the reason there's glass on the TV is to keep the little people from falling out  and landing on the floor.

We play Hide and Seek a lot. It makes us sleepy. When we get sleepy, we take naps. Naps are good. We take the pillows off the chesterfield and make a comfy little place to sleep on the living room floor, right in front of the TV fireplace. We get to nap in our Santa toques.


Chance makes little snory noises when he's asleep. He's a very noisy little cubby. Know what? When I fell asleep, I had a dream. I dreamt that guardian angel kitties came to talk to me. I didn't  know angels were kitty cats. I thought guardian angels were bear cubs, like us. The guardian angel kitties had wings. They were white and soft like newborn snow.

The guardian angel kitties told me to be good and kind so that Santa would leave me presents under the Christmas tree. I try to be good and kind everyday, even if Santa doesn't give me anything. That's what good citizens do and I am going to be the best citizen on Sandwich Street.

When I woke up, there were no guardian angel kitties anywhere. I wonder if they're real or just a dream. I'll ask James. He's smart. He knows everything. He's so old he remembers the first Christmas. He will know if guardian angels are kitties.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Then you can eat gingerbread beings and drink cocoa with little baby marshmallows.

 Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can nap and dream about guardian angel kitties and wait for Santa and Merry Christmas together! Okay! Over and out!"

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? We got a Christmas tree. It's in the living room by the fireplace. Christmas trees are special, you know. I know where Christmas trees come from. They come from Canadian Tire, Aisle 42. Our tree is nice. We decorated it with shiny bulbs. There's a beaver with antlers, too. James says that's a Canadian ornament. Santa sits on top of the tree. Santa sits on top of the tree so he can see everyone and see who's naughty and nice. That's good 'cuz Chance would try to climb up there if Santa wasn't already there!

We know a song about our Christmas tree. Miss Jackie taught it to us. She's my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Wanna know a secret? I think Miss Jackie is a princess. Here's the song.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely!
The sight of thee at Christmastide
Spreads hope and gladness far and wide
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Thou tree most fair and lovely.

Chance doesn't sing. He's too little. He doesn't even talk, yet. He just makes little squeaky noises when he's happy. He's really happy that it's Christmas. We get to bake gingerbread beings and the house will be full of guests! Merry Christmas is coming and Santa, too. Oh! Wait! The baby Jesus will be here and Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and the wise guys and the little drummer boy. The sheep will have to stay on the balcony. James says they're not very tidy. The little drummer boy will have to be very quiet when Chance and baby Jesus take their naps.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Do good deeds for friends and neighbours. Get ready for Merry Christmas. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can pick up trash together! Okay! Over and out!"

Our Christmas Tree

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! He climbs way high on things and then he can't get down. He makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to get him down. I always say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" Then I have to go after him.

Know what? Merry Christmas is coming! We put stickers on the calendar every day. There are 20 days until Merry Christmas gets here. That's a lot of days but they go really fast. We saw Santa at the Santa Parade. He shouts, "Joyeux Noel! Merry Christmas!" Chance and me got our picture tooken by a reporter from the Windsor Star.

Christmas is a special time of year. We get to drink cocoa with marshmallows and sing carols and put up the Christmas tree. Chance and me wear our Santa hats. We have a Canadian Tire spruce tree. It's a nice little tree. We put decorations on the tree. I have to watch Chance 'cuz he tries to eat the ornaments. They're not good to eat. They're not in the Canada Food Guide, you know.

Oh, no! Look at Chance! He climbed up in the tree and now he's stuck. I have to help him get down. Chance is not a Christmas ornament. Santa is supposed to sit on top of the tree, not Chance! Santa sits on top. We put presents underneath the tree. We're Santa's little helpers.

We know a song about Merry Christmas.
Christmas, Christmas time is near
Time for toys and time for cheer
We've been good, but we can't last
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast
Want a plane that loops the loop
Me, I want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas, don't be late.

\
Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Do good deeds. Be nice to your friends and neighbours. Tell Santa you've been good. Then you can drink cocoa with marshmallows.  Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and sing carols. We can wait for Merry Christmas together. Okay! Over and out!"