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!"