The Big Adventure Continues: Charles and Chance Visit Newfoundland

Chance and me play with an airplane at the airport in Halifax. Chance is so newborn he thinks he can ride outside on the wings but he'll fall off.

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!

Miss Amelie has an important job at Air Canada. She is the purser.

We're flying to Newfoundland and Labrador! Well, just Newfoundland. Labrador is the other part. Grandpa James says we'll go there sometime. Miss Amelie is the purser in charge of this Air Canada flight. She's the boss of the passengers. She tells us to sit up and put on our seat belts so the plane can go. Miss Amelie is very nice. She brings us juice to drink. Know what? I'm gonna tell you a secret. I think Miss Amelie is a princess! 

When we get to St. John's we're as hungry as bears, you know. Uncle Glen picks us up at the airport. It's a really big place and the workmen are making it bigger!

When we get home we have lunch. My tummy is growling. I'm really truly as hungry as a bear! Know what we get to eat for lunch? We get to eat seal flipper pie. I l-o-v-e seal flipper pie. It's yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide, you know. Grandpa James says seal flipper pie is full of Vitamin C. That's good for growing bear cubs like me.

Seal flipper pie is one of my favouritest foods. We get it at Goodbid's Grocery Store.

Because I ate all my seal flipper pie, I get to have bakeapple pie for dessert. I l-o-v-e bakeapple pie! Some people call them cloudberries, you know. They're not from Newfoundland. They're from Away. I don't know where Away is but it is pretty far from Newfoundland.

I say, "Look out, bakeapple pie! This is me, Charles the bear cub! I'm gonna eat you all up! Good-bye bakeapple pie! Over the lips and through the gums, look out tummy, here it comes!" And then I do a magic trick. I make the bakeapple pie disappear. I could be a magician when I grow up. I could make bakeapple pies disappear. That would be an important job. No. Wait! I want to be the Minister of Pie Eating. That's a  really good job!

Grandpa James is very fussy. He says he only likes two kinds of pie: Hot and cold. He thinks that funny.

Now that we're full of good food, we can explore Newfoundland. Remember it rhymes with the word 'understand.' I know where Newfoundland is. It's in O Canada. It's the first province on the right. I learned that at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre,  you know.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa 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 Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Use your indoor voice when you fly in airplanes. I know! come over to our house and play with us! We can go to Uncle Glen's house and eat seal flipper pie and bakeapple pie! 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!"