Page 12 - Sophie's Christmas With Teddy & Mouse

One day Teddy found a lantern in his father's rickety wooden shed, where he sneaked in sometimes when he dared to explore.
Before breakfast when Father and Mother Bear were still asleep, Teddy crept down the creaky stairs in his red slippers, knowing which step he had to skip so as not to wake his parents. Then he lit the re, always having a large basket of dried wood, so the re quickly ared to heat up the kitchen.
Teddy was the best at doing this because he always did it alone. Luckily the dry wood burned quickly, and soon he was spreading his big pile of sandwiches with the thick creamy butter and sweet golden honey. Then he picked up his book, put everything in his backpack and was ready to go.
With two hands he opened the big heavy front door with a shrill grinding sound, then the door burst open with a sharp jerk and the cold wind hit him around his woolly ears. He shivered but bit his lip and braced himself, and made his way to the old wooden shed.
Teddy was almost there, just a little further around that high hedge with its stinging branches. He had to watch out, as bear fur is easily torn and Teddy had already sewn several coloured patches onto his own fur, because he was often snagged in his hurry to go out.
The large, blackened, wooden barn loomed before him. High above there were a few small windows which were never cleaned and always covered in spiderwebs. This door was difcult to open too, rst a heavy latch up and at the same time a big push, then Teddy was in.
He had brought his lantern but needed to be careful, because the short wick drifted in a layer of oil and the lantern had to be kept upright. He struck a match against the box, sniffed the sulfur and lit the fuse. A warm glow shone over Teddy's woolly round bear-face, his big dark eyes glistened and he could feel that something was about to happen.
Teddy knew the shed inside and out, except for one far corner he had never ventured into. He didn't dare to go there, it was such a dark corner where daylight never shone, and his lantern couldn’t provide enough light to see everything. It reminded him of the dusty closet and he got chills at the thought.
In front of the shed were a dozen red stone pots which Father collected to store the honey. Teddy secretly put his paw in the jar and licked the deliciously sweet, syrupy honey made by the bee family, who lived on the other side of the forest. On the furthest side of the shed was a big pile of wood for the replace, carefully split by Teddy himself.