I got a hug!

"Oh look! I have a package!" I said happily. It was a small, square box, but I wasn't expecting anything in a box at all. I love getting packages!

"Open it now" piped Rosebud, so we all trapsed off to the other room, where the box (and Rosebud) were safe from the kitties.

I started to unwrap the box, and it soon became clear even the box was special.













"Oh, pretty!" Rosebud said. "Someone knows you---kitties!"







"Isn't it cute?" I said. I opened the lid and there was a tag.

Now this is where K claims I squealed like a two year old in a tub of tadpoles. He's pretty truthful, so I probably did.

"Matilda Huggington Bear! Wendy!"

K and Rosebud nodded. There is a picture of Elwin and Tiffany on my computer.

The first thing I saw was a couple of long needles, curved in an arc.

"What are those?" Rosebud asked. "And why are you laughing like that?"

"Those are needles," I giggled. "Broken ones, for my Teddy Bear's Revenge project."

I lifted out the tag, and the box was full of things! First, a tiny floppy strawberry bear with tiny dragonfly wings! Oh my goodness! He was a fairy bear! I'd never seen a real one before. He looked like he had been made out of real strawberries!


"I wonder how she makes them so small," K marveled.

"Wow!" I said, "He's my very first artist's bear! I have a hug!"

"A hug?" K asked. " Is that like a pride of lions, a hug of teddies?" He likes words. "No wonder you were attracted to them."

He knows how much I like his hugs!


I took the little bear fairy out of the box. Rosebud wrapped her arms around him and giggled. He was smaller than she was! That was a new feeling for her.













"What are these?" K pulled two little blue items from the box. "Oh, look, it's a platypus! And I think this one is a cougar!"

I looked at the puffy and laughed. "I think that's a WildCat! Wendy drew those!"

Next I pulled out a little brown animal.

"What's that?" Rosebud said. "Is it a rabbit? I don't think it's a rabbit."

"Nope," I said, "It's a joey! See the golden kangaroo earring?" Darwin hopped over and gave the joey a sniff. He nodded once and hopped away.

"See," I said "Darwin knows."





"G'day mates," a squeaky little voice said. "A fine day for it, let's hit the waves!"

We all peered into the box. Sitting on a bag of noses and broken eyes was a tiny white mouse in a bikini!

"Um, " I ventured. "We don't have any waves. No beach either I'm afraid."

"Oh good!" The tiny mouse exclaimed. "I can't swim. But with the bathing suit and all, I thought I'd better try and fit in."

"Oh you do!" Rosebud cried, "Most of us can't swim either. And you can't really call what Mom does "swimming"..."

I let this pass because we had company. I lifted the mouse out of the box. K will probably claim I squealed again.

"You're so TINY" I said. "You're even cuter than your picture!


"I'm Matildamouse," she said "I saw pictures too! You're my new Mom, WildCatLady, and this is my sister Rosebud."

Rosebud squealed when she heard this. (I know she did, because it made my hearing aid cringe) She grabbed Matildamouse and hugged her. "Oh, she's soft!" Rosebud exclaimed, "She didn't look plushy in the picture."

"She's very, very cute, " I said, sneakily wiping a tear from my eye. "And it was so nice of Wendy to send her and her friends to live with us."

Rosebud came and whispered in my ear. "I think that's a great idea, Rosebud." I said.

"Could a platypus be of any help?" a rather cheeky voice asked. "I can take care of anything wet, since I seem to be the only one who can swim."

"I can swim..." K began, but he was interrupted by a growl.

"I can swim," WildKitty said in her growly voice, "If I choose to." She glared at the platypus, who just grinned back cheekily. Her grumble turned into a purr and she whacked him with her big fluffy tail. It was clear these two were long time friends.

The baby wallaby bounced up and down, to show his willingness to fetch things from high shelves.

The little red fairybear just drooped over in Rosebud's arms, to floppy to help.

"He doesn't say much" Matildamouse commented, "but he's very educated." She put her ear next to his mouth. "And he can spell, do sums, and hum "God Save The Queen" in three octaves." She turned her head away and whispered, "I don't know if that is true, because I can't hear him, but he does know all the lyrics to "I'm a Lumberjack, And That's OK."

"He'll fit right in," K and I chorused.

Matildamouse told everyone what she had in mind, and we hurried off to do our parts.

Soon we were back. Matildamouse did the writing, and Strawberry spelled the words out to her one by one.

And here it is!