Susan's Bear

Susan's Bears is a story by Mildred Lawrence. It was in the first real storybook that I ever remember reading all by myself, The Tall Book of Makebelieve.

The book belonged to my big sister, who happens to be a Susan herself. Nearly all my childhood favorites came from that one book— Eugene Field's Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, Sandberg's Village of Cream Puffs, and the artwork for Stevenson's The Land of Counterpane that turned a bed quilt into a magical battlefield.

But 'Susan's Bears' was about finding courage to meet the fears of the dark, for a family of bears lived behind the bedroom door at her aunt's house. The bears began leaving Susan letters which helped her to overcome her fears until at last, she found a real teddy bear behind the door. All fear was gone.

This Christmas we decorated an old pot-bellied bear with a jaunty velvet and fur Santa cap. It sat on a little antique stool tucked behind the curve of the couch. The only viewpoint from which the bear could be clearly seen was at the end of the hallway.

Every time I exited the hall, I'd see it sitting there half hidden. I came to regard it as Susan's bear. Now it is time to pack up the Christmas gear for another year, but I don't think this Teddy will go back in the attic. I will find it a scarf and let it keep sitting there because I think it keeps the spirit of Christmas Past very well.

Perhaps next month he will see his shadow.