Storytime

Losing Giggles was no laughing matter!

Once upon a time, there was a floppy toy kitten named Giggles who went everywhere with Betsy. When Betsy pushed her dolly in her stroller, Giggles was tucked in beside her. At the mall, Giggles shared the seat in the shopping cart. If Betsy rode her bike, Giggles rode in the basket. She slept with Betsy and she ate with Betsy. Her once-white fur was grey and worn from being squashed behind sofa cushions, dressed and undressed a dozen times a day, and hugged and kissed and loved to pieces. Giggles was Betsy’s best friend.

One day, Betsy and her second-best friend, Sabrina, went to the park with their mommies to play on the swings. Betsy brought Giggles, and Sabrina brought her favourite thing, a red stone shaped like a duck. She’d found it on the beach one day and now always carried the little stone in her hand, in her pocket or in her backpack. When she had her nap, she tucked it under her pillow. Yes, Sabrina’s red stone duck was very special to her. Betsy and Sabrina played on the slides and the swings all afternoon, until Sabrina went home for dinner. Betsy waved goodbye to her. She was about to climb up the ladder for one last slide when she saw something red in the sand. She reached down and dug it out. It was Sabrina’s stone duck!

Now, Betsy had always liked that little duck. In fact, she often wished it was hers, but there was only one red stone duck, and it belonged to Sabrina. Now Betsy held it in her hand. What should she do? Finders, keepers, losers, weepers, thought Betsy, and dropped it into her pocket.

As she and Mommy walked home, Betsy could feel the little red rock banging against her leg. Every once in a while she’d slide her hand into her pocket and wrap her fingers around its cool smoothness. It felt good. It was her duck now. Finders keepers, she reminded herself.

When Mommy called her for dinner, Betsy looked around for Giggles. Giggles always sat on the chair next to her while she ate. Then Betsy remembered. She had laid Giggles on the slide ladder when she picked up the red duck. In her excitement, she had forgotten her there.

“Mommy!” she called in a panic. “I have to go back to the park! I forgot Giggles on the slide! What if someone finds her and takes her home?”

“Don’t worry,” answered Mommy. “I’m sure she’s there waiting for you.”

They rushed back to the park and over to the slide. They looked on the ladder, but Giggles wasn’t there. They looked on the slide and under the slide. They looked everywhere. Giggles was nowhere to be found.

“Oh, Mommy,” Betsy cried, “Someone has found Giggles. I just know they’ll play finders keepers and I’ll never see her again.” Two fat tears ran down Betsy’s cheeks.

Just then, a man came running towards them. He was chasing a little brown spotted dog, with a floppy something in his mouth. The dog dropped the floppy thing on the grass and the man bent over and picked it up. He saw Betsy’s tears.

“Is this yours?” he asked, holding it out to her. “My puppy found it, and he’s been having a lot of fun with it, but I knew we couldn’t keep it. Some boy or girl would be very unhappy until it was returned.”

It was Giggles! Betsy held out her arms.

“Oh, yes! She’s mine!” Betsy said, hugging her hard. “Thank you!”

Betsy was so happy. Her heart felt light, but the red stone duck in her pocket suddenly felt very, very heavy. She knew what she had to do.

“Mommy,” she said, “I’d like to take Giggles home for dinner now. But can we please make a stop at Sabrina’s house on the way?”

She smiled at Giggles, and would you believe it— Giggles smiled back at her.