Grin & Barrett
Before my oldest daughter was born I came up with an idea for a set of stories about her and a stuffed bear. Original, I know. The bear was the first present my wife and I bought for our unborn daughter. He was, is, amazing. At the time, he seemed huge. Now, he's less huge in comparison. We named him Grin.
Today Barrett turns seven. It seems only moments ago I was holding her in my arms and reading her the first of many Grin and Barrett tales. So, today, as my little girl is a year older, but still young enough to hold and hug, and squeeze and cuddle, I'm posting one of her stories. I hope you like it. For me, it reminds me that no matter how silly a story I could tell or weave, I could never create a character quite as amazing as my daughter, Barrett.
Happy birthday, my little Bear.
The Berry Patch, A Story of Grin & Barrett
by
Mark Freeman
It was a late summer morning in Boonehollow, when songbirds had already begun their symphonies, and the grass was still heavy and moist with dew, the smell of hay and lawns was heavy in the air. The sun had yet to emerge from behind the tall pines of the Pine Wood, but the sky was a brilliant azure with small cotton ball clouds drifting lazily across it.
Barrett lay awake in bed staring at her stuffed bear Grin, waiting for him to wake up. He lay on his back, his mouth slightly agape, a bit of drool trickling from the corner. Barrett blew lightly across his small black nose.
His lip twitched.
Bears have very agile and dexterous lips. Almost like fingers on their mouths, they're very capable of plucking a raspberry from a bush without damaging the stalk at all, just like someone might by using her hand. So, when his lip twitched you must understand, it was quite the twitch.
Barrett stifled a giggle and blew lightly across his nose again.
Mmmuuummmmgggggguuuummmmmrrrrppphhhhhh. The bear groaned from deep within his sleep. The groan was followed by a small huff and slight popping of his lips. His nose wriggled as well.
Barrett smiled and blew once more across his nose.
Aaaaaaaaaaccccchhhhhhhhheeeeeeeewwwwwwwww! The small bear sneezed; covering the little girl with a spray of bear sized spittle.
"UGH! Gross!" The small girl exclaimed, followed by a fit of giggling, as she wiped her face of the bear's sneeze spray.
"G'morning," the little bear said with a yawn, stretching his two front paws up over his head.
"Ew, YUCK!" Barrett squealed again. "Geezum Crow, Grin, what did you eat last night? Your breath is wretched!"
"Hmmm, eat, what did I eat?" the bear pondered rolling over and leaning upon one bent foreleg. "Well, I found an empty bag of corn chips next to your father's chair and licked the bag clean, he really isn't a very thorough eater, your father," the bear scratched his brown head trying to remember what else he had eaten on his midnight sojourn through Barrett's home. Barrett noticed the light orange corn chip crumbs around his muzzle and forehead as he did so.
"Oh, and I finished off the cat food, almost finished off that old mouser too, but she just got away," the bear laughed with a huff, holding two of his sharp claws close together to show just how close he'd come to catching her. He was slightly proud of his near prize.
"Oh, oh, oh and some tasty honey your mother left out from her bedtime tea, oh, and when I went outside I found the most wonderful ant hill," the bear said, patting his bulbous belly.
Barrett could see the remains of the honey along his lips as well. The golden food dried to small hard crystals along his whiskers.
"You ate an ant hill?" Barrett asked slightly surprised, and after having a pet bear for so many years, very little surprised her anymore.
"Not the hill, the ants! Honestly, it's amazing you humans don't starve," the bear retorted. He had just discovered the corn chip crumbs and dust along his forehead and was now trying to reach it with his tongue. He missed several times, washing his eye balls in the process, before reaching his target.
As the bear cleaned his face Barrett climbed out of her bed and slipped her slippers on.
"You coming?" she asked walking towards the door.
"Hmm, going where?" Grin asked, momentarily using his tongue for something other than licking up crumbs.
"Breakfast," Barrett said, smiling at her small bear.
Grin attempted to leap from the small bed, but got caught up in the covers, floundering to the floor in a heap instead. He struggled, running in circles, winding the blankets tighter about his rump as he did while trying to free himself. Finally, he surrendered to his fate and flopped to the carpet, letting loose a mournful moan.
Barrett smiled as she walked back over to her bed and began to un-wrap her bear. "Honestly," the small girl said with a smile, "it's amazing you bears don't starve."
"Hrmmphh," the bear huffed as he squirmed from his confining blankets and headed for the door to Barrett's room. The little girl followed her waddling bear, giggling to herself at his slight indignation.
"What day is it?" the bear called over his shoulder as he trotted down the hallway to the kitchen, excitement helping him build momentum.
"Thursday, why?" Barrett answered.
"Is it pancake day?" the bear asked, his mouth already watering, Barrett's father made the most splendiferous pancakes.
"Nope, Sunday is pancake day," Barrett said, she too wished it was Sunday, Pancake Day was a good way to start your day.
"Oh," the bear said, the disappointment heavy in his voice, "so what's for breakfast then?"
"How can you still be hungry after everything you ate last night?" the little girl asked.
"I'm a bear," the little bear said as if that explained everything.
"I dunno, cereal, maybe some toast," Barrett offered.
"With butter?" the bear asked, excitement filling his voice once more.
"Probably," Barrett said scratching her head and trying to calm the static that was afflicting her hair this morning.
"And peanut butter?" Grin asked again, stopping in the hall and looking up towards his little girl expectantly.
"If you want," Barrett said, stepping over her bear.
"And raspberry jam?" Grin asked, quickly following after Barrett.
"Sure," Barrett answered walking into the kitchen. Grin licked his lips.
"And Maple butter!" the bear asked excitedly.
"Whatever you want," Barrett answered with less interest.
"G'moring, Mom," Barrett said sitting down at the kitchen table.
"Morning, Sweets," her Mom said, placing a bowl of oatmeal in front of her daughter. She patted Grin on the head in his chair beside her daughter before turning back to the refrigerator.
Grin flinched just as Barrett's mother turned away. He still hadn't forgiven her for the stitches she'd put in his scalp. He nudged Barrett and motioned his snout in the direction of her Mom.
"Oh, Mom, can Grin have some toast too," the little girl asked, and was quickly nudged by the bear once more. "You bump me one more time, and I'm gunna…," the little girl whispered, shaking her fist at her bear.
"Sure, Sweets, what do you want on it," her mother asked.
Barrett raised her eyebrows and considered her bear for a moment until he looked appropriately apologetic before she answered. "Butter, peanut butter, maple butter, and raspberry jam, I guess," Barrett said, still eyeing her furry friend who tried smiling meekly at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we're all out of jam sweetheart," her Mom apologized causing a small moan to escape from the disheartened bear.
"But the berry patch is right there," the bear said as he looked longingly over his shoulder. He trudged along through the tall meadow grass behind the little girl in front of him.
"Later Grin, we'll stop on our way back," Barrett said not bothering to look back at her bear.
"But why can't we stop now, and on the way back," the bear said hurrying a bit to catch up to his little girl. He stepped in the tracks she left in the high grass with her bright yellow rubber boots.
The little girl watched the vegetable garden along the edge of the meadow warily. She had picked the long way to the Big Woods around the garden to avoid the scarecrow her dad put there. She didn't like it. Barrett had the suspicion it was watching her. Even now it seemed to be following her across the meadow. With each breeze it tried to climb down off the poles her father had stuck it on. Her path also brought her along the backside of her dog kennels.
Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooo. Her red malamute, Cooper, said as he watched the little girl and bear walk through the tall grass. He stood as tall as he could trying to see over the waving blades, his tail wagging slowly behind him like a puffy flag of greeting.
"Not today, Coop," Barrett shouted back to her dog. "You've your puppies to help take care of." As if on queue eight small fluff balls ran along the fence in the kennel next to Cooper's. The small puppies yipped and barked at their father while they tried to get his attention and play with them. Ariel, their mother, lay quietly in the shade watching her pups romp about.
Finally out of sight of the berry patch, Grin turned his attention back to the little girl leading him into the Woods.
"What are we doing today anyway?" he asked sighing and letting all his disappointment fill the question.
"Exploring," Barrett said.
"Oh, great," Grin said. He hated to do anything that made him exercise. Actually, he hated to do anything other than eating, as long as the eating didn't take too much work.
"I've been hearing some noises coming from the other side of the Big Woods. My Dad says they're doing some logging in there, and I want to see what they're doing," she explained further entering the Woods without pausing. A small stone wall ran along the edge of the meadow and the length of the Big Woods. She scampered over it without missing a beat.
But Grin had already stopped listening to her once he had determined their trip for the day didn't involve brunch, lunch, a snack, or any other food. He waddled behind the girl lifting his nose occasionally to the wind, scenting what else was in the Wood with them. He could smell a young deer further in the forest, mice, squirrels, many different birds, including the chickadees that were currently fluttering about them.
Chick-a-dee-dee-dee they called over Grin and Barrett's heads as they walked through the Wood.
Grin found a couple of beech nuts along the way and snuffled them up, spitting out the husks almost as quickly as they entered his mouth. Further on he found some acorns a squirrel had stashed. Barrett, however, hadn't slowed down at all and he quickly scampered after her wishing he had pockets and trying to remember where the acorns were so he could eat them on their way back.
"You're really cramping my style," he mumbled, "and my belly," he added when the little girl didn't answer him.
Barrett was distracted by the sound of chainsaws coming from somewhere behind the Big Woods. The noise was getting louder so she new she was getting closer, but she still didn't know exactly where they were logging. She looked up to the top of a slope and decided to climb to the top of the small rise for a better vantage point.
Grin grumbled some more when he realized they were now going up hill, but it was just a short rise and, therefore, only a short grumble. Once they reached the top Barrett could see a small clearing forming on the far side of the Big Wood that marked the edge of Boonehollow.
There was a large tree still standing within the clearing, but all the trees around it had already been cut. The big tree looked very old and had large branches that stretched almost as far in all directions as the newly cleared ground around it. Barrett could hear the saws still running and could see men walking along the far edge of the clearing still cutting some trees lying on the ground.
Just then movement caught her eye. Barrett turned and saw something small flitting through the trees down along the path they had been following before climbing up the hill. It flew quickly, and moved like a bee, but was about the size of a robin. Barrett took a step forward to try and get a better look, but lost the flying thing amongst the trees.
"Did you see that?" she asked looking back at Grin.
"No. Hmmm. What? No," the bear said looking up from a small mushroom he had been contemplating eating. It didn't smell poisonous. "And. really, how poisonous could it be?" he thought.
"Argh," Barrett grunted. She looked back to the clearing and could have sworn that she saw the flying thing zoom into a small hole in the tree. She watched for a few minutes more, but never saw anything else.
She turned and headed down the hill.
"Now the berry patch?" Grin asked, bubbling with hope at the thought.
"Yeah, now the berries, nothing else to do out here today," Barrett said, but a thought had occurred to her, one she'd want to investigate further in the near future.
"Alright!" Grin said barreling his way down the hillside past the small girl, "Last one there's a Flatlander!"
"That's not fair!" Barrett shouted as she ran after her bear, but bear's can run very fast, especially when there's food at stake.
When Barrett had finally caught up to Grin he was sitting amongst the thickest of the raspberry bushes. The tips of his lips and claws already stained red.
"And we still have the blueberries and blackberries yet!" he cheered when Barrett reached the berry patch panting and holding a stitch in her side from her run. Barrett smiled at her small bear despite herself. He did love his berries.
"Oh Barrett," the little girl's mother said as her daughter stepped into their kitchen carrying her stuffed bear under her arm. Barrett had to carry Grin away from the berries. He had refused to leave even when he'd been eating for twenty minutes, non-stop, and had eaten most of the berries from a whole row of blueberry bushes.
Barrett's Mom looked at her daughter who had a blue stained beard around her mouth, and blue and red stained fingers. Her stuffed bear was in no better condition. It looked as if the two had been wrestling in the patch amongst all the fruit.
"Yeah, Mom?" Barrett asked, wondering why her mother was looking at her that way. "I tried to get him to stop, but you know how much bears like berries," the little girl tried to explain.
"Well, he's going straight into the wash and you're going to have to go scrub up yourself," her mother said, turning and heading towards the laundry room. She turned the washer on and was pouring in the detergent when her daughter stepped into the room. She had placed Grin behind her back.
"But Mom, he'll drown," the little girl intoned.
"No he won't, and it's the only way to get him clean," the girl's mother said holding out her hand for the bear. Barrett begrudgingly handed him over, even though Grin's eyes were huge in his head, pleading for his little girl's help.
"Hold your breath, Grin!" Barrett shouted as her mother dropped the bear in the wash and shut the lid.
"Now you," her mother said and went about scrubbing the berry stains from her daughter's face and hands. Once she had finished she left the room and her daughter alone with the washing bear. The washing machine was on the soak cycle still when Barrett opened the lid. Grin's nose was just above the water line blowing soap bubbles.
"Gimme outta here," he said blowing more bubbles as he did so.
"Can't, Mom said to leave you in here," the little girl explained feeling badly for her bear. "I'll be right here waiting for you, just make sure you take another deep breath."
"Barrett, you're not tampering with the wash are you?" her mother asked from down the hall.
"No, Mom," Barrett said closing the lid to the washer after giving Grin a quick pat on the head. "Hold on, Pal!" she said as she sat down in front of the washer. She heard a few gurgles and gulps while the machine worked through its wash and rinse cycles. During the spin cycle she was sure she could hear Grin retching and moaning. When the machine finally stopped, she leapt from the floor and opened the lid once more. Grin looked like a drowned rat. He was still dizzy from the spinning and didn't know which end was up.
"Okay, now we have to put him in the dryer," Barrett's Mom said as she walked into the room.
"Oh Mom, hasn't he been through enough?" the little girl asked, feeling terrible for her bear.
"He needs to get dried or else he'll get smelly, Barrett," her Mom said, pulling the stuffed bear from the washer.
"Okay, I'll do it," Barrett said holding her hands out for her bear.
"Next time you'll just have to make sure he doesn't get so dirty, so we don't have to put him through all this agin," Barrett's Mom said as she left the room.
"Okay," Barrett and Grin said together.
"C'mon, you're not really gunna put me in there are ya?" Grin asked sounding absolutely exhausted.
"Have to," Barrett said, placing her bear inside the dryer. She placed a dryer sheet in the machine with him. The bear looked to the sheet and then back to his little girl.
"She hates me, you know?" he said nodding his snout in the direction Barrett's Mom had headed.
"She does not," Barrett said.
"She does! Remember these?" The bear said slapping his head where his yellow stitches were.
"Yeah, but you needed those," Barrett answered.
"Hrrmmpphh," the bear huffed.
"Sorry, Grin," Barrett said, closing the door and starting the machine.
"Are you still not talking to me?" Barrett asked later while lying in bed beside her fresh scented stuffed bear.
"Hrrrmmmpphh," the bear huffed.
"Well, that's something at least," the little girl said rolling over onto her side so she could look at her bear. Grin was staring at the ceiling of her room.
"Do you think I like taking baths either?" she asked, exasperated.
"No, I suppose you don't," Grin admitted. "But I think you're Mom has it in for me," he added, rolling over on his side as well so he could look at his little girl.
"Maybe, but listen, do you want to hear what we're going to do tomorrow?"
With a bit of excitement at the thought of all the food they might consume the bear perked up, "Sure, what do you have in mind?" the little bear asked, his mouth beginning to water.
"Remember that tree in the clearing?" Barrett began.
"Yeah," Grin answered, but then had a sudden stomach turning thought. "Wait, does this have anything to do with eating?" he asked, the last glimmer of hope hanging onto his taste buds.
"No, why?" Barrett asked.
"No reason," the bear sighed.
And then as his little girl launched into her plans for the next day's adventures his thoughts were already upon the berry patch in the backyard and in his mind he was gently picking and eating blueberries, and raspberries, and blackberries, and bunchberries, and huckleberries. And even as Grin fell asleep he continued dreaming of strawberries, and boysenberries, and loganberries, and his imagination began making up berries while his stomach growled long into the night.
