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A
Bear, however hard he tries,
Grows
tubby without exercise.
Our
Teddy Bear is short and fat
Which
is not to be wondered at;
He
gets what exercise he can
By
falling off the ottoman,
But
generally seems to lack
The
energy to clamber back. |
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Now
tubbiness is just the thing
That
gets a fellow wondering;
And
Teddy wondered lots about
The
fact that he was rather stout.
He
thought: "If only I were thin!
But
how does anyone begin?"
He
thought: "It really isn't fair
To
grudge me exercise and air." |
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For
many weeks he pressed in vain
His
nose against the window pane,
And
envied those who walked about
Reducing
their unwanted stout.
None
of the people he could see
"Is
quite," he said, "As fat as me!"
Then,
with a still more moving sigh,
"I
mean," he said, "As fat as I !" |
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Now
Teddy, as was only right,
Slept
in the ottoman at night,
And
with him crowded in as well
More
animals than I can tell;
Not
only these, but books and things,
Such
as a kind relation brings -
Old
tales of "Once upon a time,"
And
history retold in rhyme. |
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One
night it happened that he took
A
peep at an old picture book,
Wherein
he came across by chance
The
picture of the King of France
(A
stoutish man) and, down below,
These
words: 'King Louis So and So,
Nicknamed
"The Handsome!"' There he sat,
And
(think of it) the man was fat! |
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Our
Bear rejoiced like anything
To
read about this famous King.
Nicknamed
'The Handsome,'
There
he sat,
And
certainly the man was fat,
Nicknamed
'The Handsome' Not a doubt
The
man was definitely stout,
Why
then, a bear (for all his tub)
Might
yet be named 'The Handsome Cub!' |
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'Might
yet be named,' or did he mean
That
years ago he might have been?'
For
now he felt a slight misgiving;
"Is
Louis So and So still living?
Fashions
in beauty have a way
Of
altering from day to day,
Is
'Handsome Louis' with us yet?
Unfortunately,
I forget." |
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Next
morning (nose to window pane)
The
doubt occured to him again.
One
question hammered in his head:
"Is
he alive or is he dead?"
Thus,
nose to pane, he pondered; but
The
lattice window, loosely shut,
Swung
open. With one startled "Oh!"
Our
Teddy disappeared below. |
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There
happened to be passing by
A
plump man with a twinkling eye,
Who,
seeing Teddy in the street,
Raised
him politely to his feet,
And
mumured kindly in his ear
Soft
words of comfort and of cheer:
"Well,
well !" "Allow me!" "Not at all."
"Tut-tut!
A very nasty fall." |
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Our
Teddy answered not a word;
It's
doubtful if he even heard.
Our
bear could only look and look:
The
stout man in the picture book!
That
'handsome' King - could this be he,
This
man of adiposity?
"Impossible,"
he thought, "But still,
No
harm in asking. Yes, I will !" |
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"Are
you," he said, "By any chance
His
Majesty, The King of France?"
The
other answered, "I am that,"
Bowed
stiffly, and removed his hat;
Then
said,"Excuse me," with an air,
"But
is it Mr. Edward Bear?"
And
Teddy, bending very low,
Replied
politely, "Even so! " |
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They
stood beneath the window there,
The
King and Mr. Edward Bear,
And,
handsome, if a trifle fat,
Talked
carelessly of this and that .....
Then
said His Majesty, "Well, well,
I
must get on," and rang the bell.
"Your
bear, I think," he smiled. "Good-day!"
And
turned and went upon his way. |
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A
bear, however hard he tries,
Grows
tubby without exercise.
Our
Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which
is not to be wondered at.
But
do you think it worries him
To
know that he is far from slim?
No,
just the other way about --
He's
proud of being short and stout. |
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Back
to Other Tales |
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