The Adventures of Edgar the Bear

“Time Traveler”
By: Justine Koch

Trouble seems to follow Edgar the Bear wherever he may venture. He does not go looking for it, but somehow he seems to find it time and time again. He never goes far from his home, but distance is not an obstacle for Edgar when trouble comes knocking.

One unusually warm early October evening in 2005, Edgar the Bear was looking for a way to cool himself without jumping into the green, murky waters of the local minnow pond. As Edgar sat swinging in Oak Park trying to let the breeze cool him, he thought about the new water main that was recently erected. He wondered if the water that ran through that large black pipe was as cool as he imagined it might be on a night like tonight. Of course, Edgar’s curiosity always gets the best of him, and soon he was meandering through the park towards the water main.

As Edgar the Bear came upon the water main, he contemplated how best to open this large black pipe. First, he tried pushing it over. Then, he tried chewing off the nuts, but that hurt his teeth. He knew that eating all those marshmallows would catch up to him eventually. Finally, he decided that just pain old brute strength would probably work best. He stood on top of the water main and pulled and pulled with all his might. Suddenly, the bolts broke free and water came gushing out with more force than Edgar could have ever imagined. The water shot him straight up into the air. At first Edgar was a bit scared and nervous, but that didn’t last long. Edgar realized that he was right about the water being nice and cool and refreshing. As Edgar kicked back and enjoyed his little water ride, he began to realize how much trouble he was going to be in for wasting all this water.

Just as suddenly as the water had shot out of the main, it dropped back down without warning. Edgar fell faster than lightening with a big….

Edgar tried to regain his bearings – he blinked his eyes in the dark night and looked around. Something didn’t seem right. The houses on the block looked newer… yet somehow they looked like a picture from the past. Edgar began to think he had lost his mind.

Edgar decided that he better check out the rest of town and see if anything else looked out of the ordinary. He didn’t have to go far. The monument in Oak Park was missing and the pavilion was different. Many things seemed out of place. Now Edgar had proof. Somehow the water main warped him back in time. He wasn’t sure how far, but he figured if he found the town “Busy Bees”, they would be able to give him an approximate year. As he wandered back down to the park, he noted that the trees seemed to be smaller, which only confirmed his guess of going back in time.

Edgar soon found a plump beehive hanging in a tree and whispered, as not to wake the Queen, “Can any bee tell me what year it is?”

Soon several bees came out to see what all the buzz was about. When they seen a little bear, they figured trouble was about to start. A small but adventurous bee soon flew forward and told Edgar, “If I tell you what year it is, will you leave our honey beeee?”

“Oh yes little bee. I just seemed to have lost my sense of time,” explained Edgar with the most sincerity he could muster.

“Okay, you seem to be honest. It is sometime in the 1950zzzz silly little bear,” said busy bee.

“Thank you brave little bee. I will be on my way now as promised,” vowed Edgar.

This could not be good thought Edgar to himself. How could this have happened to a little bear? Edgar decided that he must try to find a way back to the future, but he didn’t have a clue where to start. He then had an idea. Maybe he could find a book at the school library about time travel.

Edgar ventured back down the street towards the school library. Of course, Edgar forgot that school isn’t open this late at night, so he sat down and began to think of some ideas on his own. Soon an idea came to him….

Edgar ran as fast as he could to an old tree that towered all the way to the sky. Well, that is what it appeared to do to Edgar because he was just a wee bear. He remembered hearing this story from his Grandmother about a boy named Jack and a special beanstalk. Edgar knew that when Jack climbed the beanstalk he ended up in a different place unlike the one he knew. Edgar, therefore, thought that maybe, just maybe, he could climb the tallest tree in town up, up into the sky, above the clouds, he would return back to his time in 2005.

Little Edgar climbed and climbed until the branches became too small to bear his weight. It was no use. He was almost at the tippy top, and the only thing he saw was the town below. He also saw something else that he did not expect to see. At the end of town, he saw a big cornfield, which is really no big surprise, but what he did find surprising was the odd pattern cut into the corn. This was definitely worth checking out. Edgar could not let his curiosity go unchecked. Edgar then climbed back down the tree and headed south towards the big cornfield.

As Edgar was running through town and towards the cornfield he began to wonder out loud, “Could I have been abducted by aliens?” He remembered hearing about strange crop circles and odd patterns being pressed down in cornfields. The newspaper said that aliens were the only explanation for these peculiar findings. “This has to be the answer to my time travel!” whooped Edgar loudly. Nearing the entrance to the cornfield, Edgar began to get nervous. What if these aliens were still around and looking for him? Edgar stood tall and entered the rows of high corn stalks. Edgar followed the path that had been cut down by the aliens. Just as Edgar was beginning to get nervous because he was sure he was lost, a large figure loomed above him. Edgar reared back and bared his teeth and claws.

Just as Edgar was about to attack, the figure yelled, “Stop…it is just me, Scarecrow!”

“Grrrrreat! I knew it was just you scarecrow,” said Edgar sheepishly. “Did you see the aliens who did this to your crop?” asked Edgar.

“Aliens?” questioned Scarecrow. “There aren’t any aliens little Bear. This is a corn maze for local children to play in for Halloween,” explained scarecrow. “Are you feeling alright?” asked Scarecrow.

“Yes, I suppose so. I am just having a strange evening. Maybe, if I get something to eat, things will seem clearer. I am really thirsty too from running all the way here from the middle of town,” answered Edgar.

“Well, good luck little bear,” said Scarecrow sympathetically. He knew what it was like to be confused. When you have straw for brains, confusion is your best friend.

Edgar slowly made his way down to the creek. He trudged down to the edge of the bank and leaned over to take a drink. Just as he leaned over, he saw a little bear in the water. “Maybe it is me in the future I see!” said Edgar excitedly. Edgar drove into the creek headfirst! After a few seconds, Edgar came up from out of the water and looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed. “Well,” Edgar thought out loud, “that didn’t seem to work.”

A turtle sitting on a log near the edge of the creek was laughing so hard he nearly fell into the water. “Silly little bear, that was just your reflection you were seeing in the water,” said the turtle. “You bears are always such wonderful entertainment!” said turtle still laughing jovially.

Edgar slowly pulled himself from the water onto the bank. Edgar was about as discouraged as he could possibly get. He shook off his wet, shiny, black coat and headed down towards the grocery store. He knew he was looking for trouble again, but he was hungry and disheartened. He also figured that if he were really in the past, it wouldn’t matter if he got into trouble because he would never make it into the future to pay the price for causing mischief.

Edgar trotted around the back of the drug store following wherever his nose would take him. In the garage cans out back, he found a smorgasbord of his favorite things, ice cream with chocolate syrup and cherries. Edgar was not picky. He really didn’t care that all of theses little treats were a bit on the “off” side. Food was food to Edgar, even if he did have to lick around the moldy spots. After having his fill, which really seldom ever happened and wouldn’t last long, Edgar decided to go back to the water main to see if he could find some answers back where it all started.

Laying on his back near the water main, Edgar the Bear looked up at the bright night sky. He searched for the Little Dipper, which was his favorite constellation because it was also known as Little Bear. As stuffed as Edgar was, it didn’t take long before he fell into a deep sleep.

Edgar was dreaming of fish…yummy fish…meanwhile…

“Edgar…Edgar wake up!” shouted Shirley Squirrel and her six nutty friends. Edgar did not move. Shirley directed her squirrelly friends to run down to the pond and catch a fish. They did so with the greatest of speed. Shirley grabbed the fish from them and began slapping Edgar along side the face with the fish. “Edgar…Edgar wake up! Are you okay?” yelled Shirley frantically.

Edgar moaned. He began to open his eyes. “Shirley, I was having the best dream about a fish,” grumbled Edgar. “Wait, Shirley, did you get warped into the past with me?” asked Edgar.

“What are you talking about Edgar?” questioned Shirley with a look of confusion on her face.

“I was, ahhhh, checking out the water main, and the next thing I knew, it warped me into the 1950s,” explained Edgar.

“Oh, I see,” said Shirley and her friends. “Silly Edgar, you just fell and hit your head when they shut off the water on you,” exclaimed Shirley.

“Thank goodness!” yelled Edgar. “I thought my life was over as I knew it,” said Edgar. “I sure learned my lesson this time. I will never cause mischief again Shirley Squirrel!” exclaimed Edgar.