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Stories from Around the World
“Teddy on the Run”
Once upon a time there was a little boy. His mom and dad wanted him to go to his grandma’s house for the day, but he didn’t want to go there because grandma was always crabby. The little boy had his own trip in mind.
While the parents were checking out of the hotel that they had been staying at, they weren’t watching the little boy, so he headed for the door to make his grand escape. The little boy wandered out to the curb where a yellow cab was waiting for its next passengers. The cab driver, being a friendly, fatherly man, asked the boy where he wanted to go. The little boy said, “I’m running away, and I want to go to the zoo because I love animals, and animals are never crabby like grandma is.” The cab driver, amused by this adorable child, asked him what his name was. “My name is Theodore, but I don’t want to be called Theodore because that’s what grandma always call me. I’m Teddy.”
The cab driver responded, “Nice to meet you Teddy, my name is Franklin, but you can call me Frank.” Frank continued, “You know Teddy, it costs money for me to take you to the zoo; how much money do you have?” The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out five pennies. Frank said, “Wow that sure is a lot of money; where did you get all of that?” “My grandmas gave it to me!” Teddy announced excitedly. Frank realized that any minute Teddy’s parents would frantically emerge from the hotel lobby in search of their son, so he wanted to keep Teddy talking so that he wouldn’t wander any further than he already had.
Suddenly, Frank heard cries calling, “Teddy! Teddy? Theodore, where ARE you?! Upon hearing these calls, Frank stepped out of the cab and opened the back door. To the frantic parents before him Frank asked, “Is this the little man you’re looking for?” Before the parents could respond, Teddy exclaimed, “Hi mom! Hi dad! Frank is going to take me to the zoo.”
“Oh Teddy, thank goodness you’re ok!” Teddy’s mom signed with relief. “Guess what! Grandma is waiting for you to take you to the zoo this afternoon! She made your favorite chocolate chip cookies and invited Jimmy, your little friend who lives next door to grandma, to go with you.”
Teddy shouted, “Oh, goodie!!” Frank looked at the parents and asked, “Do you want a cab ride to grandma’s?” “That would be great,” They responded as they hopped back into the cab with Teddy. Off to grandma’s they went.
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